Joanne Barber | COO & Co-Founder
Joanne joins with a rich tapestry of over 30 years in executive leadership. She has been instrumental in nurturing startups through their lifecycle, emphasising the creation of value chains that are as robust as they are ethical. At the helm of Levur’s commercial strategy, Joanne is steering the company towards revolutionising the cosmetic supply chains with biotech interventions.
Tom Collier | CEO & Co-Founder
Tom is a synthetic biology innovator with a passion for sustainability. His expertise is in harnessing the power of yeast to create sustainable oils, a mission he is advancing as CEO and co-founder of LEVUR. Tom’s aim is to revolutionise the cosmetics and food industries by providing sustainable, high-quality oil ingredients. When he's not in the lab, you'll find Tom championing the next generation of synthetic biologists as an active contributor to industry organisations.
Sashika Yalage Don | Synthetic Biologist
Sashika is a Synthetic Biologist at Levur Pty Ltd. Sashika completed her PhD in plant pathology at Charles Sturt University, investigating mechanistic insights into the yeast antifungal volatile metabolome against plant pathogenic fungi. She has a strong research background across multiple disciplines including microbiology, metabolomics and biotechnology in academia and industry.
Aprile Wenke | Marketing & GTM
Aprile is a results-driven marketing leader with a proven track record of building brands across diverse industries. She recently joined the team to build the Levur brand and develop communications strategies as Levur heads into its next phase of growth. Her background in working for large consumer goods companies grounds her understanding of the industry, while her most recent experience at LinkedIn is key to growing Levur’s online presence.
Sahana Shivaram Bharadwaj | Synthetic Biologist
Sahana is a recent Master of Biotechnology graduate at Macquarie University and already a valued member of the R&D team at Levur. With hands-on experience in molecular biology, genetic engineering, and protein expression, she’s worked on exciting projects like optimising enzyme production and melitin-based yeast biosynthesis. Outside the lab, Sahana combines her passion for science and creativity as a vocal teacher.
Jasperine Phetchareun | Synthetic Biologist
Jas is a biotechnology engineering graduate with a strong foundation in molecular biology, genetic engineering, and biochemistry. Recently completed a Master of Research at Macquarie University where she has worked on research projects which focused on engineering yeast to valorise organic waste streams by degrading complex carbohydrates.
Huw Hayman Zumpe | Synthetic Biologist
Huw has experience in yeast metabolic engineering, which he combines with skills in laboratory automation and analytical chemistry to set up experimental workflows at Levur. His work in industry and contract research honed his capacity for technical problem-solving and method development, and allowed him to work with a very diverse set of biotechnological techniques. He enjoys applying this knowledge and experience in close collaboration with the Levur R&D team towards the goal of producing sustainable oils.
Mark Somerville | Synthetic Biologist
Mark comes to Levur with a history of synthetic biology, biochemistry and microbiology roles across academic labs and in industry. The chance to join a startup at an early stage is an exciting opportunity to use his skills to their fullest. A lifelong fondness for puzzles serves him well when it comes to problem-solving in the lab and tackling new challenges in partnership with his coworkers, both human and yeast.