Macdonald goes permanent for stem cell centre

Emeritus Professor Graham Macdonald has been appointed permanent chair of the board of directors of the Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASCC).

He has been acting as interim chair since the previous board stood down following the controversial sacking of former CEO Professor Stephen Livesy in July last year.

The Dean of Medicine at Monash University and former Burnet Institute director Professor Steve Wesselingh is a new director of the board, joining Emeritus Professor Richard Smallwood of the University of Melbourne; ViciBio founder Dr Peter Riddles; IDT Australia chair and former professor of pharmaceutical chemistry Dr Graeme Blackman; haematologist Dr Chris Juttner; and director of the University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Professor Brandon Wainwright.

The ASCC is due to implement a new research strategy this year, following a wholesale review of its operations. The former board and Livesy are understood to have completely disagreed over the centre’s direction, leading to a breakdown in the relationship.

It has been a rocky year for the centre, with chief scientific officer Professor Melissa Little standing down last October and no new CEO yet announced. David Collins is acting CEO and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre luminary Professor Joe Sambrook is acting in a part-time capacity as interim scientific director.