Professor Frazer is a world-renowned and internationally educated clinician scientist and clinical immunologist, who uses his expertise and reputation to advise and drive Microba’s mission of powering medical innovation forward. As co-inventor of the technology behind internationally utilised cancer-preventing HPV vaccines Gardasil and Cervarix, Professor Frazer is a leader in translating research into useful clinical outcomes. Bringing more than 40 years’ experience to Microba’s Medical Advisory Board, he is well placed to advise on the company’s therapeutics and diagnostics programs, sit as Deputy Chairman of the Board and to advocate for unmet clinical needs in the IBD space. His expertise is communicated across hundreds of primary and co-authored journal articles and he continues to work on new vaccine technologies as the Head of the Cancer Immunology Group at UQ . He is the former Director of Research at the Translational Research Institute in Brisbane and is currently a Professor at The University of Queensland (UQ), making him a leader in Australian research and clinical translation. Professor Frazer is internationally respected, with qualifications from the University of Melbourne and the University of Edinburgh.

Professor Gene Tyson is a well-respected microbial ecologist as well as the Co-founder of Microba and head of microbiome research at the Queensland University of Technology, with an international education. His expertise and pioneering of metagenomic sequencing in the role of the human microbiome ensures that he is best placed to guide the strategic direction of Microba’s science. Professor Tyson is an expert in the development and application of culture-independent molecular approaches for studying microbial communities and has published extensively in the field of microbiology, including 12 publications in Science and Nature. He received his PhD in community genomics from the University of California at Berkeley in 2006 and went on to complete postdoctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) before returning to Queensland in 2010. Recognising the potential of metagenomics to uncover the role of the human microbiome in health and disease, Professor Tyson co-founded Microba with Professor Philip Hugenholtz in 2017 and remains a key advisor and advocate for Microba’s research and development programs and product development.. He was recognised on the Highly Cited Researchers list by the Web of Science in 2019 and 2020.

Professor Philip Hugenholtz is a world-leading and highly-cited expert in microbiome analysis as well as Director of the Australian Centre for Ecogenomics at The University of Queensland. Together with fellow Co-founder Professor Gene Tyson he oversees the scientific direction of Microba, using his groundbreaking experience in classifying unknown bacteria to drive innovation forward. Professor Hugenholtz completed his PhD in microbiology in 1994 at The University of Queensland and worked in the United States at the University of California at Berkeley and at the DOE Joint Genome Institute, a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as the Metagenome Program Head. Throughout his career he has published hundreds of papers in high-impact journals in the field of microbiology and genomics and has been instrumental in the development of many of the methods used in microbiome analysis. He has been cited in other research articles more than 47,000 times. His research in microbiology has led to the discovery and characterisation of many previously unrecognised major bacterial and archaeal lineages, and the development of a new international standard for classifying bacteria with his team at The University of Queensland in 2018. Professors Hugenholtz and Tyson founded Microba with the vision to advance understanding of how the human gut microbiome influences health through their expertise in metagenomic microbiome sequencing.

Associate Professor Lutz Krause is an internationally recognised expert in the application of big data methods to understand molecular biology who oversees the biostatistics work at Microba. He is a key member of the Microba team and his expertise in identifying therapeutic leads and developing diagnostics using artificial intelligence plays an integral role in meeting clinical needs with diagnostic and therapeutic assets. Associate Professor Lutz received his PhD in Bioinformatics and Genome Research from Bielefeld University, Germany and has worked with numerous high impact research teams, including the Nestlé Research Institute where he studied the role of the gut microbiota in health and disease. Following his research at Nestlé he was recruited to QIMR Berghofer to head the Bioinformatics team and in 2014 he joined The University of Queensland as Principal Research Fellow. Associate Professor Lutz continues to lead diagnostic and therapeutic work in key areas of human health and disease with Dr Páraic Ó Cuív.

Mr Wills is a proven company executive with experience in the finance, life sciences and education sectors. Previously the Chief Operating Officer of an ASX-listed company, Mr Wills brings substantial operational, financial and governance experience to Microba as founding CEO. His financial background combined with his extensive operational expertise has driven Microba forward as a thriving company with more than 40 full-time employees. Mr Wills’ experience in executing multiple international acquisitions and the management of new product and service builds has given him the skills to provide Microba’s world-leading technology to people globally. He is well-educated with qualifications from one of Australia’s top business Universities, with a Master of Business (Professional Accounting), Bachelor of Finance (Hons) and Bachelor of Business (Finance) from the Queensland University of Technology.

