Prof Susie Nilsson is the Research Director for the Biomedical Manufacturing program with CSIRO (the Commonwealth Science and Industry Research Organisation), Australia’s National Science Agency. Her portfolio encompasses the development and translation of complex medicines and their associated delivery biotechnologies; enabling equitable access to medical and animal health products in Australia and the surrounding region and ensuring these are made available to populations most critically in need. Susie has an extensive history in biologics and specifically haematopoietic stem cell research. She completed her PhD at Melbourne University and post-doctoral studies at the University of Massachusetts prior to taking up a position at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute then the Australian Stem Cell Centre. She moved to CSIRO in 2009 and was appointed as an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. She became a group leader at the Australian Regenerative Medical Institute, Monash University in 2013 and a CSIRO Science Leader in 2014. Her current role sees her overseeing scientists with multidisciplinary expertise as well as translational capability spanning applied research to regulated manufacturing. She works across CSIRO and with external academic, industrial, philanthropic, and Australian and ASEAN government partners to develop sovereign capability for manufacturing drugs, vaccines and biologics at scale, thereby strengthening the region’s health and biosecurity and overcoming global supply chain failures. She won the 2023 BioMelbourne Network Inspiring Women’s leadership award.