Sir John Skehel FMedSci FRS, Vice-President and Biological Secretary, The Royal Society

John Skehel has provided major insights into the molecular basis of how viruses recognise and infect their host cells. John focusses on the virus that causes influenza, of which there are 3–5 million cases a year worldwide, resulting in up to 500,000 deaths. 

To infect a cell, the influenza virus must bind to a sialic acid-containing receptor on the cell surface, which it achieves through its own haemagglutinin glycoprotein. John was able to isolate, crystallise and subsequently determine the three-dimensional structure of this molecule. He also observed that under conditions of low pH, haemagglutinin changes shape — allowing the virus to fuse with and enter the cell.

John has been a leader in virology research for over thirty years. He headed the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza between 1975 and 1993 and was the Director of the National Institute for Medical Research from 1987–2006. His pioneering research was recognised in 1996 when he received a knighthood.

Professor Sir Robert Lechler PMedSci, President, Academy of Medical Sciences

Sir Robert is currently Provost and Senior Vice-President (Health) at King’s College London, and Executive Director of King’s Health Partners. He is a strong advocate of the Academic Health Science Centre model of university-healthcare partnerships.

His clinical and research career have been focused on the pursuit of clinical transplantation tolerance. He worked in in vitro and in vivo rodent models. More recently he has helped to define biomarkers of clinical tolerance and is now helping to lead first in man trials of cell therapy to promote immune tolerance in recipients of kidney and liver organ transplants. Sir Robert has published over 200 papers in this field, led an EU consortium, and was awarded the Novartis Established Investigator Award by the American Transplant Society. In addition, Robert is a founding member of MedCity which fosters the South East England life sciences cluster, has served on the Mayor of London’s Health Board and was a Trustee and member of Council of the British Heart Foundation from 2010 – 2016.

Sir Menelas (Mene) Pangalos PhD FRSB FMedSci, Executive Vice President & President BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca

Mene was appointed as Executive Vice-President, R&D BioPharmaceuticals in January 2019 and is responsible for BioPharmaceutical R&D from discovery through to late-stage development covering Cardiovascular, Renal, Metabolism, Respiratory, Inflammation, Autoimmune, Microbial Science and Neuroscience areas. Prior to this, he served as Executive Vice-President of AstraZeneca’s IMED Biotech Unit and Global Business Development. 

Since joining AstraZeneca in 2010, Mene has led the transformation of R&D productivity through the development and implementation of the “5R” framework resulting in a greater than four-fold increase in success rates compared to industry averages. In parallel, he has championed an open approach to working with academic and other external partners, changing the nature of academic-industry collaboration. Mene previously held senior R&D roles at Wyeth and GSK. 

Mene holds Honorary Doctorates from Glasgow University and Imperial College, London, is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal Society of Biology and Clare Hall, University of Cambridge. He sits on the Council of the MRC, co-chairs the UK Life Sciences Council Expert Group on Innovation, Clinical Research and Data and is a member of the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy Implementation Board. He is also on the Boards of The Francis Crick Institute, The Judge Business School, Cambridge University and Dizal Pharma. Mene was awarded the 2019 Prix Galien Medal, Greece for his scientific research and named Executive of the Year at the 2019 Scrip Awards. Most recently, Mene was awarded the honour of a Knighthood by Her Majesty The Queen for his services to UK science. 

Mene also oversees the creation of AstraZeneca’s new Global R&D Centre in Cambridge – a state of the art facility designed to stimulate collaborative scientific innovation and which will play an important role in the future success of the UK life science industry.

Dr Tony Wood, Senior Vice President, Platform Technology and Science, GSK

Tony Wood, SVP, Platform Technology & Sciences, joined GSK in October 2017. He is a member of the R&D Management Team, reporting to Hal Barron, President, R&D.

Tony was previously head of Worldwide Research & Development’s Medicinal Sciences at Pfizer, and prior to that held roles of increasing seniority in chemistry and medicinal sciences across a range of therapy areas. Tony played a leading role in the discovery of Maraviroc, a CCR5 antagonist for the treatment of HIV, and in recognition was awarded the RSC Malcolm Campbell Prize in 2005, and was a co-recipient of the ACS Heroes of Chemistry Prize, the Prix Galien USA and Scrip Awards in 2008, and the PhRMA Discoverers Award in 2010.

