BioGrid Executive Team

Meet the team that manages BioGrid's day-to-day operations.

Chief Executive Officer

BA Bus (Hons), MBA, FIML, MAICD, MAIDH

Maureen Turner is a highly respected leader in health informatics and currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of BioGrid Australia, a not-for-profit membership organisation. With over 15 years’ experience in healthcare and research, she has been pivotal in advancing data integration and collaborative research efforts across the country. 

Maureen specialises in the strategic development and management of complex data platforms that enable secure and ethical access to integrated clinical, genomic, and biospecimen data for researchers and clinicians.

Under Maureen’s leadership, BioGrid Australia has expanded its capabilities, supported translational research and improved patient outcomes through the integration of diverse datasets. Her commitment to ethical data sharing and her strategic vision have established BioGrid and its membership as a leader in the Australian health informatics landscape.

Maureen holds honorary fellow positions at the University of Melbourne in the Centre for Digital Transformation of Health and Deakin University in the Institute for Health Transformation. 

Prior to her current role Maureen held senior management positions in the commercial sector in Business Development, Marketing, Operations and Commercial Risk at global companies Ford Motor Credit Company and Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance.

Between 2001 and 2011, Maureen was a non-executive director of the Australian Institute of Management – Victoria & Tasmania (now known as Institute of Managers and Leaders), where for the last four years of her tenure she was the Board Deputy Chair. In addition, Maureen was a member of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee for seven years.

Maureen is the current Company Secretary of BioGrid Australia.

Head, Infrastructure and Data Engineering

BS (Computer Science), MBus and IT

Wisam Abdelaziz leads a team that manages the critical activities of ingestion and linkage of data, as well as managing and maintaining the infrastructure that supports BioGrid’s data sharing platform.

In addition, Wisam is the organisation’s security officer, responsible for ensuring that the technology underpinning BioGrid’s services is robust, reliable and secure.

Wisam’s team works with data custodians to enable their data sets to be shared and linked via BioGrid’s platform, and to provide updates to the linkages if the data sets are updated or modified over time.

As a member of the executive team, Wisam supports BioGrid’s CEO Maureen Turner in BioGrid’s strategic infrastructure planning and development. This includes being responsible for information security across BioGrid’s infrastructure and systems.

Wisam joined BioGrid in 2018, after many years working in IT across several industry sectors including construction and education. He holds a Computer Science degree, along with a Masters of Business and Information Technology from the University of Melbourne.

Before joining BioGrid, Wisam was the Manager of Database Applications at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) and Business Intelligence Analyst at Chisholm Institute. He has held consulting roles as Senior IT Manager for global clients in the energy and water industries.

Ethics and Governance Manager, Privacy Manager

BA, BSc(Hons), PhD, MClinEpid

Allison Bourne holds dual roles as BioGrid’s ethics and governance manager and the organisation’s privacy manager.

As ethics and governance manager, Allison oversees both ethics and governance for all data linked to BioGrid as well as specific registry projects. Allison ensures that ethics applications and approvals requesting access to data connected to the BioGrid platform comply with relevant privacy legislation and the NHRMC guidelines for medical research.

In addition, Allison manages BioGrid’s Access Request System, receiving the access requests for projects and administering them through BioGrid’s internal processes and relevant Human Research Ethics Committees, if required.

As privacy manager, Allison is responsible for promoting strong privacy governance and capability within BioGrid, and helping all staff understand our individual and organisational obligations under the Privacy Act 1988.

As a member of the executive team, Allison supports BioGrid’s CEO Maureen Turner in data privacy legislative and ethical compliance strategic planning and development, as well as providing expert privacy advice and guidance to BioGrid’s members and collaborators.

Allison started her career in molecular biology and holds a PhD in Biochemistry and a Master of Clinical Epidemiology. After gaining her doctorate she progressed to a post-doctorate in Philadelphia, USA, then transitioned into epidemiology and moved back to Melbourne.

