Transforming UK translation conference

Dame Sue Ion FREng FRS, Chair of the Royal Society Science, Industry and Translation Committee

Dame Sue Ion FRS is Hon President of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear. She was previously Chairman of the UK Nuclear Innovation Research Advisory Board (NIRAB). She represents the UK on a number of international review and oversight committees for the nuclear sector including the Euratom Science and Technology Committee which she chaired until late 2018. She was the only non-US member of the US Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee on which she has served from 2005-2020.She currently serves as a member of the Office of Nuclear Regulation Independent Advisory Panel.

Sue spent 27 years with British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) rising to the position of Chief Technology Officer in 1992, a post she held until 2006 when she assumed a number of mainly voluntary roles in Science and Engineering, including membership of the UK Council for Science and Technology and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). She was Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering 2002-2008 and chaired its MacRobert Committee 2013-2019. Sue was Deputy Chair of the Board of the University of Manchester until September 2018 and currently serves on the Board of the University of Central Lancashire.

Her core expertise is in materials science and engineering associated with the nuclear sector. Sue is a member of the Chief Scientific Advisor for Wales’s Science and Innovation Advisory Council. She has been a Visiting Professor in the Department of Materials at Imperial College since 2006, holds an Honorary Professorship at the University of Manchester and is now Chair of the Royal Society Science, Industry and Translation Committee.

Dr Rupert Lewis, Director, Government Office for Science

Rupert leads the Government Office for Science (GO-Science) which supports the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, providing science advice to the Prime Minister and to the Cabinet, carrying out strategic Foresight projects, and the science of emergency response. His previous roles include head of Automotive policy in the Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, where he also led work on business risks and contingency planning and was deputy Chief Scientific Adviser. In Defra he headed Climate Adaptation policy, leading the UK’s first cross-economy climate risk assessment. He also set up the Prime Minister’s ‘Business Council for Britain’. Rupert has a BSc in Marine Biology, a PhD in genetics, and worked on aquaculture development and start-ups in SE Asia, South Africa, and Europe prior to joining Government in 2002. In November 2019 he will join the Royal Society as Director of Policy.

Dr Stephen Cook, Chief Commercial Officer (Technology), BP plc

Steve Cook completed a DPhil in Bio-organic chemistry at Jesus College, Oxford before joining BP in 1998. He managed various R&D projects before moving into a strategy role which led to the creation of BP’s strategic accounts organisation. 

Steve then moved into BP’s Renewables business in 2002, managing collaborative demonstration projects in the area of hydrogen refuelling for fuel cell vehicles which included the construction and operation of the UK’s first hydrogen refuelling station in London. During 2005 Steve was part of the launch team for BP’s Alternative Energy Business and following launch led various commercial business development activity within that business.

In 2009 Steve moved to BP’s Technology organisation, leading long term strategy development and change management. From 2012 Steve created and led the Technology Commercialisation team which he established to maximise the value of BP’s innovation programmes. This team has commercialised a number of game-changing technologies and spun new companies out of BP.

Steve is now Chief Commercial Officer for BP’s Technology organisation. His remit includes long term energy trends work, thought leadership on emerging and disruptive technology, and building new energy businesses using venturing and other commercial structures. 

Steve is currently leading BP’s new business building factor ‘BP Launchpad’ which is scaling new global energy companies for the future.

Steve is a keen rock climber and ceramic artist. He is a founder-trustee of two UK charities.

Peter Brewin, Founder, Concrete Canvas Ltd

Peter is a director of Concrete Canvas Ltd, which he and Will Crawford founded in 2005 to develop and commercialise the award winning Concrete Canvas material and Concrete Canvas Shelters. Concrete Canvas now has offices on 5 continents, sales partners in 45 countries and projects in 80 countries. 

Following a Short Service Limited Commission, as an officer in the Royal Engineers, Peter studied Engineering (MEng) at the University of Cambridge and then Industrial Design Engineering (MA) at the Royal College of Art (RCA) and Imperial College where he was funded by an 1851 Studentship. While at the RCA he developed a novel re-circulating shower technology and co-developed Concrete Canvas’s core technologies. Both projects have won multiple major design and business awards, have led to multiple granted patents and have been commercialised as start-up companies. 