Dr Holtham Reid is an experienced professional in research and technology commercialisation, with experience across Australia and working with global markets. He brings more than 10 years’ experience in research and technology commercialisation in the biotechnology sector to his role at Microba where he drives the strategic direction of the company together with Microba’s CEO. His expertise in translational research, technology commercialisation, commercial partnerships, licensing and intellectual property management makes him well-placed to lead the development of new business partnerships across the globe and direct the company’s intellectual property strategy. Dr Holtham Reid holds a PhD in molecular biology from The University of Adelaide and a Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology (Hons)) from Flinders University.

Associate Professor Jake Begun is a world-renowned and internationally educated leader in clinical trials and clinical research focused on the delivery of care and effectiveness of current therapies in gastroenterology. He leads the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) research group and is a consultant gastroenterologist at the Mater Research Institute as well as an Associate Professor at The University of Queensland’s School of Medicine. The experience that he brings to Microba’s work is invaluable in ensuring that diagnostic and therapeutic development meet unmet clinical needs for patient care. Associate Professor Begun received his MD and PhD at Harvard Medical School and completed his clinical training at Massachusetts General Hospital before returning to Australia. His research interests include dissecting the functional genetics of IBD, developing novel therapeutics for treating gut inflammation, and improving IBD clinical care through clinical research focused on responses to therapy and the use of intestinal ultrasound. His appointment to Microba’s inaugural IBD Advisory Panel will bring together years of clinical experience, a strong understanding of research translation and a commitment to patient care to the company’s research and development in IBD.

Dr Popper is pathologist and business consultant in the United States, with more than 25 years’ experience in diagnostics, medical devices and drug discovery, globally. Her wide-spanning experience which includes 10 years in senior management roles at leading medical technology firm, Becton Dickson & Company, provides her with perspective and insight to advise on the strategic direction of Microba in general and its diagnostics program in particular. With a career and education grounded in the United States market, Dr Popper has served in senior managerial and advisory positions at various Fortune 500 and start-up companies around the world. She holds a Master of Public Health (Health Policy and Health Economics) from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore and a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Dr Popper is currently a Non-Executive Director of LBT Innovations Limited (ASX:LBT) and Chair of Agilex.

Ms Bauzon is a well-respected leader in the clinical lab and diagnostics arena, with more than 20 years’ experience, including 15 years in product commercialisation and sales. She brings exceptional expertise in sales, developing new relationships, advising on the development and commercialisation of new products and driving commercial relationships forward in the United States. Prior to joining Microba, Ms Bauzon was Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations for uBiome, making her well-placed to advance Microba’s business interests forward in the gut microbiome market within the United States. She received her Bachelor of Health Science from East Stroudsburg University, Pennsylvania.

Dr Nicola Angel is an experienced and efficient laboratory director, integral to many academic and industry-funded projects across Australia. As the current Head of Laboratory Operations at Microba, she uses her extensive laboratory and project management experience to manage a team of skilled scientists employing the latest testing methods and comprehensive quality assurance processes to operate an efficient, high-throughput sample processing pipeline. She has pioneered methods for processing microbiome samples, including optimised metagenomic DNA sequencing to identify the microorganisms present within a sample with reproducibility, reliability, accuracy and specificity. Dr Angel’s expertise sees her driving forward external laboratory validation procedures such as NATA accreditation and EQAP testing to ensure Microba’s lab is on track to be recognised at the highest national and international standards. Since graduating with a PhD from prestigious The University of Queensland, Dr Angel has been integral in a number of academic and industry-funded projects to support advances in the understanding and treatment of a range of human diseases with novel diagnostics and therapeutics. In providing services for other researchers, she has enabled thousands of research projects to generate high-quality data for grant applications, presentations, and publications.

