Dr Anna Lavelle has been awarded a Member of the Order in the King's Birthday Honours for her significant service to science and innovation.
AusBiotech today congratulates Dr Anna Lavelle, the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of AusBiotech, for her recent appointment to the Member of Order as announced by the Governor-General in Canberra yesterday.
Dr Lavelle led AusBiotech as CEO from 2005 to 2016, where she initiated the transformation of the organisation and the industry with her pioneering approach to policy impacting the commercialisation of medical research and biotechnology industry development, including the Victorian pilot of a PhD mentoring program (IMNIS) that has moved to a national base and remains today a critical development programme for Victorian PhD students.
AusBiotech CEO Lorraine Chiroiu says, "I am delighted to see Anna recognised for her unwavering contribution to biotechnology and innovation. Anna is a trailblazer in every sense of the term and she remains connected, proactive and supportive to this day. As well as the significant policy change that she led to develop the R&D Tax Incentive, her dedication over more than a decade has been of great benefit the biotechnology sector in Australia, and to AusBiotech.
"Anna was recognised for her efforts through Honorary Life Membership of AusBiotech in 2016. Her leadership was pivotal in the development of the Victorian and Australian biotechnology industry, and she remains a tireless advocate for change and improvement; challenging the status quo in a respectful and intelligent way."
Dr Lavelle is the Chair of Medicines Australia and Avatar Brokers, and a Non-Executive Director for Sementis Ltd, Island Pharmaceuticals, Cyban Pty Ltd and Hemideina. Past Chair roles include ANDHealth and North Richmond Community Health, while Dr Lavelle has also held past directorships BioMedVic, Haemokinesis Pty Ltd, Vaccine Technology CRC and Research Australia.
In recognition of her contributions to the sector, Dr Lavelle has received a number of awards and accolades over time for her commitment to the sector, including the 2018 AusBiotech Johnson and Johnson Excellence Award for Industry Leadership and the 2019 BioMelbourne Women in Leadership - Impact for Industry Award.
Dr Lavelle was also named amongst the 100 Most Influential People in Global Life Sciences in Scientific American Worldwide's A Global Biotechnology Perspective edition in 2015.