Peter’s work has won a large number of awards; most recently he was awarded a Silver Medal by the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) for his outstanding contribution to UK engineering. 

Dr Celia Caulcott, Vice-Provost (Enterprise), UCL

Celia Caulcott is Vice-Provost (Enterprise) at UCL. Following degrees in microbiology she joined the biopharmaceutical industry where she worked on and led research on the production of therapeutic recombinant monoclonal antibodies. Subsequently she worked on a variety of government projects and for the Wellcome Trust on the Human Genome Project. She joined the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) in 2008 and moved to UCL in 2015.

At BBSRC she developed and led the innovation strategy, widening engagement with agriculture, food and other bioscience-using businesses in the UK, emphasising the importance of bioscience research and innovation in contributing benefit to society and the economy. 

At UCL, Celia leads the cross-university Innovation and Enterprise Strategy. The focus is on widening the university approach to innovation and enterprise, drawing in all disciplines and seeking the widest possible benefit to society and the economy. This is supported by developing UCL strategic approaches to working with innovation partners, supporting entrepreneurship for students and alumni, translating research outputs to application and developing the UCL culture of innovation and enterprise.

Professor Matt Reed, Strategy Director, Materials Innovation Factory, University of Liverpool

Matt Reed is the Strategy Director of the Materials Innovation Factory at the University of Liverpool. Between 2013 and 2018, he led the Unilever co-investment into this translational facility, in partnership with leading materials chemistry academics at the University of Liverpool, and the UK Government. His focus is on creating and exploiting strategic innovation partnerships with other academic institutes, funding organisations, and commercial innovators.   

Matt is a scientist, inventor and innovator, with a technical background in chemistry, quantitative microscopy, and data science. He holds an MBa in Technology Management from Chalmers University, Gothenburg. In a thirty-year long career in science and innovation, he has worked for Shell and Unilever, and co-founded three companies. In addition, he has published scientific papers, filed patents, and co-authored three books. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and lives close to Liverpool with his family.

Professor Lisa Roberts, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation, University of Leeds

Professor Roberts leads on the development of the University’s research and innovation strategy, delivering a step change in the quality, volume and impact of world-leading research carried out at Leeds. 

Her role includes promoting industry partnerships in a number of key sectors, accelerating interdisciplinary research across a wide range of academic disciplines to tackle grand challenges and driving the recruitment and development of world-leading academics. She has responsibility for the following directorates: corporate relationships, research and innovation development, research quality and impact, commercialisation, major research initiatives, interdisciplinary research, international research and the Doctoral College.

Previously she was Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey, leading the Schools of Bioscience and Medicine, Psychology and Health Sciences. During this time she also developed and launched the 8th School of Veterinary Medicine in the UK and developed a successful One Health Strategy, with external partnerships being key to their success.  

Lisa is a Professor of Virology and, earlier in her career, she worked as a product development manager for Procter and Gamble, before undertaking her PhD at the BBSRC Institute for Animal Health and the University of Kent. 

Lisa is also a Board member of the Henry Royce Institute, the UK’s National Institute for Materials Science research and innovation.

Dr John Patterson

John joined BNFL plc as a graduate trainee and progressed to the position of Head of Materials, leading a team of some 70 professional scientists and engineers. In this role, he became responsible for University Links and was instrumental in initiating and managing the successful University Research Alliance in Materials Performance at the University of Manchester in 2002.

After 27 years’ in the nuclear industry, John joined Alstom as Director of Materials and Chemistry and later assumed responsibility for University Relations worldwide.

In 2012 John became the Technical Director at M&I Materials Ltd, a family-owned, medium-sized enterprise. This role included setting policy for relationships with universities as well as initiating and managing such relationships.

John is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and of the Institute of Physics.

Kate Barnard, Engineering Manager - University Research, Rolls-Royce Plc

Kate Barnard (Rolls-Royce) is a manager in the engineering and technology group with accountability for maintaining and developing strategic academic partnerships around the world. She interfaces with government agencies, academics, and students to promote collaboration, focus strategic direction in line with corporate and national needs, and ensure a diverse talent pipeline for the future. She has led multiple national and international research programs, having worked for the company for 20 years. She is a chartered engineer with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and a professional program manager accredited by the Association of Project Management.

