Join us at this in-person BioDundee event where we will explore the growth of Life Sciences and Medicine within our local Tayside region and the opportunities arising for businesses within these sectors.
During the event we will be joined by Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak, Scotland’s Chief Scientist for Health, along with speakers from the BioDundee Community, School of Medicine and the School of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee.
We’ll also hear, first-hand, from Research and Innovation Services (RIS) at the University of Dundee on the number of ways in which businesses within the Life Science and Medicine sectors can work in partnership with experts at the University of Dundee to innovate and grow.
Join us for insights and discussions, followed by a networking lunch (12 - 1pm).
This is a free event that requires registration in advance of the event, please click here to register.
*This event is part of a pilot event programme called Innovation Conversation which is facilitated by Research and Innovation Services (RIS) at The University of Dundee in partnership with strategic and enabling organisations. These sessions provide an opportunity for regional business networking and for exploring pathways to University of Dundee collaboration.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
PROFESSOR JULIAN BLOW
Professor Julian Blow is Dean of the School of Life Sciences. In this role he aims to enhance the excellence of the School’s activities: its outstanding biological and biomedical research, its high quality teaching and student experience, and the strong impact of its activities outside academia. He is committed to working closely with industry to translate the School’s research, license innovations with external partners and maximise the external reach of our world class reagents and technologies. As Professor of Chromosome Maintenance, Julian is also an active researcher. He was awarded his PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK, in 1987 from the lab of Professor Ron Laskey and then worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Professor Paul Nurse at the University of Oxford. In 1991 Julian set up his own research lab at the ICRF Clare Hall Laboratories where he was promoted to Senior Scientist. He moved to Dundee in 1997. In 2012, Julian became Director of the Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression. He was appointed Director of Research for the School of Life Sciences in 2014 and he became Dean of School in 2016. Between March 2020 and September 2021, Julian was Interim Vice-Principal (Academic Planning and Performance) and a member of the University Executive Group. Julian returned to his role as Dean in December 2021. Julian is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and a Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization. He has served on a range of national and international scientific committees and is currently Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine.
ROBIN PRESSWOOD
Robin Presswood is Executive Director of City Development at Dundee City Council, with responsibility for Planning and Building Standards, Economic Development, Sustainable Transport and Roads, Property, Engineering and Sustainability.
Robin started his local government career with Tayside Regional Council, had various elected, voluntary and non-executive posts with Dundee District Council, NHS Tayside and Scottish Arts Council, before joining Fife Council in 2004, where he was Head of a service combining planning, economic development, tourism, employability, building standards, environmental health, and trading standards. He was chairman of Dundee Contemporary Arts from 2003 to 2016.
Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak DBE, MD, FRCP, FAHA, FRSE, FMedSci
Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak is Chief Scientist (Health) for the Scottish Government and Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Glasgow. She was awarded an OBE for services to medicine and a DBE for services to cardiovascular and medical science. Recognised as a world-leading cardiovascular scientist and clinical academic, her major research interests are in hypertension, cardiovascular genomics, and precision medicine, where she not only publishes extensively in top peer-reviewed journals (over 500 publications), but also excels in large scale research funding for programmes and infrastructure. From 2010 – 2020, Professor Dominiczak was Vice-Principal and Head of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences at the University of Glasgow. She was the driving force behind the fundraising, development, and delivery of the University of Glasgow’s clinical academic campus at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, home to a Clinical Innovation Zone from which she led a triple helix partnership between academia, the NHS and industry to accelerate innovation, maximise patient benefits and stimulate economic growth. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, the American Heart Association, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, European Society of Cardiology, and the Society of Biology. From 2013 to 2015, she was President of the European Society of Hypertension. She is past President of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland.
Dame Anna is a member of several editorial boards and, from 2012 - 2022, was Editor-in-Chief of Hypertension, journal of the American Heart Association, currently she is Editor-in Chief of Precision Medicine due to launch in 2023.
In March 2020, Anna successfully led the establishment of Lighthouse Laboratory in Glasgow to provide rapid Covid–19 diagnostics, and then was asked to become Director of Laboratories at the UK Department of Health and Social Care to lead all 10 Lighthouse Laboratories across the UK, the role she fulfilled till 2022
DR ANDREW WOODLAND
Dr Andrew Woodland (CSO and Founder of Tay Therapeutics) is an experienced scientist and manager, with 19 years of drug discovery leadership experience working in biotech and similar organisations [BioFocus, Dundee’s Drug Discovery Unit (DDU), Tay Therapeutics]. With a background in Medicinal Chemistry, he has developed a deep understanding of drug development for inflammation, oncology, and orphan indications. He has contributed to one preclinical candidate, two clinical candidates and over ten academia–industry partnerships. In 2020, his academic group span out of the University of Dundee to form Tay therapeutics (formerly In4Derm). Since spin out Andrew has led efforts to secure >£5M in commercial investment and revenues, licenced one product to VYNE Therapeutics that will enter Phase 1 clinical development Q4 2022, and optioned a second project that is nearing candidate selection. As CSO for Tay Therapeutics, he is leading development of a revolutionary technology, licenced from the University of Dundee, that can restore normal function to cancer and rare disease patients with premature stop codon mutations.
RANA TARAWNEH
Rana Tarawneh manages the sales and business development activities for Onorach and its subsidiaries. Rana is a pharmacist by background and studied three years in the faculty of medicine prior to completing my major degree in Pharmaceutical Science back in 2005. With a track-record of working in global medical device, wound care, pharmaceutical and skincare organisations she worked with multinational companies and SMEs in different fields, different countries and at various stages of growth allowing me to continuously expand my sales skills. Rana has been involved in sales for over 15 years in Jordan, Kuwait and the United Kingdom, developing new markets and leading sales teams.
VICTORIA WRIGHT
Victoria is a Senior Solicitor in Thorntons’ Intellectual Property team. She advises individuals, public sector organisations and businesses on a range of intellectual property issues, research collaborations and commercial contracts. Prior to joining Thorntons, Victoria had experience working with Higher Education Institutions having joined from the University of Glasgow’s in-house contracts team. She is experienced in drafting, reviewing and negotiating contacts, with a particular focus on those in the medical, veterinary and life sciences areas.
DR JOHN MCMANUS
Dr John McManus studied a degree in genetics from University of Glasgow and PhD in Biochemistry from Edinburgh, John spent 5 years as a Post-Doc at Oxford University. Since leaving bench science in 1997 John has built a career in Business Development across a range of disciplines, including toxicology, biosafety, chemistry and analytical sciences. John currently supports both sides of the Malvern Panalytical branding structure, analytical system sales for Malvern and the product development CRO services provided through Concept Life sciences.
... And more still to be announced.