Our Team

Our Mission

Our mission is to be a world class anti-fibrotic company by developing innovative, targeted therapeutics to treat serious, often life-threatening fibrotic diseases including scleroderma, chronic kidney disease, diabetic nephropathy and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

Management Team

Mr Thomas Mathers

Vice Chair & Director

Tom Mathers joined Certa Therapeutics as Vice Chairman in 2025.

Tom is a partner at Pappas Capital and has more than 30 years of executive management experience in the life science and medical device industries. He operates out of Boston and focuses primarily on company formation. Tom currently serves as the Executive Chairman of the Board for Aer Therapeutics, Inc., a Pappas Ventures VI portfolio company. He also serves as Treasurer and a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), where he is active in the areas of advocacy, regulatory policy, capital formation, bioethics and intellectual property policy.

In 2019, Tom founded Allievex Corp., a Pappas Ventures V portfolio company, and served as its President and CEO, as well as a director, until its acquisition in 2024. Prior to Allievex, He was the President and CEO of CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCD), a Pappas Ventures III founded company, which focused on the development of lasmiditan for the acute treatment of migraine headaches. Eli Lilly & Company acquired CoLucid in 2017 in an all-cash transaction worth nearly $1 billion. Prior to CoLucid, Tom was President and CEO of Peptimmune, Inc.; President and CEO of Cell Based Delivery, Inc.; Vice President and General Manager of Cardion AG; and Vice President of Strategic Development at Genzyme Corporation.

Tom is also a Member of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses (RACGWVI). From 1988 to 1991, Tom served as a captain in the United States Army and was awarded several medals for his services as an AH-64 Apache helicopter pilot in the Gulf War.

Mr Thomas Mathers

Vice Chair & Director

Dr Simona Carbone

DIRECTOR OF BD & OPERATIONS

Simona Carbone joined Certa Therapeutics as Program Manager in 2024. She has been Director of Business Development and Operations since 2026.

Simona has more than 15 years of experience in biomedical research in the field of neurogastroenterology. She holds a concurrent role as Senior Research Fellow at Monash University (Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences), where she leads an industry-facing research laboratory. Simona’s research laboratory receives funding from industry, government, and philanthropic sources. Simona brings to Certa Therapeutics her expertise in external relationships management with academics, clinicians, and industry professionals.

In addition, Simona holds consultancy roles with international biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. She is producer and host of ‘The Lead Candidate,’ a podcast aimed at understanding what makes for a great leader in science.

Dr Simona Carbone

DIRECTOR OF BD & OPERATIONS

Dr Michelle Papadimitriou

R&D DIRECTOR

Michelle Papadimitriou joined Certa Therapeutics as a Research and Commercialisation Associate in 2018. She has been Research and Development Director since 2022.

Michelle has more than 5 years of experience in drug development, managing pre-clinical efficacy, safety, and toxicology studies to progress drug candidates to Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials. She also has more than 15 years of experience in biomedical research.

Concurrent to this role, Michelle was Head of Research and Development with OccuRx (2020-2024).

Michelle has a PhD from the University of Melbourne in immunogenetics and has completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Centre for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (Germany).

Dr Michelle Papadimitriou

R&D DIRECTOR

Dr Eric Zanelli

R&D Consultant

Eric Zanelli began consulting for Certa Therapeutics in 2025. He contributes to the design and implementation of preclinical and clinical R&D activities.

Eric has 25 years of executive experience in the biotechnology industry. He co-founded Allievex Corp. and was its Head of Research until 2024. He was responsible for all nonclinical and translational medicine aspects of the projects; he was the principal analyst and writer for most of the documents submitted to the FDA. Prior to the founding of Allievex, Eric served as Senior Scientific Advisor at CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCD), where he focused on the development of lasmiditan for the acute treatment of migraine headaches. He has also served in senior scientific management roles at Peptimmune Inc., Praecis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Cardion AG. Additionally, Eric was the Scientific Founder of Décilion Holdings LLC, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. He is the co-author of 52 peer-reviewed scientific articles and a co-inventor or sole inventor of 12 families of granted or pending patent applications.

Prior to his industry roles, Eric was a Senior Investigator at the Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands, from 1996 to 2000 and a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Immunology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN, from 1992 to 1996.

Dr Eric Zanelli

R&D Consultant

Board of Directors

Dr John Kurek

DIRECTOR

John is the Biotechnology Investment Director at Uniseed, Australia’s longest running venture fund, with investment capital provided by nine leading Australian universities, the national science agency CSIRO and leading Australian Superannuation Fund, UniSuper. He is responsible for identifying new investment opportunities from Uniseed partner research organisations and also covers Uniseed’s overall biotechnology and life sciences portfolio.

