Carthur Wan

Carthur Wan, Ph.D., is a Senior Associate at Luminary Labs. With a background in neuroscience, non-profit events, and fundraising for applied research and commercialization, he has a passion for bringing together consortia and helping innovative teams access the right resources to translate their ideas into impact.

Prior to joining Luminary Labs, Carthur was the Manager, Major Initiatives within the Innovation & Enterprise office of the University of Melbourne. He led a program management and strategic advisory team servicing the university’s pursuit of large-scale research funding from government agencies, in partnership with the private sector. Recent outcomes of this work include a $24 million grant from the Australian Research Council to create a research center building computational models for synthetic biology, and a $33 million grant from the Australian Department of Industry to set up an industry- and community-partnered corporation focused on drought-resilience R&D. His earlier consulting with clients in the higher education and medical research sectors also involved market and financial analyses to advise on business and product strategy, including valuation modeling underpinning a $35 million capital raise for the development of a heart disease combination therapy.

Carthur completed his doctorate in Biomedical Science at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and a master’s degree in Management from the University of Melbourne, Australia. His carry-on luggage when moving to the U.S. consisted of a PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, as outside of work, he’s an avid gamer. Having watched every main season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” he’s looking forward to exploring the New York food and nightlife scenes to catch some live performances.