Dr Páraic Ó Cuív leads the Microba Therapeutics laboratory team at the Translational Research Institute in Brisbane. He is an international expert in microbiology, bacterial genetics and genomics, bringing more than 15 years’ experience to his role at Microba. Dr Ó Cuív is recognized for his ability to “bring the microbiome to life” and dissect the host-microbe interactions underpinning health and well-being and this underpins Microba’s testing and development of new big-data identified live biotherapeutics. Prior to joining Microba, he worked at Australia’s leading national science organisation, CSIRO, and The University of Queensland where he worked closely with clinicians and gastroenterologists to dissect the host-microbe interactions underpinning chronic gut diseases and to investigate microbiota-drug interactions relevant to the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Dr Ó Cuív received his PhD (Molecular Microbiology) and his Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology at Dublin City University (Ireland).

Associate Professor Paul Griffin is a leading infectious diseases physician, microbiologist and Director of Infectious Diseases at Mater Health Services. One of the go-to spokespeople during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, Associate Professor Griffin brings more than 18 years’ experience across clinical practice and academia to provide high-level advice on Microba’s diagnostic asset development. He also holds appointments as Associate Professor at The University of Queensland, Principal Investigator and Medical Director at Nucleus Network and a Visiting Scientist with the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. Associate Professor Griffin is currently driving Microba’s development of diagnostic pathogen panel, MetaPanel, forward for translation to clinical practice. His primary research interests include clinical trials in the field of infectious diseases, such as malaria human challenge and transmission blocking studies, and the molecular detection of gametocytes as well as the detection of antibiotic resistance.

Mr Pasquale Rombola is a well-respected and experienced businessman, with more than 30 years of corporate and financial experience across Australia, Asia and the United Kingdom. As Chairman of the Microba Life Sciences Board, he advises the company on corporate strategy and strategic planning utilising his business acumen in senior positions with Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank. Mr Rombola spent seven years in the role of Managing Director at Morgan Stanley, was previously Chairman and Director of Helix Resources Limited (ASX:HLX) and also serves on other private company boards. He holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Western Australia.

Dr Alena Pribyl is an internationally educated scientist with expertise in human microbiome research, microbiology, molecular biology and stress physiology in fish. At Microba, her expertise is combined with her passion for science translation to support science informed decision making. Dr Pribyl uses her extensive knowledge to support the strategic direction of Microba through the translation of relevant scientific information to various audiences. She also leads science content development at Microba through the research and presentation of educational courses, presentations and the creation of non-technical and technical content, including publications. Dr Pribyl received her PhD in fish physiology from Oregon State University, was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow, and a CCST Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the California Legislature before moving to Australia in 2015. She has been conducting science translation work on the gut microbiome since 2016 and continuously updates her knowledge in the space as new research emerges, as well as contributes to the training of staff on the latest publications.

Dr Kylie Ellis is a specialist in business and research partnerships, with a strong scientific research background that allows her to leverage knowledge for project design and management. She has a PhD in neuroscience and regenerative medicine from The University of Adelaide and a background in research commercialisation at two Group of Eight Universities. Through this experience, she has honed her skills in identifying scientific inventions and partnering them with real-world applications with an end goal of market introduction. Dr Ellis utilises this experience and skill for project design to develop bespoke solutions for research clients and identify global commercial partnership opportunities. She has built a successful and influential business model that services clients internationally and continues to increase in growth and opportunity.

Dr David Wood is a leading bioinformatician in Australia, heading up Bioinformatics Operations at Microba and bringing more than 10 years’ experience to the role. With a PhD in mammalian transcriptomics and genome informatics from The University of Queensland and expertise in bioinformatics in both industry and academia, Dr Wood is integral to leading the development of bioinformatic methodologies and data processing pipelines at Microba. He has more than 30 scientific publications to his name and his knowledge of the biotechnology industry partners with his interests in the use and advancement of high-throughput genomics technologies in consumer products and public health. His work has been supported by the Queensland Government through the provision of an Advance Queensland Founders’ Fellowship grant in 2018 as a founding member of Microba to establish a comprehensive gut genome database.

