​Dr Ilana Feain

BAdvSc(Hons), PhD, GAICD
Dr Ilana Feain is an AAL Board Director. Credit: CSIRO.

Doctor Ilana Feain
BAdvSc(Hons), PhD, GAICD

Special responsibilities – AAL representative on the Astralis Board, member of the Industry Engagement Working Group and the Australian GMT Committee. 

Ilana Feain is an astrophysicist turned medical physicist turned space commercialisation specialist with a background in pure and applied signal processing and deep technology commercialisation. Following a PhD in radio astronomy (2006 USYD), Ilana was awarded a CSIRO postdoctoral fellowship before being promoted to project scientist for the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder telescope. In 2014, Ilana left astronomy and joined Sydney Uni as a senior research scientist in medical physics where she co-founded USYD spinout Leo Cancer Care becoming its full time CEO until. She returned to CSIRO until late 2021 to head up commercialisation for its Space and Astronomy division and this where she nurtured through to creation venture-backed startup Quasar Satellite Technologies.

Ilana now runs her own advisory firm, Big Science Industry Engagement Services, that provides the astronomy and big science sectors with commercialisation and strategy services. She is also a non-exec director for venture-backed Quasar.

Ilana was an Inaugural L’Oreal Australia For Women in Science Fellow, a CSIRO Ruby Payne Scott Fellow, a recipient of the CSIRO Chairman’s Medal (team) and has won numerous other innovation and commercialisation awards.