Patrick Speedie, Co-Founder & Director, IN-PART

Patrick is co-founder and co-CEO of IN-PART, an online match making platform for universities and companies. The system showcases research from over 220 research institutions around the world including MIT, Columbia, Oxford, Cambridge and Max Planck as well as other universities in the EU, Japan, Australia, South America and Hong Kong. 

To date IN-PART has raised £1.3M in angel and VC investment and brought together a company network in excess of 6,000, including all on the top 25 global R&D spenders. 

Patrick’s academic background is in law (LLB, LLM) with a professional background in multimedia publishing having worked for a number of years in London as a publisher for Globe Business Media Group. IN-PART currently has offices in Sheffield, London and Ottawa.

Dr Malcolm Skingle CBE, Director, Academic Liaison, GlaxoSmithKline

Malcolm has a BSc in Pharmacology/Biochemistry and PhD in Neuropharmacology and has over 70 publications including articles on the interface between industry and academia. He currently manages GSK’s Academic Liaison, with staff in the US and UK. His role involves close liaison with several groups outside the company including Government Departments, Research and Funding Councils.  He sits on many external bodies including BBSRC Council, HEFCE REF Main Panel A and several UK University Department advisory groups. Malcolm chairs several groups including the Diamond (Synchotron) Industrial Advisory Board, the Science Industry Partnership and the ABPI Academic Collaborations, Skills & Education group.

Anne Muir, Head of Business Engagement & Commercialisation, University of Dundee

Anne Muir is Head of Business Engagement and Commercialisation at the University of Dundee leading a team covering IP management, Technology Transfer, Spin-out Formation, Translational funding management, Strategic Industry Partnerships, Consultancy and other Business Engagement. She has over 17 years of experience in the commercialisation sector – primarily drug discovery and pharma – as well as running her own consultancy company working on various pharma/drug development start up programmes. She is an entrepreneur in her own right having founded and taken to market disruptive new products in the performance clothing market, raising both private equity and angel funding. Originally a biochemist, she quickly left the lab for the commercial world.

Dr Darren Budd, Commercial Director UK & Ireland, BASF Plc

Darren Budd was born in Taplow, United Kingdom, in 1967 and is married with 3 children. He studied Chemistry at Kingston University, UK, and went on to do his doctorate on Transition Metal Complexation of Heterocyclic Conducting Polymers.

Darren has held a number of positions within BASF; he worked in Germany for BASF’s Venture Capital Business for 5 years. Then for 6 years until 1st January 2016, Darren was Head of BASF’s in house distribution business for the UK & Ireland looking after sales to BASF’s small and medium sized customers across BASF’s chemicals portfolio. From January 2016, Darren took over as Commercial Director for BASF plc. This role is responsible for the Chemical Sales activities of BASF in the UK as well as the commercial activities of BASF in the UK to develop growth.

Currently Darren is Chairman of the Chemical Business Association. He is also on the North West Regional Council of the CBI, a member of the Governing Board of the IBioIC in Glasgow, a Board Member of the British Coatings Federation and the Science and Technology Facilitation Council.

Outside of work Darren is Chair of Governors of a local Primary Academy along with being a keen golfer.

Dr Michael Murray, Principal, Murray International Partners

Dr Murray commercialises intellectual assets. He has led and closed over 50 deals in the biopharmaceuticals industry using scientific, technical, intellectual property (IP), market, and deal-making expertise to assess, build, and negotiate deals. His client base is international and spans universities, start-ups, SMEs, mid-cap companies, and multinationals. Dr Murray has held director- and board-level/senior management and commercial roles in biotech companies and in an international management consultancy practice. He is a Member of the International Technology Transfer Network (ITTN, China); sits on the Advisory Board of the International Chamber of Innovation, Commerce & Enterprise (ICICE, Japan); is a Mentor at Cambridge Enterprise (University of Cambridge, UK); is a Royal Society Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of Sheffield (UK); and a Member of the Research Strategy Board of Coeliac UK. He holds a PhD in molecular genetics from the University of Leicester and a first degree in microbiology from the University of Edinburgh.

