Meet the Cicada Health Tech Hub Stride Cohort of 2025
The Cicada HealthTech Hub (HTH) at Westmead has been built on a simple belief: that when innovators, clinicians, researchers, and industry sit side by side, health innovation accelerates.
In 2025, 4 incredible teams, were part of our HTH Stride program - an intensive six-month coaching program designed to help founders and teams refine business systems, accelerate product development, and strengthen their leadership capabilities.
Each team is developing breakthrough technologies that have the potential to reshape patient care. They bring together deep clinical insight, scientific expertise, and entrepreneurial ambition to tackle some of healthcare’s most complex challenges; from cell therapy manufacturing to precision genomics and real-time cardiac intervention.
We’re proud to introduce the Cicada HTH cohort of 2025: Edward Yang (Lesiologic), Dr Leighton Clancy (Sydney Cell & Gene), Dr Suzanna Temple (Gene S) and A/Prof Emily Blyth (The Collaborative Centre Program for Advanced Therapies).
Meet the Cicada HTH Stride cohort of 2025:
A/ Prof Emily Blyth - The Collaborative Centre Program for Advanced Therapies
The Collaborative Centre Program for Advanced Therapies is building a national network of hospital-based cell therapy manufacturing facilities to expand access to advanced treatments for Australian patients. Led at Westmead by A/Prof Emily Blyth, a clinician–scientist and recognised leader in cellular therapies, the program is accelerating the development of novel cell and gene products through clinical expertise, research excellence, and cross-state collaboration.
Dr. Leighton Clancy - Sydney Cell and Gene Therapy
Sydney Cell and Gene Therapy provides end-to-end GMP manufacturing services for emerging cell therapies, supporting process development, tech transfer, clinical production, and quality testing. Operations Manager, Dr Leighton Clancy, oversees Westmead’s GMP facilities and has contributed to more than 15 early-phase clinical trials across cellular therapies and biologics. His work helps bridge the critical manufacturing gap that prevents promising therapies from reaching patients.
Edward Yang - EsioLogic
EsioLogic is a real-time tissue characterisation system that measures bioimpedance during cardiac ablation to help clinicians assess lesion formation, improve safety, and deliver more consistent procedural outcomes. Led by biomedical engineer and research entrepreneur Edward Yang, the team is advancing the technology toward first-in-human validation in partnership with the University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital, aiming to reduce complications and improve outcomes for patients with arrhythmias.
Dr Suzanna Lindsey-Temple - Gene S
Gene S is advancing precision healthcare through pharmacogenomics, enabling clinicians to tailor medications based on a patient’s genetic profile. Chief Medical Officer Dr Suzanna Lindsey-Temple leads the development of these innovations, drawing on more than 25 years’ experience in clinical genetics, rare disease diagnostics, and translational genomics. Her work is helping transform how mental health and other complex conditions are treated.
Cicada Innovations Health Tech Hub
Located within the Westmead Health and Innovation District, Cicada's HealthTech Hub supports early-stage health and MedTech companies with incubation, commercialisation training resources, and collaborative spaces.
Our HTH Stride is a 6-month bespoke coaching program for high-potential health tech teams and startups. With the help of a dedicated expert and supported by industry mentors, you'll refine your strategy, set goals, and we'll help you to get there faster.
