Auckland, March 16th 2021
Our Team
Waitangi Treaty Grounds, North Island
Board of Directors
Rick Christie
DNAiTECH Ltd Board Chairman
Mr. Christie is a professional Director and company Chairman with appointments in both the private and public sectors. He has had considerable experience as a Chief Executive with his most recent position being CEO of diversified investment company Rangatira Ltd., from which he retired in 2004. Prior to that appointment he has had extensive involvement in the export sector, including Tradenz (The New Zealand Trade Development Board) where he was Chief Executive from 1990 to 1996. He has an extensive background in management including 21 years in the oil industry in New Zealand and overseas, his positions being in general management and as a Director of the holding company, BP New Zealand Limited. In 1987 he was appointed Managing Director of the highly diversified listed industrial group, Cable Price Downer Ltd, which was extensively restructured over his four years at the helm. Mr. Christie is an MSc (Hons) graduate in chemistry from Victoria University. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Directors. In 2003 he was made a Hunter Fellow of Victoria University of Wellington, and in 2010 was made a Companion of the Royal Society of NZ, Te Aparangi. He is currently Chairman of NeSI, (the NZ supercomputer network) and, until recently, ikeGPS Ltd., and Solnet Solutions Ltd. He is also currently Chairman of The Royal Society of New Zealand Endowment Trust. He has recently retired as Chairman of Service IQ, and until 2015 he was Chairman of EBOS Group Ltd. for 12 years. Before that, he was Chairman of AgResearch Ltd., the Science Media Centre and the Growth and Innovation Advisory Board. He was also a Director of Southport Ltd., Acurity Health Ltd., Tourism Holdings Ltd., the NZ Pork Industry Board, Deputy Chairman of the Foundation for Research Science & Technology and Chairman of the Victoria University Foundation Board of Trustees. He has also had a close involvement in a number of New Zealand sports and arts organizations and the media. He was a Director of Television New Zealand for 7 years, a founding Director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and a past President of Chamber Music New Zealand. Mr. Christie is married with three adult children and lives in Wellington, New Zealand.
Kevin Darling
DNAiTECH Ltd CCO and Board Member
Kevin's commercial background spans multiple sectors, including FMCG, industrial, and retail, but most of his experience has been gained in the medical and veterinary sectors. Starting with BOC Gases in the United Kingdom in the mid-1990s, he held commercial management positions with several multinational blue chip companies, including BOC, Mars, and 3M. After relocating to New Zealand in the early 2000s, Kevin became the Group General Manager (Australasia) for Gribbles Veterinary Pathology, a Healthscope-owned company providing diagnostic testing and pathology services to veterinarians across New Zealand and Australia. He was also a Healthscope New Zealand executive team member, providing leadership and strategic direction for the company's human pathology business. Kevin later joined Collagen Solutions, initially as General Manager (New Zealand) but rising to the position of Vice President of Global Tissue Supply, sourcing a variety of xenograft biomaterials for medical device companies across the globe. Having held executive commercial positions in the U.K., New Zealand, and the U.S.A. in 2024, he relocated to South Australia. He established his own consulting business, offering scientific and technical support to a range of clients. Kevin is also a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors and sits on the boards of DNAiTECH and Koru Biotech Solutions Limited, an early-stage veterinary and medical diagnostics company.
Dr Murray Broom
DNAiTECH Ltd CEO and Founder
Murray Broom is the founder and CEO of DNAiTECH. He is a molecular biologist and a serial innovator, DNAiTECH is his third startup company. His background in molecular diagnostics included the mapping of the ovine locus for Batten disease, an animal model for the devastating human neurodegenerative disease neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis. Murray is passionate about innovations for point-of-care diagnostics and has driven the R&D program at DNAiTECH that has led to the development of PLACID (paper-based LAMP-CRISPR integrated diagnostics). Murray is also the co-founder of Izon Science Ltd.
Marie Leroux
SPROUT Board Observer
Marie Leroux is a Venture Associate at Sprout Agritech in Christchurch, specialising in identifying and evaluating promising agritech and foodtech startups for investment and acceleration. She previously held global roles at Nestlé R&D in France and Switzerland, focusing on dairy products and bridging the gap between consumers, science, and marketing. Since joining Sprout in May 2023, Marie has contributed to the acceleration of over 15 startups and played a key role in launching a program focusing on the Germinate program, providing a commercial lens to CRI and university projects. Marie holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Université de Caen Basse Normandie (France) and a Master's degree in Organic Chemistry, Food Flavour, Consumer Insights, and Sensory Analysis from ISIPCA Versailles (France).
Founder
Tatiana Ceban
DNAiTECH Ltd Founder
She has steadfastly supported DNAiTECH from its inception, demonstrating unwavering faith and enthusiasm. She is passionate about integrating innovative technologies into various fields and making them available to people in under-resourced countries. In addition to her financial investments, Tatiana contributes through web design, marketing, professional supervision, and a great deal of encouragement. Tatiana holds a Master’s degree in Psychology and works as a counsellor, therapist, coach, and experienced supervisor.
