Scientific Advisors
Cancure’s Scientific Advisors have published extensively, and are both internationally recognised as leaders in their fields.
Professor Jiri Neuzil
Dr Neuzil is a Professor at Griffith University and heads Molecular Medicine at the Gold Coast Campus, where he established and leads the Mitochondria, Apoptosis and Cancer (MAC) Research Group within the School of Medical Science and the Griffith Health Institute.
Dr Neuzil has a conjoint appointment at the Institute of Biotechnology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (Prague), heading the Molecular Therapy Group. He is a world-leading expert in the cancer-fighting potential of vitamin E (VE) analogues and the inventor of novel therapeutic compositions and methods of targeting mitochondria to treat cancer. He also discovered that vitamin E succinate suppresses tumours without off-target toxicity. In addition, Dr Neuzil has developed several VE analogues with potential activity against difficult-to-treat mesotheliomas and HER2-positive breast cancers, and is presently organising a number of human clinical trials to demonstrate safety and efficacy in these indications.
During his tenure at Griffith University, Dr Neuzil has attracted substantial research funding from Australian and international sources. He is on the editorial board of several research journals, including BMC Cancer, Oncology Research, and Recent Patents on Anti-Cancer Drug Discovery, and has published approximately 160 peer-reviewed journal articles attracting more than 4,600 citations.
Associate Professor Stephen Ralph
Dr Stephen Ralph is Associate Professor at Griffith University, heading Vaccine Development at the Gold Coast Campus. Internationally recognised in cancer immunology and vaccines, Dr Ralph has devoted over two decades to research and development.
Dr Ralph has authored extensive peer-reviewed publications, and has frequently been awarded grant funding by the National Health and Medical Research Council and Cancer Council Australia. He holds a BSc in Biochemistry and Physiology from the University of Otago, New Zealand; an MSc in Cell Biology (Honours) from the University of Auckland, New Zealand; and an MBA from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
As Cancure’s Chief Scientist, Dr Ralph brings a valuable network of oncologists and cancer researchers to advance Cancure’s drug development programs and candidates for the benefit of cancer patients.
Professor Mark Rizzacasa
Professor Mark Rizzacasa obtained his BSc Honours degree in 1986 and a PhD in 1990 under the guidance of Professor Melvyn V. Sargent at the University of Western Australia. He then moved on to the USA and spent 2 years as a postdoctoral fellow in Professor Robert Ireland’s research group at the University of Virginia. In early 1993, he returned to Australia to begin an appointment as lecturer in the School of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne and was promoted to Associate Professor and Reader in 2003.
Professor Rizzacasa was awarded the Royal Australian Chemical Institute Rennie Memorial Medal in 1997, the Tasmanian Alkaloids Lecturership in 2002, the Organic Reactions Lectureship in 2005 and the David Syme Research Prize in 2006. In addition, Professor Rizzacasa was awarded the 2005 Organic Reactions Lectureship and the prestigious RACI A. J. Birch medal in 2010. His main interest is the total synthesis of bioactive natural products.
Professor Rizzacasa is providing expert chemistry advice to Cancure in relation to the CNC332 and CNC230 projects.