Professor Guillaume Lessene is a leader in academic small molecule drug discovery with a passion for enabling the translation of Australia’s science into first-in-class therapeutics.

He led research into the development of novel small molecules targeting the cell’s cell death machinery, which is deregulated in most cancers. One aspect of this work was as a key member of the tripartite collaboration between WEHI, Genetech and Abbvie, which undertook the foundational work on what is now the marketed drug Venetoclax.

Guillaume also led the establishment of the National Drug Discovery Centre, breaming with expertise and capabilities, a critical platform in Australia.