Dr Hyungtae Kim is an experienced leader in the global genomics field, having held positions at global genetic service provider, Macrogen as Chief Executive Officer of Macrogen, Inc., (Macrogen) for six years and as Chief Executive Officer of Macrogen Europe for three years. He brings his expertise as a leader and businessman in the genetics field to Microba Life Science’s Board where he is well-placed to provide strategic advice and insight into the global market. Macrogen is a company listed on the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ), ensuring that Dr Kim brings experience from the Asia-Pacific markets into Microba. He received his PhD in molecular biology from The George Washington University and is a Director of the Gong-Wu Genome Information Foundation.

Mr Heath is a Chartered Accountant, with a background at one of Australia’s Big Four accounting and advisory firms. With more than nine years’ experience in accounting, finance and operations advisory across a broad range of industries, he brings his specialist skills to advance Microba’s financial and operational interests. Mr Heath is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand with a Bachelor of Business Management (Intl. Business and Marketing) and Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from The University of Queensland. As Microba's Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary, he also manages the group’s Board governance, operations and human resource management to ensure the company provides the best service to clients and partners. Prior to joining Microba Mr Heath was a management consultant at Deloitte Australia.

Dr Ken McGrath is a specialist in molecular genomics and the clinical application of innovative technology to healthcare and partner products. With a background in molecular genomics and more than 14 years’ experience across lab management, operations management of genomics services, customer service and project management, Dr McGrath is well-placed to lead the Platform Services team. He brings his expertise in analysis and service to international partnerships applying Microba’s proprietary analysis platform to new products. Dr McGrath is also a key education provider for healthcare practitioners in the use of the company’s gut microbiome reports and the role of the gut microbiome in health and disease states and providing partners with education content to suit their needs. He has been a member of several international microbiome research projects, including monitoring antibiotic resistance through the Australian OUTBREAK initiative and US-based MetaSUB projects.

Mr Drew Webb is an innovative and experienced marketing and brand professional, with more than a decade of experience across brand, marketing and strategic positioning. With experience in various industries from health, wellness and start up ecosystems to hospitality, Government and creative agencies, Mr Webb is well-placed to drive the brand and marketing direction forward at Microba. He utilises his background in establishing and maintaining brands to advise on international promotion, product marketing and implementing the company’s global brand positioning strategy. Mr Webb established Microba’s initial brand and marketing strategy and continues to drive a team of marketing, content, public relations and creative design professionals to implement the company’s global brand and promotional strategy.

Dr Paula Smith-Brown is an internationally educated, PhD-qualified Accredited Practising Dietitian. As both an experienced microbiome researcher and healthcare professional, she is uniquely placed to translate the latest science on the gut microbiome into practical clinical application. Her passion for evidence-based clinical practice combined with her clear and engaging communication style has led to her becoming a recognised leader in microbiome education for healthcare professionals. Dr Smith-Brown founded and trained the Microba Microbiome Coach team and developed the world-first microbiome focused Food Frequency Questionnaire, which is contributing to an in depth and extensive database to investigate the relationships between diet and the microbiome in health and disease. Since qualifying as a dietitian in 2002 with her Bachelor of Science (Nutrition and Dietetics) from King’s College London, UK, she has gained clinical experience in a variety of setting including acute, community and industry roles. Her PhD was awarded by The University of Queensland in 2017 and explored the association between diet, body composition and the microbiome in early life.

Associate Professor Chris Hogan is a well-respected General Practitioner and an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne in the Department of General Practice. He brings more than a decade of experience across clinical practice and academia, with more than 50 academic publications to his name. Associate Professor Hogan brings his experience in practice and understanding of research translation to Microba’s Medical Advisory Board to provide high-level and current advice on unmet clinical needs for patients. At the University of Melbourne, he contributed to the establishment of a GP research network called VicREN and was the inaugural Director of the Victorian RACGP Faculty Research and Health Promotion Unit. Associate Professor Hogan has also been involved in extensive GP-based research.

Mr Yao Liu is an experienced and talented software developer with more than 19 years’ experience, including leading the design of software platforms for several successful start-up businesses. As Chief Technology Officer at Microba, he brings his passion for early-stage companies together with his extensive experience in software development which he has also utilised within the telecommunication industry to drive the innovation of new and established software solutions and platforms for the company. Mr Liu is responsible for advising Microba on the best software solutions for both partners, clients and internal stakeholders. He received his Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering from the Jilin University. Mr Liu prides himself on not only building software but also providing solutions to businesses.