With over 30 years experience in the field of medical science, Trevor Fitzpatrick brings a wealth of knowledge of clinical research trials and commercialisation to the Scientific Advisory Board.
Trevor gained a BSc (Hons) in Applied Biology and is a Certified Medical Publication Professional (CMAPP). He has since been associated with first-in-class launches in several disease categories. His particular interests lie in Cardiovascular medicine and Psychiatry. He has been extensively involved with pharmaceutical product development, data analytics and dissemination procedures for numerous high-profile drug providers.
Trevor is the author of several published works and is an experienced speaker at multiple industry events. He has been on the adjudication panel for the UK Pharmaceutical Industry Marketing Awards and is excited about developing next generation medicine with Optimise.
Ralph Coney is Chief Operating Officer at BJS Biotechnologies Ltd with specialist skills in molecular biology, biotechnology and medical devices.
Ralph is a highly-regarded professional who has spent more that seven years as MD at Novusci Ltd and held the Sales and Marketing Director position at BJS Biotechnologies.
Graduating from the University of Hertfordshire with honours in Applied Biology, Ralph combines his knowledge of medical science with key skills in sales and marketing management, general management, managing and driving change and growth.
As an inspirational commercial leader, he is used to fast-changing working environments and short deadlines. A consistent high-performer, Ralph is driven by transforming and growing businesses.
Niga Nawroly is a Medical Research Scientist and Immunologist with a broad experience in Flow Cytometry. She is currently a FLow Cytometry Specialist at ACEA Biosciences.
Niga holds an MSc in Immunology from Imperial College London and a BSc in Biology from Salahaddin University-Erbil. She has worked on various research projects for the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Queen Mary University of London and Imperial College London. Her studies include Immunology of transplantation & xeno-transplantation, diabetes mellitus, autoimmune diseases, virology and respiratory medicine.
Prior to her current role, Niga worked as European Flow Cytometry Specialist at Bio-Rad Laboratories and Business Development Manager/Application Scientist at eBioscience. She is the eFounder of biotechnology company Flowise Scientific Ltd, and for more than ten years was Head of Flow Cytometry at Imperial College London.
Niga’s proudest achievement is establishing a business teaching facility at Imperial College London, which has been running off over eleven years and brings important fundraising to the institution. She is the author of a number of peer-reviewed scientific papers and developed an important study into the genetic aspect of diabetes in relation to identical twins.
Niga is currently the Outreach Committee Member and Flow Cytometry Section Committee Member at the Royal Microscopical Society. She is an expert coach and mentor and brings a wealth of sales and commercialisation knowledge to the Advisory Board.
Andrew Mark is a highly-regarded sales and marketing professional with over 30 years experience and expertise in the medical diagnostic and life-science research sectors.
Andrew studied Applied Biology at university, specialising in Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Microbiology. He spent some time during his studies at the Microbiology Research Establishment (now Health Protection Agency). Andrew is a Global Expert Manager for Abingdon Health, having previously held roles at EuroSciCon, the Cell Therapy Catapult, Beckman Coulter, Serono Diagnostics and Pharmacia Diagnostics. His experience in these roles and ongoing interests encompasses cellular analysis, genetic analysis, allergy diagnostics, clinical flow cytometry and haematological malignancy.
He has considerable experience in leading and influencing external organisations and with communicating complex technology and concepts to a broad audience.
Dr Claire Morgan has more than 25 years’ experience in the scientific field. She has a PhD from the University of London in Immunology and Biochemistry and a BSc (Hons) in Applied Biological Sciences from the University of West England.
From 1996 to 1999 she worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Scientist at the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust at the Royal Free Hospital, London, and from 1999 to 2001 spent time as a Clinical Scientist in the Immunopathology Department at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London.
More recently Claire was Head of Business Development at Ludger Ltd, a bioscience company specialising in analytical technology for medical applications of glycobiology. She developed a particular expertise in the commercialisation of new technologies for glycosylation analysis and became proficient in understanding specific client requirements with regards to glycoprofiling services and products including biosimilar and innovator characterisation.