Tony is a named author and inventor on more than 50 publications and patents, and has represented the pharma view on UK funding council review boards, such as EPSRC and BBSRC. 

Tony received his BSc and PhD in chemistry from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, before completing post-doctoral studies with Professor Steven Ley, FRS at Imperial College in London. He continues to be a Visiting Professor at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.   

Dr Kevin Lee, Chief Executive Officer, Bicycle Therapeutics

Kevin joined Bicycle Therapeutics from Pfizer, where he served as SVP and CSO of the Rare Disease Research Unit. In that role, he held responsibility for more than 20 novel programmes across the full spectrum of R&D, established Pfizer’s rare disease strategy, conceptualized and implemented the company’s gene therapy strategy with the creation of the Genetic Medicine Institute and founded the Rare Disease Research Consortium. Prior to joining Pfizer, Kevin worked at GSK and, in addition to leading the formation of multiple strategic commercial and academic partnerships, he led epigenetics research and was responsible for the creation of the EpiNova DPU. Before joining GSK, he lectured at Warwick University Medical School and founded several biotech companies.

Kevin studied Pharmaceutical sciences at Nottingham University followed by a Ph.D. in pharmacology at Cambridge University and is an author on over 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications.

Dr Jane Osbourn, VP Research and Development and Site Leader, MedImmune

Jane joined MedImmune, formerly Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT), now the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca, in 1993. An expert in antibody engineering, she has authored many key publications and patents, and made a significant contribution to the discovery and development of a number of marketed drugs and more than 40 clinical candidates. She has worked across many therapy areas and currently leads a global team, based in Gaithersburg US, focused on the development of biosuperior antibody therapies. Jane is also Site Leader for MedImmune’s facility in Cambridge UK, which is home to over 550 MedImmune employees, and chairs the cross-campus leadership team for AstraZeneca in Cambridge.

Jane obtained a First Class degree in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge and completed a PhD at the John Innes Centre for Plant Science Research in Norwich. This was followed by a Post-Doctoral position at Rutgers University, New Jersey before moving into medical research through a British Heart Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Department of Medicine at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.

Jane is passionate about the development of the UK biotechnology sector and was elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the BioIndustry Association in 2015. She is also a Director of Babraham Bioscience Technologies and a Director of Cambridge Enterprise. She has presented at a number of parliamentary Select Committees and has previously served as a Member of the UK Medical Research Council Industry Grant Award Assessment Panel. In 2016 she was recognised in the PharmaVoice 100, and also in Fierce Pharma’s “Fierce Women in Biopharma” – one of 15 women in the global industry noteworthy for their leadership, providing mentorship and helping increase opportunities for women in science.

Dr Bent Jakobsen FMedSci, Chief Scientific Officer, Immunocore and Scientific Founder, Adaptimmune

Dr Bent Jakobsen co-founded Immunocore in 2008 and has served as Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Board Member since that time. He is also scientific co-founder of Adaptimmune Ltd, where he provides strategic and advisory input as well as oversight of research programmes. He was previously Chief Scientific Officer of Avidex, a company he founded in 1999 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford to develop novel T cell receptor-based drugs. Dr Jakobsen was head of the Immune Receptor Group at the Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM) in Oxford from 1993 to July 2000. Prior to this, he was a Senior Research Fellow of the Danish Natural Research Council, Aarhus, Denmark, and undertook post-doctoral research at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of the Medical Research Council in Cambridge. Dr Jakobsen has authored numerous scientific papers and is considered a world expert in the field of T cell receptor immunology.

Professor Sarah J Tabrizi FMedSci, Director of UCL Huntington's disease centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, and UK DRI UCL

Sarah Tabrizi is Professor of Clinical Neurology and joint Head of Dept of Neurodegenerative disease at the UCL Institute of Neurology, Honorary Consultant Neurologist at the National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London, and Director of the UCL Huntington’s Disease Centre. Her research focuses on understanding the basic cellular mechanisms of neurodegeneration, in particular Huntington’s disease (HD), and finding effective disease-modifying therapies for HD. She has identified a key role for the innate immune system in the pathogenesis of HD, and leads two major, multidisciplinary research initiatives, TRACK-HD and Track-On HD, aimed at understanding the neurobiology of the neurodegenerative changes in premanifest and early stage HD gene carriers, and is actively working on developing and testing disease-modifying therapies for HD. Sarah is clinical global PI for the world’s first gene silencing trial in HD which started in September 2015, is an elected Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2017 she received the Seventh International Leslie Gehry Brenner prize for Innovation in Science awarded by the Hereditary Disease Foundation.

