RHIP Team | Randwick Health & Innovation Precinct

Executive Director

Tim Regan

Tim is an accomplished senior executive with extensive experience leading transformation across health, research, property, and public sector organisations.

His career includes senior roles at The George Institute for Global Health, Melanoma Institute Australia, Mirvac Group, and the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, along with influential governance and advisory appointments across not for profit, academic, and corporate sectors.

A strategic connector and systems thinker, Tim has built global partnerships, led major organisational growth, and championed innovation to advance education, research, and societal outcomes. He brings deep expertise in shaping high performing environments that enable collaboration and impact.

Industry and Innovation Lead

Dr Stephen Palmer

Steve connects commercialisation experts, researchers, clinicians, and industry partners to accelerate health technology innovation and precinct wide collaboration.

With more than 25 years of experience in academic medical research across the UK and Australia, Steve’s career spans molecular genetics, preclinical drug development, biotechnology translation, and medical research strategy. He brings significant expertise in intellectual property management and university technology transfer, supporting researchers to progress high potential discoveries toward real world application.

Prior, Steve held the acting RHIP Executive Director role, leading precinct strategy and operational initiatives to strengthen innovation ecosystems and partnerships. He is widely engaged across the sector, contributing to forums, codesign initiatives, and collaborative programs that bridge academia, health organisations and industry partnerships.

Translational Research Lead

Celia Loneragan

Celia brings extensive experience working across multidisciplinary teams in health, policy, and statewide program development. She has deep expertise in translational research and in aligning research capability with national and local funding strategies.

Previously, Celia managed strategic research initiatives at the University of Sydney, supporting researchers to secure national and international awards, prize nominations, and competitive funding. At NSW Health, she led teams as a policy and project advisor, delivering organisational change and major strategic outcomes.

Earlier in her career, Celia contributed to psychiatric research in the United States, working in neurogenetics, neurochemistry, brain imaging, and cognitive assessment at the Manhattan VA Medical Center, The Nathan Kline Institute, and New York University.

Creative Placemaking and Arts Lead

Sophie Forbat

Sophie leads creative placemaking and arts initiatives across the Precinct, activating public spaces, strengthening cultural identity, and embedding arts-based practice to drive wellbeing, connection, and vibrancy.

A curator and cultural producer with two decades of experience, Sophie has delivered major public realm art projects and events in Australia and internationally. She has worked on five contemporary art biennales and spent more than ten years as Artistic Programs Manager at Kaldor Public Art Projects, shaping largescale commissions with internationally recognised artists.

Sophie also spent seven years with London based placemaking agency Futurecity, developing public art and cultural strategies for major precincts, including South Eveleigh and Barangaroo in Sydney and Southbank by Beulah in Melbourne.

Interprofessional Education Lead

Zoe Kumar

Zoe leads interprofessional education (IPE) programs across the Precinct, championing collaboration across disciplines and reducing traditional silos in health education.

A Registered Nurse with more than 20 years’ experience across Australia and the United Kingdom, Zoe has deep expertise in clinical education, having spent more than a decade designing and coordinating programs that build workforce capability for undergraduate and graduate nursing staff.

As IPE Lead, Zoe brings a strategic and inclusive approach to fostering shared learning, teamwork, and delivers high quality education that directly contributes to improved patient care across the Precinct.

Program Manager

Dr Natalie Walsh

Natalie provides strategic leadership across the Precinct, driving program delivery, operational excellence, and coordinating governance to support RHIP initiatives.

With diverse experience facilitating multistakeholder programs across academia, health services, government and industry partnerships, Natalie’s foundation in visual neuroscience included a postdoctoral fellowship in gene therapies at UC Berkeley. Later transitioning into healthcare design, Natalie worked on major health infrastructure projects including on the design team Westmead Health and Innovation Precinct. Her passion for translational research has included research coordination of Phase I-III medical oncology clinical trials, and her more recent role in supporting research enabling platforms at SPHERE.

Natalie is recognised for her collaborative approach, strategic insight, and ability to build partnerships to accelerate research translation.

Project Officer

Renae Ahern

Renae supports precinct wide collaboration by supporting the Executive Director, coordinating governance processes, and manages systems required for an effective multi-partner environment.

With a Public Health background majoring in Health Administration, Renae has a practical understanding of operational and financial dynamics through her frontline patient administration experience.

Bringing eight years of health system expertise, Renae provides organisational excellence, contributes to strengthening governance, and fosters coordination and relationships across our partner organisations.