Executive Director
Professor Melanie Johnston-Hollitt
Professor Melanie Johnston-Hollitt is a global leader in radio astronomy and data science, with over two decades of experience driving major international telescope projects including the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). She is the Executive Director of the Curtin Institute for Data Science and Innovation Central Perth, where she leads multi-disciplinary teams of data scientists, software developers and domain experts.
Dr Kathryn Napier
Dr Kathryn Napier is the lead data scientist at the Curtin Institute for Data Science. She holds a PhD in veterinary studies with a strong interdisciplinary background in biomedical science, mathematics and statistics. Her expertise includes health informatics, bioinformatics and data visualisation. She is actively involved in providing computation training and regularly leads workshops through programs such as the Carpentries.
Dr Paul Hancock
Dr Paul Hancock holds a PhD in Physics and brings expertise in high-performance computing and research software development. At the Curtin Institute for Data science, he leads the software development team, mainly focusing on the ADACS project. He also teaches Computer Science courses at Curtin School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences.
Dr Daniel Marrable
Dr Daniel Marrable is the Director of Innovation Central Perth and an expert in applied physics. He holds a PhD from Curtin University and has contributed to major international initiatives with the European Space Agency and the World Bank. He joined the Curtin Institute for Data Science in 2017 and worked as Lead Data Scientist until early 2025, when he was appointed Director of Innovation Central Perth.
Dr Valentina Tiporlini
Dr Valentina Tiporlini holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering and an MBA in Innovation and Enterprise. She brings extensive technical expertise in AI, machine learning and data science, supported by 15 years of experience across academia and industry. In her current role at the Institute, Valentina focuses on expanding strategic partnerships, leading data science initiatives, and managing stakeholder relationships.
Arun Veluchamy
Arun holds an MBA and Bachelor of Information Technology, along with several industry-recognised certifications including, PMP, CSM, ACP-600, CCNA and ITIL. At the Curtin Institute for Data Science, he leads the Project Management Office, where he oversees the coordination and delivery of projects.
Rike McLernon
Rike is the Business Manager at the Curtin Institute for Data Science, where she leads operational planning, resource coordination and provides strategic support. She holds a degree in Tourism Management from IST – University of Applied Sciences in Germany and brings broad experience across academic and research environments. Prior to joining the Institute, she supported the operations for the Murchison Widefield Array at Curtin University.
Nick Jenkins
Nick is the Program Manager at the Curtin Institute for Data Science, where he leads the team supporting the Australian Research Data Commons’s Research Software Agenda. He brings over three decades of international experience in software engineering, with a career spanning both industry and research across Australia, Europe and the United States.
Leigh Tyers
Leigh is a high-performance computational specialist at the Curtin Institute for Data Science with a background in computational physics and expertise in researched NISQ and quantum-inspired classical algorithms. Since joining CIDS in 2021, he has applied his skills to remote sensing and machine learning, with a focus on high-performance computing applications.
Veelash Mongar
Veelash joined the Curtin Institute for Data Science in 2023 as a member of the software development team. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in IT and brings strong experience in software development, supporting research and industry projects through the design and delivery of custom applications.
Alex Massen-Hane
Amanda Del Valle
Amanda joined the Curtin Institute for Data Science in 2024 through its partnership with the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC). She brings extensive experience across the finance, research and healthcare sectors, with expertise in data governance, stakeholder engagement and infrastructure design.
Anusha Gadigatla
Anusha is a software developer at the Curtin Institute for Data Science, contributing to the Astronomy Data and Compute Services (ADACS) project by building research-focused applications. With a background in VLSI and Embedded Systems, she brings experience in full stack and mobile development from roles in startups and Cognizant, spanning sectors like ERP, finance and logistics.
Dr Batbold Sangi
Dr Batbold Sangi holds a PhD in High Energy Physics from Purdue University, USA. Drawing on over a decade of experience in data science and software development across banking, mining and telecommunications, he brings deep expertise in backend systems and cloud-based infrastructure. He joined the Curtin Institute for Data Science as a Software Developer, contributing to the Gold Tech Group project.
Calvin Pang
Calvin is a data scientist at the Curtin Institute for Data Science with a Master of Predictive Analytics from Curtin University and a background in chemical engineering and commerce. Before joining CIDS in 2022, he worked in government and healthcare, leading technology deployments and using data analytics to enhance decision-making. His expertise includes machine learning, data visualisation, and process improvement.
Camila Herrera Palavercino
Camila is an administrative professional at the Curtin Institute for Data Science with an Advanced Diploma in Management and Leadership and a background in journalism from the Catholic University of the North in Chile. Her experience spans administration, marketing, and logistics across both Chile and Australia, including work in employment services and integrated operations. At CIDS, she supports projects, events, and internal operations with strong bilingual communication and cross-cultural skills.
Chaital Vasta
Chaital joined the Curtin Institute for Data Science in 2024, bringing a unique combination of skills from a Master of Business Information Systems and a Bachelor of Design. As a Project Officer within the Project Management Office, she supports project planning, documentation and stakeholder engagement across a range of initiatives.
Joel Dunstan
Joel joined the Curtin Institute for Data Science in September 2021 to support astronomy-focused projects as a Software Developer. With a Master of Information Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, his expertise includes software development, machine learning and data visualisation.