Dr Kristoffer Famm, President, Galvani Bioelectronics

Kris is president of Galvani Bioelectronics, a joint venture between GSK and Verily Life Sciences to pioneer precision neuromodulation as a new treatment modality. He’s responsible for Galvani’s efforts to deliver game-changing therapies to patients, including the current development of electronic implants that connect to peripheral nerve targets, and the transition into a clinical development-stage company.

Before his appointment to lead Galvani, he was founding VP and head of Bioelectronics R&D at GSK launched in 2013. There he managed the unit’s extensive research towards establishing the treatment potential, disease reach, and technology requirements for modulating signals in autonomic nerves, working together with a global network of partners across academia and industry. During his time at GSK he also headed up the R&D Strategy Group and the Protein Degradation Discovery Performance Unit.

Kris obtained his PhD in Molecular Biology at University of Cambridge with Sir Greg Winter, following an MSc in Chemical Engineering at Lund University, Sweden. Before joining GSK in 2009, he worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company.

Professor Molly Stevens FREng, Professor of Biomedical Materials & Regenerative Medicine/Research Director for Biomedical Material Science, Imperial College London

Molly M. Stevens is currently Professor of Biomedical Materials and Regenerative Medicine & Research Director for Biomedical Material Sciences in the Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College London. She received her PhD from The University of Nottingham in 2000, working within the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences. She conducted her postdoctoral research within the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT in the labs of Prof Robert Langer, where she co-developed innovative techniques for the regenerative of bone and other tissues. She joined Imperial College in 2004 and was promoted as Professor in 2008. Research in the Stevens Programme focusses on designing and developing innovative bio-inspired materials for applications in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and biosensing.  

Molly Stevens’ research has been recognised by over 20 major awards, such as the 2016 Clemson Award for Basic Research from the Society for Biomaterials, the EU40 Prize for best material scientist under the age of 40, a listing in The Times as one of the top 10 scientists under 40 and the European Life Sciences 2014 Research Group of the Year Award, amongst many others. She was recently elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Academy for Engineering and delivered the Clifford Paterson Lecture for the Royal Society in 2012. She has previously served on the Board of Reviewing Editor for Science and is Associate Editor of ACS Nano. More information on the Stevens Group can be found at www.stevensgroup.org.

Professor Richard Jude Samulski, Professor of Pharmacology, Gene Therapy Center, University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Dr Samulski received his PhD in Medical Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Florida. His graduate work involved cloning the Adeno-associated virus (AAV) genome and the demonstration of AAV as a viral vector. This culminated in the first US patent involving non-AAV genes inserted into AAV. During his post-doctoral training at Princeton, he developed the AAV 2 ITR vector backbone, commonly used by most labs today. After these studies, he was hired as faculty at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Biology. During this phase, he was the first to demonstrate AAV transduction in rodent brain and muscle. Both of these observations initiated research efforts that culminated in the first clinical trials for AAV in brain (Canavan trial) and muscle DMD studies. Dr Samulski is a former member of the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC), and serves as a gene therapy consultant to the FDA. In 1993, he was hired at the University of North Carolina (UNC) to establish a Gene Therapy Center.

For 25 years Dr Samulski has led a team of multiple Principal Investigators developing novel viral vectors and clinical gene therapy programs. He received the “Outstanding Achievement Award” from the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy, was the National Hemophilia Foundation’s Investigator of the Year and was the first non-MD to be placed on the University of Florida’s “Hall of Fame”.  He has served as President of ASGCT and serves on the Advisory Council. He is a scientific founder of AGCT, Merlin, Asklepios Biopharmaceutical, NanoCor Therapeutics, Chatham Therapeutics, Bamboo Therapeutics, Viragen, and others. He served as Vice President of Gene Therapy in Pfizer’s Rare Disease Research Unit until the initiation of the AAV DMD trial in February 2018, when he returned full-time to his professorship at UNC.

