John Knight

After training at Sydney Hospital and Guy’s Hospital London, John worked as an academic physician in pediatric nephrology at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children in Sydney, where he created the Centre for Kidney Research, home to a lively molecular immunology program and the Cochrane Renal Group.

As Medical Director of the Australian Kidney Foundation, he founded the CARI Guidelines, established a national early detection and prevention program (KidneyCheck Australia), created and chaired an Aboriginal Outreach Committee, and commissioned a national epidemiological survey (The Australian Kidney). 

After a career-changing MBA John was hired by Johnson & Johnson to work internationally in therapeutic risk management. In Europe, he ran a team that tackled a drug safety challenge affecting epoetin alfa at that time (pure red cell aplasia). He drove a transformation of drug safety processes across J&J companies in Asia, creating 22 new full-time positions in 14 countries. As Vice President, Strategic and Business Planning, a board-level role in the Benefit-Risk Management group, he led a global multidisciplinary team of 70 drug safety experts.

In March 2014 John joined the George Institute for Global Health as a Professorial Fellow, with an Adjunct Chair at the University of Sydney and a Conjoint Chair at UNSW.  In January 2019 he became Managing Director of Ellen Medical Devices, a company founded by The George Institute whose mission is to bring the dialysis technology which won the Affordable Dialysis Prize to kidney patients throughout the world.