Carla Cher has joined Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick in Melbourne office as an associate on its electronics, physics and IT team. Cher is an engineer with more than 10 years’ experience in IP. Her technical expertise and interests include microfluidics, microelectrical mechanical systems (MEMS), nanotechnology, renewable energy technologies and medical devices. In 2013, Carla was the youngest member elected to the Board of Engineers Australia. She is a very active member of Engineers Australia and presently sits on the Victorian division committee.

Matthew Overett has joined Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick in Melbourne as a trainee patent attorney on the chemistry and life sciences team. Prior to joining POF, he acquired more than a decade of R&D experience in the chemicals industry, covering homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, polymer science and rheology, organic and organometallic synthesis, process scale-up and piloting, commercialization and process support.

James Burnley has joined Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick in Melbourne as a trainee patent attorney on the chemistry and life sciences team. Prior to joining POF, he completed more than 10 years of research experience working in both industrial and academic settings. His postdoctoral work included total synthesis of the tricyclic marine alkaloids (-)-lepadiformine and (-)-fasicularin, and the design and synthesis of novel cyclic-alkynylpeptide analogues which have potential for use as non-opioid analgesics.