Professor Daniel G Anderson, Professor of Applied Biology, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, and member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, MIT

Professor Daniel G. Anderson is a leading researcher in the field of nanotherapeutics and biomaterials. He is appointed in the Department of Chemical Engineering, the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology at MIT. The research done in Prof. Anderson’s laboratory is focused on developing new materials for medicine. He has pioneered the development of smart biomaterials, and his work has led to advances and products in a range of areas, including medical devices, cell therapy, drug delivery, gene therapy and material science. Prof. Anderson received a B.A. in mathematics and biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a Ph.D. in molecular genetics from the University of California at Davis. His work has resulted in the publication of over 400 papers, patents and patent applications. These patents were the basis for the foundation of a number of companies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and consumer products space, and have led to a number of products that have been commercialized or are in clinical development.

Dr Raghu Kalluri, Professor and Chairman, Department of Cancer Biology and Director, Metastasis Research Center, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Raghu Kalluri received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas and his M.D. from Brown University. In 1997 he moved to Harvard Medical School as Assistant Professor of Medicine and faculty at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. In 2000 he became Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Matrix Biology. In 2006 this program became the Division of Matrix Biology and Dr Kalluri was appointed Chief of the Division and promoted to Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. In 2012 he moved to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center as Chairman and Professor of the Department of Cancer Biology and Director of the Metastasis Research Center. He holds the RE Bob Smith Distinguished Chair for Cancer Biology.

In 2015 Dr Kalluri received the Jacob Henle Medal for his contribution to medical research. He is the recipient of research excellence awards for his work on basement membranes and extracellular matrix as related to fibrosis and cancer progression.

Dr Kalluri has published over 287 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He has trained 73 postdoctoral fellows and 51 of his trainees hold academic positions around the world. His laboratory studies the cell/tissue microenvironment and its impact on cancer progression and metastasis, and tissue injury and repair.

Professor Constantin Coussios, Professor of Biomedical Engineering (Drug Delivery), Head of the Biomedical Ultrasonics, Biotherapy & Biopharmaceuticals Laboratory, Oxford University

Professor Constantin Coussios is the the Director of the Oxford Institute of Biomedical Engineering. He received his BA, MEng and PhD in Engineering from the University of Cambridge and was elected to the first statutory chair in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Oxford in 2011, with special responsibility for drug delivery and non-invasive therapies. He founded and heads the Biomedical Ultrasonics, Biotherapy and Biopharmaceuticals Laboratory (BUBBL) and recently launched the £10m Oxford Centre for Drug Delivery Devices (OxCD3) under a 5-year programme grant by the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The author of over 100 peer-reviewed publications and 16 patents, Prof. Coussios received the UK’s Institute of Acoustics’ Young Person’s Award for Innovation in Acoustical Engineering in 2007, was elected as Secretary-General of the International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound between 2006-2010 and was honoured with the Society’s Fred Lizzi award in 2012. He was elected as the youngest ever Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America in 2009, and received the Society’s Bruce Lindsay award in 2012. In 2008, he was one of two academic founders of the Oxford University spin-out OrganOx Ltd., which has developed a novel CE-marked normothermic perfusion device for improved organ preservation prior to transplantation through to first-in-man trials and first sales. In 2014, he co-founded OxSonics Ltd, which is developing a new generation of ultrasound-based medical devices for cavitation-enhanced drug delivery and minimally invasive surgery. In 2017, he received the Silver Medal of the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering in recognition of his contributions to organ preservation and ultrasound-mediated drug delivery.

Professor Charles Swanton FRS FMedSci, Translational Cancer Therapeutics Laboratory Group Leader, The Francis Crick Institute

Dr Swanton completed his MD/PhD in 1999 at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories and Cancer Research UK clinician/scientist medical oncology training in 2008. He combines his laboratory research at the Francis Crick Institute with clinical duties focused on biological mechanisms of cancer drug resistance. Dr Swanton was made Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in April 2011 and Chair in Personalized Cancer Medicine and Consultant Thoracic Medical Oncologist at UCL Hospitals in November 2011. Dr Swanton is the Chief Investigator of the CRUK TRACERx lung cancer evolution study and was awarded the Royal College of Physicians Goulstonian lecture and Graham Bull Prize for Clinical Sciences in 2013, Fellow of the European Academy of Cancer Sciences in 2013, and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2015. Dr Swanton was awarded the Jeremy Jass Prize (2014), Stand up to Cancer Translational Cancer Research Prize (2015), Glaxo SmithKline Biochemical Society Prize in recognition of distinguished research leading to new advances in medical science and the Ellison-Cliffe Medal and Lecture, Royal Society of Medicine (2016). He was appointed Napier Professor in Cancer by the Royal Society in 2016, Cancer Research UK’s Chief Clinician in 2017.  He was awarded the 2016 San Salvatore Foundation prize, and elected an EMBO member in 2017.