Josh Williams
Josh works on software development for research and industry projects at the Curtin Institute for Data Science. He joined CIDS in September 2024, bringing front-end and mobile development experience from Redi Software and the Containers for Change initiative, and holds a Bachelor of Computer Science majoring in Software Engineering.
Josh Norton
Josh is a Project Tools Developer at the Curtin Institute for Data Science. Currently completing his final year of Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering, he brings strong experience in software development and IT support through his work with Curtin DTS. At the Institute, he plays a key role in developing tools that enable researchers to achieve their objectives.
Juanaili Hultzsch
Juanaili joined the Curtin Institute for Data Science in 2024, working closely with the Institute Director and Business Manager to support research activities, contractual obligations and stakeholder management. She brings strong experience from roles across both the corporate and not-for-profit sectors, with a background in HR and administration.
Kamila Durakova
Keegan Smith
Keegan holds an Honours degree in Physics and has undertaken postgraduate studies in astrophysics. He joined Curtin Institute for Data Science in 2022 as a Software Developer for the Curtin Open Knowledge Initiative. His technical expertise includes data science, software development and supercomputing, with a focus on Linux cluster environments.
Kylie Black
Kylie joined the Curtin Institute for Data Science in 2024 through its partnership with the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) as a Research Data Specialist with expertise in Sensitive Data. She leads the Australian Sensitive Data Interest Group, specialising in metadata records, sensitive data classification and data citation practices.
Matthias Liffers
Matthias brings extensive experience in research support and data librarianship across Australian universities and research institutes. From 2019, he led the software skills program and served as a Research Data Informatics Specialist at the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC). In 2024, he joined the Curtin Institute for Data Science as a Product Manager through its partnership with ARDC. As of July 2025, Matthias leads the global development of the Research Activity Identifier.
Dr Rebecca Handcock
Dr Rebecca Handcock is a senior data scientist at the Curtin Institute for Data Science, specialising in remote sensing, big data analytics and visualisation to bridge technical and applied research. Rebecca holds a PhD in Geography and an MSc in Environmental Modelling from the University of Toronto, and a BSc (Hons) in Information Technology and Geography from the University of Western Australia. She uses data to tell stories about our planet, from monitoring agriculture and water using satellite data, to multidisciplinary projects in health, research evaluation, and open knowledge. Rebecca contributes to the Curtin Open Knowledge Initiative.
Dr Sawitchaya (Nancy) Tippaya
Dr Nancy Tippaya holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and a DEng in Electrical and Information Engineering Technology. With a background in electronics and engineering, she has worked as a senior process/test engineering analyst in hardware design analysis. She also worked as a research associate, developing machine learning models for antenatal prediction and cancer staging. Nancy joined CIDS in 2019 as a senior data scientist, focusing on predictive modelling and machine learning applications across various data types.
Shantelle Smith
Shantelle holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Science along with a Master of Cancer Sciences and a Master of Public Health. She is currently completing a PhD in longitudinal breast cancer care pathways at Curtin’s School of Population Health. Since 2022, she has worked as Research Officer on the WA Cancer Staging Project (renamed as the Automated Cancer Staging System ACSS), applying natural language processing and machine learning to enhance population-level cancer staging data. She joined the Institute in 2025 to support the ACSS project, focusing on stakeholder engagement, training and project handover to the WA Cancer Registry.
Tom Rath
Tom joined the Curtin Institute for Data Science in 2024 as a Software Developer, focusing on mining-related software solutions. He brings experience as a Full Stack Developer at Qoria and as a Machine Learning Ops engineer, where he built data pipelines and ensured model quality and validation.
Dr Torrance Hodgson
Dr Torrance Hodgson holds a PhD in Physics, specialising in astrophysics and radio astronomy, as well as a Master of Sociology. He joined the Curtin Institute for Data Science in 2021 as a Senior Data Scientist on a joint project with the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre, focused on optimising radio astronomy imaging for next-gen supercomputing infrastructure.
Trish Radotic
Trish holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting, an MBA in Marketing and International Business and a Diploma in Software Programming. With over 15 years of experience across defence, pharmaceuticals, education, and data analytics, she has worked in programming, enterprise architecture, project management and technical sales in Canada, the UK and Australia. She joined CIDS in 2022 as Business Development Manager and in 2024 took on the role of RDA Regional Community Manager for Oceania and East Asia through the CIDS–ARDC partnership.
Dr Uno Fang
Uno completed his Bachelor of Information Technology (Honours) in 2017 and PhD in 2022 at Deakin University, focusing on smart agriculture and plant disease detection using big data and deep learning. He has worked as a Software Engineer on an NHMRC health project and later as a Data Science Intern at Medigrowth Australia. Since joining the Curtin Institute for Data Science in 2023, he has been applying his expertise in computer vision and machine learning on projects such as the Automated Fish Identification (AFID).
Youngwoo (Paul) Kim
Paul joined the Curtin Institute for Data Science in 2023 as Communications and Marketing Officer, where he supports branding, content development and marketing strategy. He holds a Bachelor of Business and brings over five years of experience in events, marketing and communications across various industries.
