Speaker Biographies
Hon Ben Wyatt, Board Member, Telethon Kids Institute; Former Western Australian Treasurer; Minister for Finance; Aboriginal Affairs; Lands
Ben Wyatt is the former Western Australian Treasurer and has had ministerial responsibility for Finance, Energy, Aboriginal Affairs and Lands. He was the first Indigenous treasurer of any Australian parliament and he has held various shadow cabinet portfolios including responsibility for Native Title, the Pilbara and Culture and the Arts. He retired from the Western Australian Parliament in March 2021. He holds a Masters degree with Distinction from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Western Australia. Prior to entering Parliament, Mr Wyatt practised as a lawyer in both private practice and with the Western Australian Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Mr Wyatt was recently appointed to the Boards of the West Coast Eagles, Perth Festival, Woodside, Rio Tinto and APM Human Services International.
Hon Stephen Dawson MLC, Minister for Emergency Services; Innovation and ICT; Medical Research; Volunteering; Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council.
Minister Dawson was elected to represent the Mining & Pastoral Region at the 2013 state election. He
served as Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne and Goldfields-Esperance regions before being promoted to the position of Shadow Minister for Mental Health; Disability Services and Child Protection in September 2013.
Minister Dawson has been a Chief of Staff to a number of Government Ministers in Western Australia and Victoria, and immediately prior to his election to Parliament he worked as the WA State Manager for Essential Media Communications.
During the McGowan Government’s first term in 2017 Minister Dawson served as the Minister for Environment; Disability Services; Electoral Affairs.
Following the March 2021 state election, he was appointed as the Minister for Mental Health; Aboriginal Affairs; Industrial Relations.
In December 2021, a Cabinet reshuffle saw Minister Dawson appointed as Minister for Emergency Services; Innovation and ICT; Medical Research; Volunteering.
Minister Dawson is the Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council.
Dr Liz Dallimore
Chief Executive Officer, Argenica Therapeutics
Dr Liz Dallimore is a research & development, innovation, and commercialisation specialist with over 20 years' experience across Australia and the UK. Prior to joining Argenica Therapeutics as CEO, Dr Dallimore was the Director of the WA Data Science
Innovation Hub, tasked with working across WA businesses to establish innovative data science projects. Dr Dallimore has also held senior roles in management consulting across Australia, most recently as KPMG's National Director of Research Engagement
and Commercialisation. Prior to this she held senior roles with Ernst & Young and Price Waterhouse Coopers.
Dr. Dallimore is a co-founder of medical device company Inspiring Holdings, sits on the AusBiotech WA Committee, and is a non-executive Director of NERA, a Federal Government Growth Centre. Dr Dallimore has a PhD in Neuroscience jointly completed at
Oxford University and the University of Western Australia and has worked as a neuroscientist at the Australian Neuromuscular Research Institute (now Perron Institute). In 2020, Dr Dallimore was recognised as one of Western Australia's Top Women in
Tech.
Jayden Rogers
Chief Executive Officer, Linear Clinical Research
Mr Jayden Rogers is a life sciences professional with a diverse range of entrepreneurial experiences spanning biotechnology, healthcare, and start-ups. Mr Rogers first joined Linear Clinical Research as Global Business Developing Manager before he became Chief Operating Office and then Chief Executive Officer of the organisation. Prior to joining Linear, Mr Rogers was the commercial manager of OBJ, and Australian-listed biotechnology company that successfully licensed its transdermal drug delivery platform with Proctor & Gamble.
Mr Rogers has experience as a start-up founder of Halo Medical Devices, an award-winning medical device start-up which commercialised and licensed an innovative joint range of motion assessment devices. He has operated a range of private healthcare practices in Australia and the UK and has driven change and innovation in a variety of roles across private, public, and not-for-profit sectors.
Dr Tracey Wilkinson
Director Stakeholder Engagement Western Australia, MTPConnect WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub
At the MTPConnect WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub, Dr Wilkinson works to accelerate growth of the medtech, biotech, pharma, and digital health sector in WA. She is also the vice-chair of the Life Sciences WA Executive Committee.
Dr Wilkinson most recently worked at the Telethon Kids Institute where she was the Commercialisation and Partnerships Manager, responsible for identifying, assessing, developing, and commercialising opportunities with a focus on sponsored research activities and the building of large-scale engagement and strategic initiatives. During her time there she also co-founded and led the WA Digital Health Accelerator pilot program.
Dr Wilkinson has a background in molecular genetics, gaining a PhD in Bioinformatics from the University of Melbourne, based at the Howard Florey & Walter and Eliza Hall Institutes. Prior to her PhD, she was also the co-founder of an online bioinformatics analysis service. She gained business development experience with Melbourne Ventures at the University of Melbourne, where she worked to commercialise early-stage technologies and IP developed at the University.
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