Co-Treasurer
Chris biobanks clinical samples from observational and interventional clinical trials in paediatric, adolescent and adult populations. And even the occasional non-human sample too.
Chris coordinates the Biospecimen Service (BioSpecs) at Telethon Kids Institute, Perth Children’s Hospital. He is mainly involved with single-site and multi-site clinical trials (observational and interventional). In 2003, Chris completed a Bachelor of Science (Molecular Genetics) at Curtin University, then an Honours degree (Anatomy and Human Biology) at the University of Western Australia. In 2005, Chris was employed as a Research Assistant at the University of Melbourne, where he transitioned into a PhD studying the genetic pathways of skeletal muscle development and regeneration, as it relates to muscular dystrophy. After graduating in 2012, Chris was appointed Regional Laboratory Coordinator for the Southeast Asia Encephalitis Project (SEAe Project) at Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (Cambodia). It was during this time that Chris got involved in international paediatric multi-site clinical studies by designing, implementing and managing the laboratory activities of the SEAe Project, that comprised 7 laboratories, 4 paediatric hospitals and various government departments across 4 SE Asian countries. After 6 years, Chris and his family moved back to Perth, where he took a position with Telethon Kids Institute to develop a laboratory-orientated platform to provide high-quality pre-analytical services to internal and external research groups. Today, BioSpecs services numerous clinical studies in the fields of infectious disease, paediatrics, cancer, vaccine trials and youth mental health. Chris provides tailored consultancy, laboratory and biobank expertise to research groups. Recently, BioSpecs was awarded funding to be the central biobank for a large infectious disease study. Chris is an active member on numerous committees, including biobank governance, steering committees, emergency response, cold storage and now, proudly, ABNA.