John brings 28 years of industry experience as a Biotechnology Manager with a focus on the strategic design and implementation of drug development programs. John’s previous roles have included Pharmaceutical Development Manager at BioDiem Ltd., managing the preclinical, clinical and regulatory aspects of BioDiem’s drug development programs, and Preclinical Development Manager at Amrad Corporation Ltd., where he was responsible for the management of preclinical drug development projects.

His experience extends from drug discovery to the clinical phase of drug development. He has acted as a Director on the Board of investee companies that have collectively raised more than AU$350 million. John has a PhD in Neuroscience and a Post Graduate Diploma in Drug Evaluation & Pharmaceutical Science, both from the University of Melbourne, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Dr John Kurek

DIRECTOR

Prof. Carol Pollock

INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR

Professor Carol Pollock is an academic nephrologist with over 310 publications in basic research, largely relating to renal fibrosis and progressive renal disease as well as in clinical trials.

Carol is an inaugural Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (2015), was conferred a Vice Chancellors Award for Excellence in Research Supervision (2012) and recognised as a ‘Distinguished Professor’ by the University of Sydney (2012).

Carol was the 2014 recipient of the Ministerial Award for Excellence in Cardiovascular Research and was Scientific Chairman of the 2013 World Congress of Nephrology. Carol is Chair of Kidney Health Australia, Deputy Chair of the Board of the Australian Organ, Tissue and Transplant Authority, Chair of the NSW Cardiovascular Research Network and inaugural Chair and now co-chair of the Research Advisory Committee of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Nephrology. Carol’s health leadership roles also include inaugural Chair of the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation, immediate past Chair of the Clinical Excellence Commission, remaining as a director of both organisations till April 2016. Carol was Chair of the Northern Sydney Local Health District Board since its inception in 2011 till Dec 2016, was appointed to the Board of the Bureau of Health Information in April 2016 and assumed Chairmanship of the Bureau in November 2016. Carol is the current Convenor of the NSW Council of Board Chairs of Local Health Districts and Specialty Networks.

Prof. Carol Pollock

INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR

Dr Leslie Cousens

BOARD OBSERVER

Dr Leslie Cousens is Senior Director, GI Search & Evaluation Lead, R&D BD Center for External Innovation, Takeda (Boston/Cambridge, MA). She is an immunologist and seasoned biopharmaceutical leader with a cross-sector career spanning academic immunology research, biotech innovation, and major pharma strategy roles.

At Takeda, she leads GI Search & Evaluation within the Center for External Innovation, where she identifies, assesses, and advances promising external science and partnership opportunities in support of the GI & Inflammation Therapy Area. Before joining Takeda, she spent over eight years at AstraZeneca, progressing through roles in Translational Medicine and later Business Development, Licensing & Strategy within the Respiratory & Immunology organization. Her earlier biotech experience includes serving as Scientific Director of Protein Therapeutics at EpiVax, Inc., where she drove discovery research & development, as well as academic & industry partnerships.

Dr. Cousens holds a PhD in Biology and Medicine from Brown University, providing the strong scientific foundation that underpins her work at the intersection of innovation and strategic R&D growth.

Dr Leslie Cousens

BOARD OBSERVER

Dr Chris Nave

Chairperson & director

Chris is a founding partner and Managing Director of Brandon Capital and Chief Executive Officer of Brandon BioCatalyst. Chris has more than 20 years of experience in venture capital investing into pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Previous roles both locally and internationally in the pharmaceutical, technology transfer and biotechnology industries have seen Chris involved directly in the management, fundraising and growth of biomedical companies.

Chris previously was Director of Commercialisation at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia. He was responsible for the commercialisation of technologies developed at the Baker and the Alfred Hospital, including the management of local and international spinout companies.

Prior to this, Chris was the Manager of the Biotechnology Team at Melbourne Ventures, the commercialisation company of the University of Melbourne. Concurrently during this period, he was an Investment Manager for, and on the investment committee of, Uniseed Pty Ltd, a $60 million pre-seed fund. Chris has international experience with Leiras Pharmaceuticals in Finland, a wholly owned subsidiary of Schering AG, working for their Business Development group. He successfully moved companies to the US, securing investment from US investors for these companies. Past directorships have seen Chris involved directly in the management, fundraising, and successful spinouts of various companies in the life sciences industry. In October 2014, Chris was awarded the AusBiotech Johnson & Johnson Industry Leadership Award.

Chris is currently a Director of OccuRx Pty Ltd, Osprey Medical Inc., PolyActiva Pty Ltd, Global Kinetics Corporation, QueOncology Pty Ltd, Azura Ophthalmics, EBR Systems Inc., Pathios Therapeutics Ltd., and Cardiora Pty Ltd. Chris was also Chairperson of Fibrotech Therapeutics at the time of its successful sale to Shire and a Director of Spinifex Pharmaceuticals at the time of its sale to Novartis.

Chris has a first-class Honours degree in Science and a Ph.D. in Endocrinology and Physiology from the University of Melbourne and he has completed the Private Equity and Venture Capital Program at Harvard Business School, Boston, MA.