Dr Annette Bak, Head of Advanced Drug Delivery, AstraZeneca (Sweden)

Annette joined Astra Zeneca as Head of Advanced Drug Delivery in September 2016.  She is leading a department of drug delivery scientists, formulators and analytical chemists across Sweden, UK, and the US, responsible for advanced and cutting-edge drug delivery of mRNA, oligo nucleotides, proteins, and small molecules. She also serves as the Chief Chemist on the Innovative Medicines and Early Development leadership team. Before joining AZ her career was in the US pharmaceutical industry, Amgen and Merck. 

Annette enjoys the opportunity to impact global and public health though innovative medicines. She has impacted numerous discovery and early development programs leading to new entities in the clinic and commercial space. She publishes on a regular basis, for example on new ways to develop and deliver biomolecules and pharmaceutical cocrystals. 

Connecting and developing others have also been central in Annette’s career, she has successfully coached reports and mentees leading to impact in their careers. She is a passionate volunteer in American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, serves on the Executive Council as a board member, and in that context contributes to the scientific and professional development of the wider community via leadership of global meetings, scientific and professional publications and presentations.

Keith Thompson, CEO, Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult

Dedicated to building a Cell and Gene Therapy industry in the UK, Keith has established a team of experts in state-of-the-art laboratories in London, and a unique manufacturing centre in Stevenage.

Keith joined CGT from SNBTS, where he was National Director.  Prior to this, he was MD of Bioscot, VP of Diagnostics Operations at Serologicals, then VP of Global Manufacturing. He is currently a Director of the BIA and of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine.  In 1993, when at Bioscot, he received the Queen’s Award for export.

Dr Derek Adams, Chief Technology and Manufacturing Officer, Bluebird Bio

Derek Adams joined bluebird bio in March 2017 as Chief Technology and Manufacturing Officer leading all pharmaceutical sciences that includes process and analytical development, manufacturing, technical operations, and supply chain. Prior to joining bluebird, Derek was the Senior Vice President of CMC at Evelo Biosciences establishing process development and supply chain for clinical studies and drove product development strategy. Prior to Evelo, he was Vice President of Technical and Strategic Product Development at Alexion Pharmaceuticals developing and supporting global manufacturing processes and clinical supply chain. He also served as Plant Manager for Alexion’s Rhode Island Manufacturing facility and head of upstream process development. Derek’s career began in technical support for live virus vaccine production at Merck & Co, Inc. Derek holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering with High Distinction from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.

Professor Richard Jude Samulski, Professor of Pharmacology, Gene Therapy Center, University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Dr Samulski received his PhD in Medical Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Florida. His graduate work involved cloning the Adeno-associated virus (AAV) genome and the demonstration of AAV as a viral vector. This culminated in the first US patent involving non-AAV genes inserted into AAV. During his post-doctoral training at Princeton, he developed the AAV 2 ITR vector backbone, commonly used by most labs today. After these studies, he was hired as faculty at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Biology. During this phase, he was the first to demonstrate AAV transduction in rodent brain and muscle. Both of these observations initiated research efforts that culminated in the first clinical trials for AAV in brain (Canavan trial) and muscle DMD studies. Dr Samulski is a former member of the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC), and serves as a gene therapy consultant to the FDA. In 1993, he was hired at the University of North Carolina (UNC) to establish a Gene Therapy Center.

For 25 years Dr Samulski has led a team of multiple Principal Investigators developing novel viral vectors and clinical gene therapy programs. He received the “Outstanding Achievement Award” from the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy, was the National Hemophilia Foundation’s Investigator of the Year and was the first non-MD to be placed on the University of Florida’s “Hall of Fame”.  He has served as President of ASGCT and serves on the Advisory Council. He is a scientific founder of AGCT, Merlin, Asklepios Biopharmaceutical, NanoCor Therapeutics, Chatham Therapeutics, Bamboo Therapeutics, Viragen, and others. He served as Vice President of Gene Therapy in Pfizer’s Rare Disease Research Unit until the initiation of the AAV DMD trial in February 2018, when he returned full-time to his professorship at UNC.