Management Team

Nigel is Professor of Enzymology and Biophysical Chemistry at the University of Manchester. He is internationally recognised as a leader in the fields of enzyme engineering, structure and mechanisms, and biomanufacturing using synthetic biology and biocatalytic approaches. He has held key managerial positions such as the Director of the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB) and PI/Director of the Synthetic Biology Research Centre for fine and speciality chemicals production SYNBIOCHEM, as well as a prominent research role at the Harwell Research Complex (EPSRC ‘Dynamic Structural Science Consortium’). Nigel co-founded C3 Biotechnologies Ltd, which is engineering biology and innovating biomanufacturing technologies to commercialise chemicals/fuels production.

Ian is Technical Director of IBiolC tasked with shaping IBioIC’s strategy and implementing the business plan. He is the technical link with IBioIC’s industrial membership. Previously he was Group Leader in Process Technology with Zeneca, with a strong background in synthetic chemistry and process development, and Head of Process Development at Ingenza where he was responsible for bioprocess development with expertise at the interfaces of molecular and microbiology.

Yvonne is the Biotechnology Business Unit Director at CPI, where she is responsible for delivering the BU’s strategy and portfolio of projects. Yvonne has significant experience in bioprocesses having worked for 20 years developing biocatalytic and biobased products at Ciba Specialty Chemicals and BASF; Business Development Manager at Ashland Specialities before working at Innovate UK KTN leading industrial biotechnology and bioeconomy activities and as an Innovation Manager at Sheffield Hallam University.

Perdita is Professor of Mass Spectrometry (MS), Director of the Michael Barber Centre for Collaborative MS MBCCMS. She has considerable experience in the development and application of novel MS approaches for complex chemical and biological problems, and HTP MS screening for biocatalyst discovery programmes. She has designed and built five unique mass spectrometry platforms. She is an expert in the development and use of ion mobility mass spectrometry to analyse structurally heterogenetic proteins, and leads a research program that has discovered volatile biomarkers for Parkinson’s Disease. She collaborates extensively with industry in technology development for the analysis of biopharmaceuticals.

Alex is Head of the Sustainable Process Technologies (SPT) Group at the University of Nottingham. He specialises in upstream processing, where he has spearheaded the establishment of gas fermentation technology and systems biology capabilities. His expertise extends to downstream processing, where he has commercialised continuous adsorption and crystallisation unit operations. At the interface between science and engineering, he is a leading technology integrator covering process conceptualisation, techno-economic analysis, scale-up, process modelling and process design. His industry collaborations include Lucite International and Biome Bioplastics, enabled through Innovate UK funding.

Daniela Delneri is a Professor of Evolutionary Genomics at the University of Manchester, with thirty years’ worth of experience in yeast genetics and functional genomics. She focusses on understanding the interplay between genes and environment, including plasticity of mutations in protein coding genes and non-coding RNAs elements, the impact of chromosomal rearrangements on reproductive isolation and fitness, and the evolution of genomes in hybrid species including biotechnological aspects. She collaborates with several industries in strain development via hybridisation and trait selection in particularly relevant to the food and beverage sector and to the biorefinery processes.

Paul is Co-Director of the UK Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC) for Synthetic Biology SynbiCITE at Imperial College London. He has expertise in development of Synthetic Biology platforms for healthcare and manufacturing. He was a member of the UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap Coordination Group and the Royal Academy Engineering enquiry into Synthetic Biology. He is also a member of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on synthetic biology for the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. He is Co-Founder of two spinout companies (LabGenius; Equinox) and he develops tools for pathway engineering, biosensor development, design prototyping, natural products, biomaterials and flavourings.

Anthony is a Professor in organic and biological chemistry at the University of Manchester where he holds a BBSRC David Phillips Fellowship and an ERC Starting Grant. Anthony leads a multidisciplinary research team with expertise in biocatalysis, directed evolution, enzyme design, organic synthesis and genetic code expansion. In particular, Anthony’s group have pioneered methods to design and evolve enzymes containing non-canonical active site functionality, allowing the creation of enzymes with catalytic functions not observed in Nature. Anthony’s research has attracted considerable interest from industrial partners, with his group actively engaged with major chemical and pharmaceutical companies to develop biocatalytic approaches for sustainable chemical manufacturing.

Bob is Chief Technologist for the Biotechnology business unit of CPI and has an academic background in biochemistry and microbial physiology.  During his 30 years industrial career with global pharmaceutical and contract manufacturing companies he has worked at the interface of biology and synthetic chemistry with a particular focus on solving problems of cost-effective asymmetric synthesis. His team have invented and developed biocatalytic processes which have been used for the manufacture of several blockbuster pharmaceuticals.

Richard is Professor of Biomedical Systems Engineering and Co-Director/Co-Founder of the Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation at Imperial College London. He has published over 300 papers in SynBio, mathematical modelling, biomedical information systems, and has worked extensively in and with industry. He is a member of the UK’s Ministerial Leadership Council for Synthetic Biology (SBLC) and was a co-author of their two Roadmaps.

