Archives: Speakers

I am an experienced leader and people manager with experience in Alliance management, clinical operation, sample management, scientific and laboratory management. I have a track record of delivering studies, projects, process improvements, innovative solutions and cohesive, high performing teams.

I thrive on interacting and collaborating with clients and/or stakeholders and being able to use my creative mindset to understand and exceed their expectations.

Finally, I love a challenge, something to get my teeth into, and a chance to learn and develop.

Specialties: Alliance management, People management, coaching, resource management, stakeholder management, Project management, client communication, GLP, GCP, immunology, sample management, system development, process improvement/optimization

Having two sons diagnosed with a rare disease (MPSII) changes your perspective and priorities in life. Having spent over 20 years in construction, many of which were at Board level, Bob decided to pursue a career in the Charity sector. At first becoming a Trustee, then progressed to Managing Director and Group CEO of various patient organisations, supporting those living with rare diseases and complex needs. Bob wanted to bring together his family experiences of a “Rare life lived” and commercial attributes in order to improve the lives of those most marginalised in society whilst, at the same time, helping to create a more sustainable financial future for patient organisations both in the UK and globally. As well as being Group CEO of the MPS Society/Rare Disease Research Partners he is proud to serve as Vice Chair of the LSD Collaborative, Board Member of the worldwide International MPS Network, Acting Chair of the New Born Screening Collaborative and work as a patient representative for MPS in various global charitable access programs that provide a possible lifeline to treatments in selected areas of the world. These are not job roles, but a way of life!

Ameeta is a Research fellow at the University of Birmingham based at the Centre for Patient Reported Outcomes Research and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration West Midlands (NIHR ARC WM) Public Health theme, ARC WM EDI lead, EDI Representative for the Public Health Research for Health Consortium of the NIHR School for Public Health Research, the University of Birmingham Institute for Applied Health Research (IAHR) EDI lead, and leads the IAHR EDI in Research working group.

I am an innovative senior change management professional with significant experience of end-to-end delivery on large complex projects and transformation programmes. I spent the first 20 years of my career in Banking, starting out in my home country of New Zealand before moving to Ireland and then onto the UK. Working in the same industry across multiple countries and cultures has given me a strong appreciation for the different life experiences and perspectives that individuals contribute.

Neelam has recently stepped down from being the CEO of MedCity, the life sciences cluster organisation for London, which plays a pivotal role in bridging industry, NHS and academia to boost innovation and economic growth. Neelam’s extensive experience spans the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. She has worked with the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industries, the European Innovative Medicines Initiative and collaborated with NHS England, NICE and Public Health England.

Neelam regularly supports companies with R&D, advising on the UK regulatory and access landscape, and is actively working to shape delivery of appropriate real estate infrastructure for life sciences companies. Other roles include seats on the advisory board of the Innovation Centre in Digital Molecular Technologies at the University of Cambridge, and she is a Non-executive director on the board of the Health Research Authority.

Oliver Buckley-Mellor is a Research Policy Manager at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. He has spent most of his career working on the policy environment for clinical research, having previously served as a Policy Advisor at Cancer Research UK. Oliver has an MA in Public Administration and Public Policy and a BA in History.

Marisa, MD, Internal medicine, is currently Honorary Professor at Imperial College London, Lecturer in pharmacogenomics at the University of Tor Vergata Rome, and member of the Editorial Board of Precision NanoMedicine Journal.

Former European Medicines Agency Senior Scientific Advisor, Marisa is expert in pharmaceuticals regulatory science with established professional track record in strategies for advanced and innovative health products pipelines. Liaison with regulators, sponsors, clinicians, patients and public health professionals, constitutes important elements of Marisa’s professional asset.

Experienced Medtech executive with track record of successfully leading multifunctional teams to develop prototype device towards clinic ready product.

Specialised in identifying and progressing innovative healthcare assets towards commercialisation.

Ian Bruce is Professor of Rheumatology and Vice Dean for Health and Care Partnerships, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, the University of Manchester. He is Director of the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). ). Manchester BRC seeks to address the major causes of health inequity across our diverse urban, rural and coastal settings by providing infrastructure to support early translational research in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Cumbria with a focus on delivering ‘personalised health and care for all’. It is the largest BRC outside the Greater South-East.

Professor Bruce qualified in medicine from Queen’s University Belfast in 1988 and gained his MRCP in 1991. He trained in medicine and rheumatology in Northern Ireland and completed his MD thesis on the pathogenesis of systemic vasculitis in 1995. He was the Geoff Carr Lupus Fellow at the University of Toronto with Murray Urowitz and Dafna Gladman (1996-98) before moving to Manchester in 1998.

He is former Chair of the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) group and a member of the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG). He leads the BILAG Biologics Register for SLE and is Chief Investigator on the SLICC/LFA/ACR Damage Index Renewal Project. He is Chair of the Astra Zeneca Anifrolumab in SLE Global Steering Group.

Professor Bruce’s research is focused on the association between inflammatory rheumatic diseases and premature atherosclerosis/coronary heart disease as well as personalised medicine in SLE.