Meet our External Advisory Committee
This external committee provides expert guidance and support to the Clinical Trial Unit in its commercial business and research activities from an industry perspective.
Mario Pennisi
Advisory Committee Chair, Managing Director, Biostate
With a career spanning over 35 years, Mr Pennisi is an experienced Life Sciences professional, industry advocate and advisor. As well as his consulting services, he is the Managing Director of Biostate Pty Ltd and also a Non-Executive Director with Elo Life Systems Australia Pty Ltd, Alpine Immune Sciences Australia Pty Ltd, Queensland Eye Institute Foundation, Healthcare Impact Foundation and Suncare Community Services Ltd.
Previous roles include executive positions at Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology, Mayne Group, Life Sciences Queensland and Queensland Clinical Trials Network. As well as being an active contributor on a number of committees and advisory groups including at the University of Queensland and QUT, he is also on the Queensland Government Biofutures Industry Advisory Group, and is a Government appointed Member of the QUT Council.
Brad Cuthbert
Manage, Private Sector Partnerships, Department of Environment, Science and Innovation
Brad Cuthbert has been developing, supporting and delivering innovation programs under the Advance Queensland initiative since its inception in 2015 including, notably, industry accelerators and technology hubs, student activation, international ecosystem development and SME/corporate engagement programs, as well as the establishment, delivery and contract management of Queensland’s leading startup hub – The Precinct.
Prior to working in the Innovation Division, Brad managed a number of Queensland Government life sciences programs including contract and relationship management for the Queensland Clinical Trials Network, Life Sciences Queensland, the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund, and BioPharmaceuticals Australia. Earlier, Brad worked in the ICT sectoral development team managing corporate engagement programs as well as research and industry engagement activities.
Before moving to Australia from Canada, Brad worked in private industry, from co-founding a small, safety instrumentation business up to a multinational software organisation. Brad has a passion for technology and innovation and how its intersection can impact in a positive way to deliver outcomes for local businesses.
Dr. Carl de Wet
Executive Director of Medical Services and Clinical Governance, South West Hospital and Health Services
Dr. Carl de Wet is the Executive Director of Medical Services and Clinical Governance. Previously, he was the Clinical Director of Specialist Medical Services (Gold Coast Health), the Primary Care Clinical Lead for the Queensland COVID-19 response, the Gold Coast Primary Health Network, and Queensland’s Healthcare Improvement Unit. He is the recipient of the 2021 Queensland RACGP Council Award and is passionate about health care quality and innovation. He regularly presents at international conferences, publishes in peer reviewed journals and co-authored a textbook on quality improvement.
Donna Fraser
Director of Client Operations, Novotech, The Asia Pacific CRO
After graduating in 1987 with her New Zealand Registered Comprehensive Nurse credentials, Donna has spent the last 32 years working in New Zealand and the United States in a variety of clinical roles including Nursing, Clinical Trials and as a Certified Medical Case Manager. Following a move to Australia in 2005, Donna joined Novotech as a Project Manager and over the past 14 years has continued to progress her career across a variety of positions supporting both the Clinical Operations and Business Development aspects of the company. Headquartered in Australia since 1996, Novotech is internationally recognised as a leading regional full-service Contract Research Organisation with 18 offices across 11 Asia Pacific countries.
As Director of Client Operations, Donna now partners with the Novotech Business Development team to provide strategic oversight across an extensive range of therapeutic areas by leveraging her clinical experience, investigator site relationships and specialist knowledge.
Dr. Sam Heshmat
Medical Director of Neurology
Dr. Sam Heshmat MD, MPH, FRACP is the director of the Neurology Department at Gold Coast University Hospital. He is also the lead clinician for neuromodulation program at the Gold Coast university Hospital. His clinical expertise is particularly focused on movement disorders and Parkinson’s disease.
Having completed advanced neurology training in Queensland and prestigious fellowships at Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital, Dr. Heshmat maintains academic affiliations with Griffith University and the University of Queensland, where he is committed to both teaching and research. Presently, he leads a number trials as principal investigator, aiming to advance the understanding and treatment of movement disorders.
Dr. Zaana Jaclyn
Founder and Steward, The Work of Harmony
Dr. Zaana Jaclyn is an experienced consumer advocate with 20 years leading large scale customer experience, cultural, and systems transformations across health, social, and public services. A former Junior Partner at McKinsey & Company — where she continues as an External Advisor — she brings a PhD in Human Centred Design, Masters in Information and Knowledge Management, and qualifications as a counsellor and ICF accredited executive coach. She currently serves as a Board Director at Suncare Community Services.
Zaana's research centres on human behaviour in vulnerability: what supports safety, informed decision making, holistic wellbeing and care. Personal and family experience navigating the health system across multiple life stages gives her firsthand understanding of why consumer voice in clinical research matters.
Nikki Kujawski
CNC Research Governance Coordinator, South West Hospital and Health Service
Nikkie Kujawski is the CNC Research Governance Coordinator for South West Hospital and Health Service, bringing a decade of clinical experience across surgical and emergency nursing to her research governance leadership. After contributing to the DART research project and later working in clinical trials, she now oversees all SSA processes, governance compliance, audit readiness and SWHHS research reporting, including the executive research dashboard. Nikkie is committed to strengthening research capability and improving access to research in rural communities, and contributes to statewide and regional networks including QRCCC, the local CAN and QRHIRC.
Sonya McColl
Head of Research, GenesisCare
Sonya is an accomplished healthcare and clinical research leader with nearly 30 years’ experience across Australia, the UK, and the United States. With a foundation in nursing and extensive expertise in clinical research, she has worked across both public and private sectors and has led and delivered complex research programs spanning phase 0–IV pharmaceutical trials, medical devices, in‑vitro diagnostics, clinical quality registries, and investigator‑initiated research.
Currently Head of Research at GenesisCare, Sonya leads a national portfolio of more than 200 research projects and manages multidisciplinary teams of up to 60 staff across multiple states. She is recognised for her strategic, patient‑focused leadership style, ability to operate effectively at senior levels, and strength in stakeholder and Key Opinion Leader engagement.
An accredited trainer with advanced management qualifications, Sonya has also served on a Human Research Ethics Committee and remains actively involved in professional clinical research organisations.