DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH

Ben has been engaged in extensive innovative spinal research since 2001. In the past seven years, he has received awards and recognition from the Spine Society, Australia and from the highly competitive Queensland ‘Smart State’ program.

Ben is co-author of “Acute delivery of VEGF and PDGF reduces secondary degeneration after spinal cord injury” accepted for publication in the prestigious Journal of Neurotrauma.

This paper was hailed as the best presentation at the Australian Spinal Association Conference, May 2011.

DIRECTOR – NATIONAL CENTRE FOR ADULT STEM CELL RESEARCH

Professor Alan Mackay-Sim is Director of the National Centre for Adult Stem Cell Research
and in 2003 was named Queenslander of the Year.

He is Professor of Neuroscience in the School of Biomolecular and Physical Sciences and
Deputy Director of the Eskitis Institute for Cell and Molecular Therapies, Griffi th University and
is Honorary Professor, School of Medicine, University of Queensland. He was educated at
Macquarie University (BA Hons, PhD) and the University of Pennsylvania (post-doc) and held
faculty positions at the University of Sydney, the University of Wyoming and the University of
Adelaide before moving to Griffi th University in 1987.

In 2006 Professor Mackay-Sim established the National Centre for Adult Stem Cell Research.
The Centre’s research focus is to develop cell therapies for nervous system repair, and stem
cell models to understand and treat brain diseases. Professor Mackay-Sim is an international
expert on spinal cord injury repair and recently directed a world-fi rst Phase I clinical trial of
patient-derived cell transplantation into the injured spinal cord in human paraplegia.

PROMOTER FOR THE WALK AGAIN SOCIETY

Don is a life-long innovator and philanthropist.

He spent most of his career with the Shipbuilding & Engineering company, NQEA, of which he
was its CEO and Owner. In recognition of his extraordinary contribution to construction, Don
was awarded the QUT Distinguished Constructor’s Award in 2004 and was inducted in to the
QUT Construction Hall of Fame. He specialises in innovative engineering design solutions and
for the last 5 years has worked with leading surgeons in Sydney, developing medical devices
for improving orthopaedic and spinal surgery. (www.dgfry.com.au)

Don Fry was Chairman of the Commonwealth Advisory Committee on Homelessness during the
Howard term of Government. He is patron of the FNQ Independent Living Support Association
Inc. and was Chair of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, Cairns Corp. for the last 35 years.
Don is also a co-author with Dr. Ben Goss and others of a paper describing research using
hyperbaric oxygen treatment for animals with traumatic spinal cord injury and continues to be
involved with the ongoing research programme at QUT.

Don Fry is the recipient of Engineers Australia’s most prestigious national awards and an
inaugural inductee to the Queensland Division Hall of Fame