Dr Michelle Wykes is the Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Fovero Therapeutics, a pre-clinical biotechnology company spun out of QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. With over two decades of experience in immunology, infectious disease, and translational science, Dr Wykes has pioneered the discovery of immune pathways that underlie both immune activation and dysfunction. Her early work in malaria led to the identification of Galectin-9 as a key regulator of immune dysfunction—a finding that later translated into oncology, where Galectin-9 drives immune evasion in hard-to-treat cancers. This discovery underpins FT002, a best-in-class antibody in development for microsatellite stable colorectal cancer and triple-negative breast cancer, with a novel mechanism distinct from other GAL-9-targeting therapies. FT002 achieves durable tumour control and immune memory in preclinical models. Fovero’s second program, FT024, is a first-in-class immunotherapy targeting a newly defined immune pathway in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Both assets are IND-track and supported by over US$2M in non-dilutive funding, including grants from Brandon BioCatalyst and the U.S. Department of Defense. Dr Wykes is committed to translating foundational discoveries in infection and immunity into new treatments for patients with cancer, inflammation, and immune dysfunction.