Alan Trounson

Alan Trounson is Emeritus Professor, Monash University and Distinguished Scientist, Hudson Institute of Medical Research. He is the past President of the Californian Institute for Regenerative Medicine (2007-2014), the Californian state’s $3 billion stem cell agency driving research in stem cell biology and facilitating the translation of stem cell discoveries into clinical therapies.

He was a pioneer of human in vitro fertilisation (IVF) (1977-1996), introducing fertility drugs for controlling ovulation, embryo freezing techniques, egg and embryo donation methods, early sperm microinjection methods, initiated embryo biopsy, developing in vitro oocyte maturation methods, and the vitrification of eggs and embryos.

He was appointed Director of the Centre for Early Human Development at Monash University in 1986 and Deputy Director/Director of the Monash Institute for Reproduction and Development (1990-2003). He led the Australian team for the discovery of human embryonic stem cells in the late 1990s and was awarded the first Australian Biotechnology of Excellence and was the founding CEO of the Australian Stem Cell Centre. He founded the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories (MISCL) at Monash University (2004-2007).

He is presently the founding CEO/President of the start-up company Cartherics Pty Ltd, developing Chimeric Antigen Receptor Technology (CAR-T)/T Cell Receptor (TCR) therapies using induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) as an off-the-shelf approach for treating cancer. Cartherics is sited on the 7th Floor of the Translation Research Facility Building, Monash Health Translation Precinct.