Careers in diagnostic and precision medicine

Dr. Esther Baer is an Assistant Professor in Radiotherapy Physics at UCL and a Clinical Scientist dedicated to translating complex research into clinical reality. As the Entrepreneurial Lead for Octopath, she steers the development of AI-driven digital pathology tools, navigating the critical path from algorithm to patient care. Her expertise lies in implementing AI models within NHS systems and ensuring regulatory compliance through initiatives like the MHRA AI Airlock. Previously a CRUK RadNet Clinical Translational Fellow, Dr. Baer combines her PhD in Medical Physics with deep practical experience to bridge the gap between academic innovation and standardized clinical application.

Dr Georgia Fleet is a scientist turned entrepreneur on a mission to tackle one of healthcare’s most persistent challenges: hospital infections. She is the co-founder and CEO of Zonova, a company pioneering antimicrobial tech. With a PhD in materials science, Georgia founded Zonova on International Women’s Day 2023 to drive a global shift from treatment to prevention. Georgia has been recognised with the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award 2024/25 and Most Disruptive Award at Women in Tech EU 2025 - reflecting her commitment to impact, innovation, and change within infectious diseases and for women in innovation & STEM.

Laura is a UK and European patent attorney at Potter Clarkson, specialising in Life Sciences. She focuses on protecting innovations in diagnostics and therapeutics space, including biomarkers, immunotherapies, personalised medicine, and nucleic acid-based technologies. Formerly a patent examiner at the UKIPO, Laura gained unique insight into UK practice and patent searching. Today, she manages global portfolios, drafts and prosecutes applications, and advises on freedom-to-operate. Passionate about supporting future innovators, she mentors start-ups through incubator programmes and delivers IP workshops to help scientists and entrepreneurs understand how intellectual property can drive progress in precision medicine.

Soudabeh Imanikia is a Precision Diagnostics Senior Scientist at AstraZeneca, specialising in precision medicine and biomarker-enabled clinical trial delivery across multiple therapeutic areas. Over the past four years, she has led diagnostic testing strategies for Phase 3 programmes, driving operational excellence from trial initiation through biomarker data submission, and partnering with cross functional teams and external collaborators to ensure robust execution. Prior to AstraZeneca, she was a postdoctoral scientist at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Soudabeh holds a PhD in Genetics & Molecular Biology from King’s College London. In addition, she is an active STEM Ambassador and a Fellow of Girton College, University of Cambridge.

Jennie is a Policy Analyst at the Health Foundation, specialising in research and policy on the wider determinants of health. She is passionate about reducing health inequity, working to achieve this by developing evidence-based policies to improve the building blocks of health – things like our housing, jobs, finances and environment. Prior to this, Jennie was a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for 21st Century Public Health, where she used systems approaches to tackle the commercial determinants of health at local level. She has also worked as a Policy Fellow at the Centre for Science and Policy and a Clinical Scientist in the NHS, and holds a PhD in Clinical Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge.