Emeritus Professor Chubb (Ian) is an Australian neuroscientist and academic, who held the position of Chief Scientist of Australia from 23 May 2011 to 22 January 2016. Throughout his career, Ian has made significant contributions to improving the infrastructure for scientific research and training and raised the public profile of science in the media. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1999 and then a Companion in the Order of Australia in 2006 for his service to higher education, including research and development policy in the pursuit of advancing the national interest socially, economically, culturally, and environmentally; and service towards the facilitation of a knowledge-based global economy. Professor Chubb is a strong and effective advocate, supporting innovation and research in Australia over several decades. In his role as the independent Chair of the Inter-Governmental Policy Reform Group (IGPRG) for Health and Human Research he brings with him the enormous wealth of expertise and experience gained in his professional roles, along with his own direct experience as a participant in a clinical trial. The Australian Government is collaborating with all Australian states and territories through the IGPRG to grow the number of clinical trials run in Australia, while also removing red tape from the process for industry and other key stakeholders.

Linda Cristine joined the department in October 2024 and has been the Director of Medical Research for the Victorian government for the previous nine years. Linda has worked in senior government roles in the health departments of Victoria and New South Wales as well as leadership roles in human services. Her background is research and evaluation. She has a Masters of Bioethics, an Executive Master of Public Administration, a BA in Communications and over 20 years senior executive service experience. Linda was a lecturer in Health Policy and Planning at Sydney University, teaching post-graduate students. She has also worked at the University of Western Sydney as a lecturer and tutor and been a regular guest lecturer at the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health at Western Sydney University and guest lecturer at Monash and Melbourne Universities. Linda was responsible for the design of accredited competency-based training programs in Health Planning, Research and Evaluation used in health service qualifications in New South Wales. More recently Linda led the Victorian government’s health and medical research strategies in the Victorian health department and the Department of Jobs, Precincts, Industry and Regions. She has overseen the reform of clinical trial policy in Victoria and worked with her state and territory colleagues through the Intergovernmental Policy Reform Group on national clinical trial reforms.