Karen Akinsanya PhD is President of R&D, Therapeutics at Schrödinger. This followed leadership positions at Merck & Co and at Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Raised initially in Bristol and then in the suburbs of Surrey, in this episode of BELS Brief Chats, Karen shares her roots in our sector, undoubtedly stimulated by the healthcare and scientific backgrounds […]

From humble beginnings in Edinburgh, Martin Mackay PhD’s lifelong passion for football and his beloved Heart of Midlothian, allied to a total fascination with the ‘coolness’ of lab coats, were parlayed into a hugely impressive career, including major research leadership roles at industry titans such as Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Alexion.  Now, “having a blast” in

Dr Gillian Cannon currently serves on multiple boards and in an executive role at Roivant as Head of Commercial Innovation. Her 30-year career has included leadership roles in major pharma including Merck & Co, UCB and Otsuka Pharma. She hails from Newcastle, received her BSc from Edinburgh University and earned her PhD in Health Administration at

Will Harvey, MPhil, BA, PhD—When we recorded this episode of BELS Brief Chats, Will was a Professor of Leadership at the University of Bristol School of Management. He is presently Professor of Leadership at Melbourne University and Director of the Social Purpose Centre. Will conducts research, teaches and consults in the areas of reputation, leadership,

Building an audience of international life science influencers and generating compelling content to hold their attention is challenging for any individual or industry. In a world awash with so many choices of what to read and where to get information, it is hard to stand out, regardless of whether your entity is a country or

Fiona Marshall discovered a love for science at school. She eschewed medicine for biochemistry at the University of Bath and then chose neuroscience for her PhD at Cambridge, while also accumulating industry experience.  She lived through the transformation of Glaxo to GSK, shifted to biotech at Millennium where she worked with the likes of Allan Marchington

“The vision at NICE is to be at the forefront of delivering access for patients in the NHS to valuable, evidence-based innovative medicines, medical devices and diagnostics. The changes that we are making will provide a robust foundation for our evaluations now and in the future and enable us to continue to lead the way

At the age of 10 she wanted to be a vet, at 17 a scientist, and at 21 she settled on medicine.  Gillian Leng trained as a doctor at Leeds University, studied peripheral arterial disease in Edinburgh for several years, then worked as a consultant in public health in Bedfordshire.  It’s no surprise that she

Born into a medical family on the Isle of Skye, Dr Calum Macrae’s path to Edinburgh University and London to study medicine and become a leading cardiologist, geneticist and developmental biologist is not a great surprise.  His drive to “follow the science” took him to Boston where he trained with seminal thought leaders in human genetics and

The conversation between Nigel Gaymond (in London amid rain of biblical proportions) and Mike Grey (in Utah amid smoke-filled air brought about by severe drought and forest fires) brought into sharp relief the weather extremes our planet is experiencing.  Brought up in the West Midlands, Mike studied Chemistry at Nottingham University with support from local

Dr Annalisa Jenkins grew up in the south of England in a naval family.  Having discovered a passion medicine at an early age, she received offers from several medical schools and chose St. Bart’s – because it was in London (much to her parents’ chagrin).  While in med school, she gained essential financial support for

Justin Gover is the ex-CEO of GW Pharma—a great UK success story—known for treatments for epilepsy and the multiple sclerosis treatment product nabiximols which was the first natural cannabis plant derivative to gain market approval in any country. Justin shares his journey from studying politics at Bristol University to honing his skills at the global

John Young, Chief Business Officer at Pfizer, is that increasing rarity in today’s world, a one-company man who has never even interviewed elsewhere. John shares his journey from being raised in rural Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and schooled in Lockerbie, to studying biological sciences at Glasgow University, doing postgrad work at Strathclyde University, to deciding the lab

Mark Stevenson, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Thermo Fisher Scientific, grew up in the West Country in Gloucestershire (though he sheepishly admits to having lost his burr). He attended Reading University, attracted by their programme of industrial placements. Mark shares his journey from studying science and business to a training program at Perkin Elmer

Dr Rupert Vessey—Former President of Early Development and Research of Bristol MyersSquibb, now Chief Scientific Officer & Executive Partner at Flagship Pioneering—shares his journey from following the family tradition into medicine with Sir John Bell at Oxford University as his advisor while juggling a love and talent for rugby to then honing in on a