Dr Andrea Kells, Director - Research Ecosystem (UK/EU), Arm Ltd

Andrea has responsibility for overseeing Arm’s European research partnerships and collaborations, including management and strategic oversight of major UK and EU projects in which Arm is involved. She also liaises with relevant European funding agencies and policy-makers in order to promote Arm’s strategic research objectives, and works with colleagues in the US to support Arm’s international collaborations. Prior to joining Arm, she worked in the University of Cambridge for 10 years, managing large scale industrial collaborations in the biological and physical sciences. She also spent 5 years with a public sector consultancy, leading international evaluations of Government and agency funding for university-industry partnerships. Andrea has a degree in biological sciences from the University of Cambridge, MSc from the University of Oxford, and a PhD from the University of Southampton.

Dr Georgia Gliki, Senior Business Manager, LifeArc

Georgia Gliki has been working at the interface of academic research and drug discovery for over 15 years and has extensive technology assessment, IP management and commercialization experience. She is currently a Senior Business Manager at LifeArc. Prior to joining LifeArc, she held posts at CRT, GSK and CRUK. Georgia completed her PhD in Cardiovascular Medicine at UCL.

James Otter, Founder of CommLit.Online, Ellipson, and former Entrepreneur in Residence

James was one of the RS EIRs at the University of Southampton from 2018 to 2021. He was sponsored by the University of Southampton’s Institute for Life Sciences. During this time he mentored a range of start-ups and started the commercial literacy course, which gives academic entrepreneurs a grounding in business issues.  

Over the last 20 years he has led a range of turnarounds of technology companies in a range of sectors including genomics, drug delivery, health IT, nanotechnology, veterinary MRI and sound and vibration instrumentation. He has chaired or been an NED on Octopus Venture Capital Trusts since 2004.

His earlier corporate career was with Zeneca Agrochemicals (now Syngenta) where he held a range of international commercial management positions, and before Zeneca he worked with aid organisations in the field in Nepal and the Sahel. 

James has a degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge and an MBA from INSEAD. 

Professor Dek Woolfson, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Principal Investigator of BrisSynbio; Director of the Bristol BioDesign Institute, University of Bristol

Dek Woolfson is Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Principal Investigator of BrisSynBio, a BBSRC/EPSRC-funded Synthetic Biology Research Centre; Director of the Bristol BioDesign Institute at the University of Bristol; and Founder of Rosa Biotech.

Dek took his first degree in Chemistry at the University of Oxford, UK in 1987.  In 1991, he gained a PhD in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge.  He then did post-doctoral research at University College London (1991 – 92) and the University of California, Berkeley (1992 – 94).  He returned to the UK to take up a Lectureship in Biochemistry at the University of Bristol (1994 – 95).  From 1996 – 2005 he was Lecturer through to Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Sussex.  He moved back Bristol in 2005 to a joint chair in Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Dek’s research is at the interface between chemistry and biology, and applies chemical methods and principles to understand biological phenomena such as protein folding and stability.  He has a long-standing interest in the challenge of rational protein design, and how this can be applied in synthetic biology and biotechnology. His particular emphasis is on making completely new protein structures not known to natural biology using a combination of rational and computational design.  The current focuses of his group are in the parametric design of protein structures, assemblies and materials; and in porting these into living cells to augment natural biology.

In 2011 Dek became the first recipient of the Medimmune Protein and Peptide Science Award of the Royal Society of Chemistry; in 2014, he received a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award, and he gained an ERC Advanced Grant; and in 2016 he won the Interdisciplinary Prize of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Professor Andrew Hopper CBE FREng FRS, University of Cambridge

Professor Andy Hopper is Treasurer and Vice-President of the Royal Society, Chairman of RealVNC Group and former Head of the Department of Computer Science and Technology at Cambridge University. His research interests include computer networking, pervasive and sensor-driven computing, and using computer technology to ensure sustainability of the planet. 

Andy has pursued academic and industrial careers simultaneously. In the industrial context he has co-founded thirteen spin-outs and start-ups, three of which floated on stock markets, as well as working for multinational companies. In recent years the companies he co-founded have received five Queen's Awards for Enterprise. 

Andy received the BSc degree from the University College of Swansea (1974) and the PhD degree from the University of Cambridge (1978). He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (1996) and of the Royal Society (2006). He was made a CBE for services to the computer industry (2007). He was President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (2012). He is a recipient of the Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award (2013) and the Royal Society Bakerian Medal (2017).