Claire is currently with the University of Oxford where she manages a new shared laboratory initiative, the Agile Lab, for the University.
Dr Sharon Brookes is the Head of Avian Virology and Mammalian Influenza at APHA-Weybridge and a Research Scientist for the Civil Service – a position she has held for 16 years.
Australian-born Dr Brookes acquired a PhD in Virology from La Trobe University in Melbourne. She has held postdoctoral positions at the Kennedy Institute for Rheumatology in Oxford and The Pirbright Institute in Surrey, attaining UK citizenship after 27 years of work and study.
Dr Brookes spent more that seven years working for AHVLA, first as Mammalian Influenza Team Leader, then as Influenza Research Leader and Acting Head on Avian Virology and Mammalian Influenza. She also specialises in electron microscopy and BTV morphogenesis.
She is a prolific writer of research publications, book chapters and trade press on the subject of Virology and Immunology. Dr Brookes has also achieved awards from the Microbiology Society. Her primary interest is in zoonotic biology and vaccine intervention and she is proud to have become leader of the influenza research team, acting as disease consultant for the British Government.
Dr Sharmila Bakshi is an experienced biotechnology specialist with a PhD in Molecular Microbiology from the University of Oxford.
In addition to her PhD, Dr Bakshi has an MSc in Molecular Genetics and BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry from the Universities of Oxford, Leicester and Kent at Canterbury respectively. She also has a Graduate Diploma in Law from Bpp Law School, London.
A drug development expert, she has extensive experience in advising pharmaceutical companies on vaccines, adjuvants, anti-infectives, biologics, therapeutics, medical devices and diagnostics. She has worked with Intercell (now Valneva), Sanofi Pasteur and the European Vaccine Initiative.
Dr Bakshi is familiar with the priorities of academic, industry, non-profit and governmental research organisations. She is experienced in leading the lifecycle management of critical research and development projects as well as establishing and maintaining successful collaborations between academia and industry.
A forward-thinking entrepreneur, Dr Bakshi established Personalize My Medicine to deliver research and condition-specific information to patients online and to provide medical innovations directly to individuals.
Dr Kerry McLaughlin is a JDRF Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism at the University of Oxford and specialises in Diabetology and Clinical Immunology.
Dr McLaughlin acquired her PhD in Immunology from King’s College London and a first-class honours BSc from the University of the West of England.
From 2009 to 2015, she held a Postdoctoral position in the Division of Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences at King’s College London. In 2012, Dr McLaughlin won an Early Career Grant from the Society for Endocrinology and in 2006, secured the Pfzer Prize for Innovation from the BBSRC Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme. She holds a published patent and was selected to join the Diabetes UK ‘Innovators in Diabetes’ programme in 2017.
A prolific science writer and editor, she has had numerous papers published in the field of Diabetes as well as verification and translation of journals from foreign sources.
As one of the youngest members of the Optimise Scientific Advisory Board, Dr McLaughlin is keen to explore the next generation of technology usage trends alongside her interests in the prediction of disease and autoimmunity.
Dr Charlotte Lawson is a senior lecturer in Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the Royal Veterinary College. She is also a member of the Cardiovascular and Inflammation biology research group. Her main research interests are leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions, microparticle production and adhesion molecule signalling.
After graduating from Wye College (University of London) with BSc in Animal Science, Dr Lawson undertook an ARC funded research studentship at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, supervised by Professor Yuti Chemajovsky and Professor Marc Feldmann, and was awarded a PhD in 1997. From 1998 to 2003 she took up a BHF funded post-doctoral position at Imperial College (Harefield Hospital) with Marlene Rose in the transplant immunology group.
In 2001, she was awarded a three-year BHF Intermediate Fellowship to pursue independent research. Dr Lawson moved to the Royal Veterinary College in 2004 as a lecturer and member of the Cardiovascular and Inflammation biology research group. She is interested in all aspects of vascular inflammation. Her current research focuses on leukocyte-endothelial cell interactions under static and hemodynamic conditions (including microparticle production, adhesion molecule signalling, autoantibody-mediated cell activation and leukocyte activation mediated by uptake of dietary fats).
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