Science Advisors
Dr. Warren Tate
Emeritus Professor, FRSNZ CNZM
DNAiTECH Ltd Science Advisor
Emeritus Professor Warren Tate has been an academic researcher at the University of Otago New Zealand for 57 years studying fundamental mechanisms of DNA, RNA and protein underpinning the central dogma of molecular biology. He has been awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society of New Zealand, a Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany, and has been made an International Research Scholar of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute of the United States. Professor Tate was awarded the Distinguished Research medal of the University of Otago (2006), New Zealand’s top Science medal, the Rutherford medal (2010), and the Marsden medal of the Association of NZ Scientists (2018). His recent research has focussed on poorly understood human diseases where there are no readily accessible molecular diagnostic tests. His main research focus now is on ME/CFS and Long COVID, with preclinical multi-omic studies of New Zealand patients to understand the pathophysiology and the mechanisms sustaining these ongoing diseases. Professor Tate’s current research is focussed on deriving diagnostic molecular signatures from the changes in the epigenetic code of the DNA genome he has identified in patients with these diseases, responsible for dysregulation of gene expression. The ultimate goal is developing a diagnostic signature that can be analysed by a desk top computer, thereby being readily available in all community pathology laboratories for clinicians and their patients. Additionally, he is exploiting the discovery of a recent breakthrough from a Genome Wide Association Screen uniquely coupled with a combinatorial platform that has identified small clusters of genetic variation that can identify most patients with these conditions. The goal is developing a risk molecular diagnostic signature in the DNA genome for the 5-10% of the population who are susceptible to developing these long-term debilitating conditions after exposure to a pandemic or endemic viral stressor.
Dr Shirli Notcovich
Researcher, DNAiTECH Science Advisor
Shirli is an enthusiastic veterinary researcher with a background in cattle health. Through the last 15 years, Shirli has been working for both Clinical Research Organizations (CROs) and Fundamental Research Organizations. Originally from Argentina, where she trained and practiced as a veterinarian, Shirli obtained her Masters’ and Ph.D. degrees in Veterinary Science at Massey University in New Zealand. Since 2020, Shirli has also been a GLP and GCP Study Director/Investigator in multiple projects, including multi-site studies, developing diagnostic tests, target animal safety studies, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, toxicology, residues, vaccine batch testing, etc. She has vast experience in product development for both animal and human health projects helping pharmaceutical companies reach their registration goals. Currently, Shirli is the General Manager and Research Leader of the CRO Estendart Research Ltd, and the Director of Eder Animal Health, a consultancy company helping clients define and scoping their product development pathway.
Dr. Wayne Patrick
Professor, DNAiTECH Science Advisor
Wayne Patrick began his training at the University of Otago (New Zealand) before winning a Prince of Wales Scholarship to do his PhD at the University of Cambridge (UK). This was followed by postdoctoral research at Emory University (Atlanta, GA, USA) before he returned to New Zealand in 2007 to begin his independent academic career. Now he is Professor of Biochemistry at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. He leads an interdisciplinary group that addresses fundamental questions in biochemical evolution, including the evolution of antimicrobial resistance. He also uses his evolutionary insights to engineer enzymes with new properties, with applications as biosensors and as other ultra-high-value catalysts. His contributions at the interface of fundamental biochemistry and applied biotechnology have netted him prizes such as the New Zealand Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s Award for Research Excellence, New Zealand’s Young Biotechnologist of the Year Award, and Massey University’s Early Career Research Medal. Prof Patrick’s intellectual creativity has netted ~$10M in research income as Principal Investigator, including four grants from New Zealand’s prestigious Marsden Fund. He has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles, eleven of which have been cited over 100 times. Prof Patrick is also the lead inventor on five patent families. He is currently working to commercialise his patent-protected biosensor technology in both the food and beverage sector (via an international licensing agreement) and human health (via a start-up).
Research and Development Team
Dr Calum Morris
Research Scientist
Calum is a PhD graduate from Otago University with expertise in molecular and synthetic biology. His PhD program involved research into the mechanisms of a protein called QseM and the quorum-sensing protein TraR, both of which are involved in the regulation of DNA transfer. As a biochemist and microbiologist, Calum brings crucial skills to help advance DNAiTECH’s innovative molecular biomedical and Agritech diagnostic programs.
Dr Honey Gupta
Research Scientist
Honey recently finished her PhD from University of Canterbury in mechanical engineering specialising on biomaterials. Her PhD thesis focused on developing aerogels for applications in encapsulating and delivering bioactive compounds. Her specific fields of interest include biomaterials and functional polymers. With an undergraduate background in electrical engineering and post graduate expertise in biomaterials, Honey brings much needed skills into DNAiTECH’s point-of-care diagnostics program.
Leeann Kerr
Laboratory Manager
Leeann Kerr had previously worked part time at DNAiTECH in 2022. After Sprout Investment in 24, we were able to offer Leeann a full-time position as lab manager. Leeann laboratory experience is extensive, she has worked in two of our key interest areas, Agritech and biomedical health laboratories. She has a wealth of experience in diagnostic laboratories using methods such as ELISA, qPCR, rtPCR as well as classical laboratory methods. Leeann has slipped easily into the team. she brings a careful pair of hands for generating quality data. Her background in laboratory best practice and organizational skills has had a great positive impact at DNAiTECH.