Sydney, Dec 13, 2005 AEST (ABN Newswire) - CyGenics Ltd. (ASX: CYN) today announced the appointment of Associate Professor Mark Kirkland as its Chief Scientific Officer, with effect from 1st December 2005.
Associate Professor Kirkland is a specialist haematologist, with more than 25 years experience as a medical practitioner and over 30 years' experience in stem cell research. He received his initial training and PhD at Flinders Medical Centre in South Australia and undertook postdoctoral research at the Leukaemia Research Unit at Hammersmith Hospital, London. He has extensive experience in tissue banking, having worked with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, with both public and private cord blood banks, and in the area of bone banking. He was a member of the committee that developed the Australian (NPAAC) guidelines for haemopoietic stem cells. Associate Professor Kirkland has previously held both executive management and clinical positions at a number of institutions and organisations.
He was previously the Chief of Service for Geelong Hospital Pathology Service (where he was responsible for management, budgeting and strategic planning), the Director of the Douglas Hocking Research Institute and a Director of PathCare Consulting Pathologists. He has also held the roles of Regional Transfusion Officer and Medical Director of Research for the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, and Director of Haematology and Blood Bank at Geelong Hospital Pathology Service.
Associate Professor Kirkland was the founder and CEO of BioCell Pty Ltd, the Australian cord blood bank in which CyGenics recently acquired a 51% equity stake. Associate Professor Kirkland carries out stem cell research at the Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, University of Melbourne. His current research interests include stem cell expansion and reprogramming, with particular emphasis on developing novel approaches to the production of insulin-producing cells and cardiac cells from cord blood stem cells, for the treatment of diabetes and heart disease, respectively.
His laboratory is also collaborating with Deakin University in the development of new tissue engineering techniques for the production of bone and cartilage, with the goal of developing more durable artificial joints by reprogramming stem cells to create bone precursors. Associate Professor Kirkland's field of expertise dovetails very well with CyGenics' current clinical trials which cover the expansion of cord blood stem cells, leading to a greater availability of these cells for therapeutic as well as research purposes, and on developing an artificial thymus. "Mark brings to the table an excellent mix of scientific and clinical expertise, as well as hands-on experience in cord blood banking operations," said Steven Fang, Group CEO, CyGenics. "He will be an important member of the management team, helping to drive forward our clinical trials and research collaborations, as well as assisting with the growth and development of our cord blood banking business." "From cord blood banking to medical and research products, to clinical trials and collaborations, no other company I know of has the scope of CyGenics," said Associate Professor Kirkland. "I look forward to the professional challenges CyGenics offers and to contributing to its future development."
Contact
Ian Brown, COO
Ph: +61 (0)3 9642 5580
Mob: +61 (0)438 565 212
Email: ian.brown@cygenics.com
Steven Fang, CEO
Mob: +61 (0)400 933 243
Email: steven.fang@cygenics.com
Ronald Hee
Ph: +65 9061 9098
Email: ronald.hee@cygenics.com
| ||
|