Gary has over 20 years of experience working on the design and scale-up of biocatalytic processes involving both enzymatic and fermentative bioconversions. His work has focused on the creation of automated microwell methods and numerical techniques to speed biocatalytic process design and optimisation. His current interests focus on intensified and continuous processes and their real-time monitoring and control. Gary is Head of the UCL Department of Biochemical Engineering and Director of the EPSRC CDT in Bioprocess Engineering. He is also the academic lead of the UCL MBI modular training programme for industry.

Marco is a Lecturer in the UCL Department of Biochemical Engineering. His main focus is on Industrial Biotechnology and specifically Sustainable Bioreaction Engineering principles to synthesise value-added chemicals and pharmaceuticals. He has an established track record in engineering and scale-up/down of fermentation and biocatalytic processes. He has a particular interest in the translation of traditional biocatalytic reactions (single-step and multi-step) and reactors into flow systems.

Philip is Professor of Innovation Management and Policy with the Manchester Institute for Innovation Research (MIOIR), Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, and a Professor of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. He is internationally recognised for research, engagement and policy leadership in science and technology, innovation management, manufacturing strategies, emerging technologies, and responsible innovation. He leads the MIOIR research theme on emerging technologies and governance and served as Co-Investigator and Lead for Responsible Research and Innovation with the Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre for Fine and Speciality Chemicals.

Nicolas has expertise in microfluidic and continuous flow reactor technologies. He leads the Bioprocess Microfluidics Group (BMG) at University College London and has established a unique bioprocess microfluidics laboratory, which has pioneered rapid prototyping techniques for microfluidic bioreactor technologies, as well as integration of analytical techniques.

Eriko is Professor of Synthetic Biology at the University of Manchester. She is a Co-Director of the Synthetic Biology Research Centre for fine and speciality chemicals production SYNBIOCHEM, and is coordinating the H2020-funded TOPCAPI consortium. She has an internationally leading position in the synthetic biology of antibiotic production and has pioneered advanced software for designing natural product producers with expertise in engineering secondary metabolite biosynthesis pathways and industrially relevant organisms.

Kostas is Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Systems Engineering at the University of Manchester. He has expertise on bioprocess synthesis, design and scale-up. He combines innovative experiments with multi-scale models of complex chemical/biochemical processes, especially integrated biorefineries for fuels and chemicals, microreactors and electrochemical systems. Furthermore, he develops computational and model reduction techniques for enhanced bioprocess simulation, design, optimisation and control capabilities. He has coordinated and taught CPD courses as well as biomanufacturing training workshops for industry.

Nick has over 30 years expertise in the use of enzymes as biocatalysts for organic synthesis and biocatalytic manufacture. He is at the forefront of work on directed evolution of enzymes as applied biocatalysts. Nick leads the Biocatalysis and Biotransformations theme at the UK Catalysis Hub and offers guidance on translational research to all UK Catalysis Hub researchers looking to tackle major challenges in the biocatalysis field. He is also Professor of Chemical Biology at the University of Manchester and Director of the Centre of Excellence in Biocatalysis, Biotransformation and Biocatalytic Manufacture (CoEBio3).

Kris is General Manager – Commercial Operations at CPI. He is an internationally experienced chemical engineer and Fellow of the IChemE. He was Founder and CEO of Solvert, COO at GreenBiologics Ltd, project manager at Vireol Plc, and worked globally with ICI for 12 years. He has extensive experience in designing and managing chemical plants to complement his expertise in biorefining.

James is a Reader in Chemical Engineering and leads a research group with interests in industrial biotechnology, fermentation process development and the efficient production and separation of bio-based products, including biosurfactants and biopolymers. He is Co-Founder and Technical Director of Holiferm Limited, an SME spun out from his research group in 2018. Holiferm are commercialising economically competitive biosurfactant producing fermentation technology at scale.

Ros is responsible for the operational and strategic management of the Hub. She has significant experience coordinating large collaborative research programmes and is also the director of operations for the SYNBIOCHEM Centre. With a research background in biological sciences she has led many interdisciplinary and industry-focused events and supported major multi-partner research grants with international and industry partners.

Kirk has extensive experience in university-business engagement, with an exceptional track record of securing funding for collaborative R&D (over £55M). As Future BRH Director of Commercialisation his focus is to deliver research impact through translational activities and co-creation of programmes with industry. He has a breadth of multi-sector experience, including advanced materials, biotechnology, energy and pharmaceuticals.

Louise provides professional management for all aspects of the Future BRH. She has significant experience of project managing research projects from a range of funders and also delivers project management training to the Higher Education sector. Louise’s specific research experience is in the area of bioprocessing and biopharmaceuticals, and she also has a background in research support across the biotechnology field.

Lisa provides a pivotal role in the overall administration of the Future BRH and provides high level project support. She has previous experience of working on a number of multi-partners projects across a range of areas including biotechnology, materials science and public health.