Mark A. F. Kendall is an Australian biomedical engineer, inventor, scientist and entrepreneur. He is Founder and CEO of WearOptimo Pty Ltd and the Vice-Chancellor's Entrepreneurial Professor at the Australian National University. Kendall was formerly the Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Queensland, where he led a team at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. He was Founder, CTO and a Director of Vaxxas. Prior to this, in the UK, he was a University Research Lecturer at the University of Oxford and a Lecturer at Magdalen College, Oxford. Whilst at Oxford, Kendall was Associate Director of the PowderJect Research Centre for Gene and Drug Delivery. Kendall serves at the co-chair of the $150 million Australian Stem Cell Therapies Mission and on the World Economic ForumGlobal Future Council on Biotechnology. Kendall is widely regarded as a work leader in biotechnology, particularly in the field of medical devices for global impact. He has invented more than 160 patents, published in excess of 300 papers, licensed his technologies seven times and partnered globally, including with the World Health Organization, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The biotech enterprises he has founded or made significant contribution to have generated in the region of $2 billion Aus in value. Kendall's contributions to innovation in global healthcare has been recognised with more than forty awards. These include recent elections as: • World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer. • Fellow of ATSE; Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. • Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce, UK;. Kendall is a CSL Young Florey Medallist and Rolex Laureate. Kendall's work regularly features in international media, including on the National Geographic Channel. Kendall's TedGlobal talk has been viewed more than a million times. https://www.ted.com/speakers/mark_kendall
Background
Kendall was born on April 16th 1972. He received his Bachelors of Engineering and PhD from the University of Queensland. In 1998, Kendall moved to the UK to take up a position in the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford. He has subsequently held positions at the University of Queensland and at the Australian National University.
Contributions to Biotechnology
Kendall has over 160 patent applications of which, 128 have been granted to date. He has authored more than 300 refereed papers. At the University of Oxford Kendall developed a biolistic technique for the delivery of vaccines directly into the skin without the use of needles. At the University of Queensland Kendall invented the Nanopatch for needle-free delivery of vaccines. At WearOptimo and the Australian National University, Kendall has invented the Microwearable™ sensor for personalised medicine. During his career, Kendall has collaborated with major global health partners including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, World Health Organization and Merck & Co.. He is an Australian Government Academy of Science Covid-19 Expert.
Selected Awards, Honours and Prizes
Elected to the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Biotechnology.
As Associate Director of the Oxford University PowderJect Research Centre, Kendall advanced biolistics technology, commercialised with PowderJect, purchased by Chiron in 2003; and then with PowderMed, purchased by Pfizer in 2006. Kendall founded Vaxxas in 2011 to advance his Nanopatch technology for global impact, securing more than $40 million of investment, in the series A and B rounds. The Nanopatch technology has been licensed to Merck & Co. He served as the Vaxxas Chief Technology Officer, Director, and Chair of the Vaxxas Advisory Board. In 2018, Kendall founded WearOptimo where he serves as CEO and is driving forward his Microwearable™ sensor technology for precision medicine.