She joined BioGrid as Ethics and Governance Officer in 2020. Prior to working with BioGrid, Allison was a Research Coordinator at Cabrini Hospital in the Monash Department of Clinical Epidemiology, as well as the Executive Officer for the Australia and New Zealand Musculoskeletal (ANZMUSC) Clinical Trials Network.

Communications Specialist

BAppSc (Information Management)

Anita Coia has been working with BioGrid since 2022, creating compelling content and coordinating the business’ corporate and marketing communications activities.

With a specialised Applied Science degree equipping her to communicate complex information, Anita has more than 20 years’ experience with internal and external corporate and project communications across a range of industries including telecommunications, government, education, retail, financial services and tourism.

This experience has assisted Anita to quickly understand the medical research sector that BioGrid operates within and to shape communications for the relevant audiences in this sector.

As a member of the executive team, Anita supports BioGrid’s CEO Maureen Turner in BioGrid’s marketing and communications strategic planning and development to support organisational awareness and growth.

Recent roles prior to BioGrid have included Stakeholder Engagement and Communications at Alpine Resorts Victoria, Media and Communications at Mt Hotham Resort Management, Media and Communications at Melbourne Polytechnic, and Corporate Affairs for the Technology function at NAB.

Head, Data Science and Registries

BAppSc (LabMed), GCertSc (Stat)

Javier Haurat manages a multi-disciplinary team that provides data services and registry development to BioGrid’s collaborators.

Data Science involves helping BioGrid partners refine their research questions and work with data available on BioGrid’s platform to ensure they get the optimal result when searching for data. This work encompasses data curation – ensuring raw data sets are ready for analysis by researchers or for providing analytical and reporting support to clients. The team also works with researchers to develop common data models to standardise their data for easier analysis and faster combining with other data sources.

The team’s Registries function is focused on assisting BioGrid clients build bespoke registry solutions to enable data collection for their research. The team has 10 years’ experience with over 15 registries developed during this time period covering biobanking, dermatology and oncology (inclusive of various solid tumours and rare cancers).

Javier’s team also develops and maintains REDCap database projects providing a less complex, cost-effective solution for data collection. Disease areas implemented include infectious diseases and oncology.

As a member of the executive team, Javier supports BioGrid’s CEO Maureen Turner in BioGrid’s data science strategic planning and development, as well as providing expert data advice and guidance to BioGrid’s members and collaborators.

Javier joined BioGrid in 2015 as a project officer, after completing a degree in Applied Science (Laboratory Medicine) and a diploma in Biotechnology at RMIT.

Prior to BioGrid, Javier worked as Laboratory Operations Officer in the Department of Immunology (AMREP) at Monash University, and as Chief Technician in the Cell Therapies department at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

Operations Manager

BMedSc, ACertBA, Grad Dip Org Beh

Domenic Persano has been Operations Manager at BioGrid since 2018, supporting the organisation’s CEO with a number of critical operational functions.

These functions include finance (accounts payable and receivable), contract management, payroll, recruitment, and working with the human resources (HR) team at Melbourne Health (who provide BioGrid’s HR policies and processes).

Domenic is responsible for assisting team leaders with onboarding new staff and ensuring mandatory training requirements are met and kept up to date.

As part of his corporate administrative role, Domenic manages the organisation of BioGrid member committee meetings as well as relevant sub committees and user groups.

In addition, Domenic manages the organisation of team social events which is appreciated by managers and staff alike.

As a member of the executive team, Domenic supports BioGrid’s CEO Maureen Turner in BioGrid’s business administrative strategic planning and development to support robust organisational processes and operations.

With a degree in medical laboratory science and a background managing pathology laboratories in both public and private hospital settings, Domenic is well versed in the challenges of managing operations in the medical field. He also holds an advanced certificate in business administration and a graduate diploma in organisational behaviour.

Prior to working at BioGrid, Domenic held the roles of Regional Business Manager and State Operations Manager and Laboratory Manager for Dorevitch Pathology after a long career in that company. Early in his career he was a Medical Scientist at The Alfred hospital and Meldoc Private Laboratories.