Who's Who at Isis Innovation
Contact details for individual members of staff can be found on the Contact Details page or click on their name below.
Managing Director
Tom Hockaday
Tom Hockaday became Managing Director of Isis Innovation Ltd in 2006, having joined Isis in 2000. Before moving to Oxford in March 2000, Tom was at Bristol University for seven years where he was Managing Director of Bristol Innovations Ltd; before that Tom worked in UCL’s research contracting section for four years. Tom was Chairman of UNICO in 2003, the UK’s technology transfer trade association. Tom was on the founding Committee of Praxis, the UK’s national training programme aimed at technology transfer professionals, from 2002 to 2005.
Head of Marketing: Business Support Group
Simon Gray
Having started his career as an electronics engineer in the telecoms sector, Simon spent more than 20 years in a number of engineering, marketing and management roles in the global semiconductor industry, working for Hitachi and Renesas Technology.
With his background of managing international projects incorporating complex IP, and of leading marketing communications activities for both large corporate and startup companies, Simon has experience of applying a structured marketing approach to provide targeted B2B communications between technology providers and users. Simon joined Isis Innovation in September 2010.
University Relationship Manager: Business Support Group
Fiona Story
Fiona studied medical microbiology at Edinburgh University following a year working in pharmaceutical microbiology. Her PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology (molecular pharmacology of phosphodiesterases) was completed at Glasgow University on a BBSRC CASE studentship. This was sponsored by AstraZeneca and the first year of study was completed at their research facility in Loughborough. After a year in a business development role she spent 3.5 years with Invitrogen Ltd as a technical adviser and then in their sales team.
Business Relationship Manager: Business Support Group
Chandra Sekar Ramanujan
Chandra joins the Isis team after developing a portfolio of patents as a University researcher. His research was part of a unique industrial collaboration between the University of Oxford and Nippon Telephone and Telegraph. He joined the collaboration after completing a DPhil. in Nanomechanics and Atomic Force Microscopy at Oxford. He also has degrees in Material Science and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Chandra is from Singapore where he pursued industrial research and journalism. He has experience working in the nanotechnology, electronics, biotechnology and military sectors. Chandra joined Isis in September 2012.
Head of Group: technology transfer Group
Linda Naylor
Before moving to Isis in July 2002, Linda was based at the University of York where she was manager of Bioincubator York Ltd and was responsible for the commercialisation of Bioscience research either through company start-up or licensing. Linda was also part of the White Rose Biotechnology Consortium which was established to exploit the possible synergies between the Universities of York, Sheffield and Leeds to maximise the commercial potential of life science research from the three Universities. Linda has had over 20 years experience in the Life Science industry with Zeneca plc / ICI plc during which time she was responsible for managing the biology research within developing life science businesses covering the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, biopolymer, chemical and food business. Linda has a B.A. in Biological Sciences and an M.B.A. from the Saïd Business School, Oxford.
Technology Transfer Managers: technology transfer group
Paul Ashley
After graduating from the University of Leeds with an honours degree in zoology, Paul worked as a curator for SeaLife Centres public aquariums. A return to academia followed with in an MRC and industry sponsored PhD CASE studentship studying behavioural and physiological correlates of stress and depression. After completing his PhD, Paul took up a postdoctoral research fellow position at the University of Liverpool, conducting behaviour and neurophysiology research.
Paul then became the CEO of a spin-out company, commercialising remote monitoring and biotelemetry technology developed at the Defence Science Technology Laboratory. Following this, Paul took up a role at AstraZeneca as a member of the management team at the company’s environmental risk assessment facility. Here, Paul was responsible for the commercial development of a business with both internal and external customers. Paul joined Isis as a Technology Transfer Team Leader in July 2011.
Roy Azoulay
After completing undergraduate degrees in Computer Science and Physics, Roy joined embedded security start-up Discretix Technologies leading a team of software engineers to deliver innovative security solutions to tier-1 multinationals. Roy next completed an MBA from Oxford University's Saïd Business School, during which time he acted as Portfolio Manager for the school’s venture fund, monitoring the fund's existing investments and leading two new ones in early stage technology ventures. Roy won a competitive Isis-SBS Fellowship working with the Isis Technology Transfer group to formulate a strategy for software commercialisation; he joined Isis as a permanent Technology Transfer Manager in January 2010.
Ruth Barrett
After completing her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Oxford, Ruth completed her PhD at Cambridge in Developmental Genetics in 2002. She then joined the Cambridge spin-out Daniolabs Ltd, becoming a Senior Research Associate and staying with the company from its inception in 2002 to its sale to Summit Plc in 2007. Ruth then spent two years as a consultant at PharmaVentures, where she focussed on commercial projects such as licensing, valuations (including ENPVs and benchmarking), deal analysis, fund raising assistance, due diligence and business plan assessment, primary/secondary research and competitive landscape analysis. As part of PharmaVentures’ Transactions team, Ruth was intimately involved with two successful, multi-million dollar divestments of API manufacturing businesses, from the Dow Chemical Company and Helsinn Healthcare. Ruth joined Isis as a Technology Transfer Manager in August 2009.
Angela Calvert
Angela graduated from the University of Nottingham with a BSc in Plant Science. Following this she worked in technical sales for an agricultural merchant then went back into academia to obtain an MSc Applied Genetics and a PhD in Plant Molecular Biology, both at the University of Birmingham. Angela was awarded a one year Medici Fellowship at Birmingham where she worked to raise awareness and commercialise research from the Schools of Biosciences and Medicine. She then worked for a further three years in Knowledge and Technology Transfer at Birmingham City University, playing a leading role in identification and protection of IP, building strategic relationships for development and commercialisation of technology. Angela then moved to a commercial role at the UK Human Tissue Bank where she was responsible for Business Development and Sales. She played an influential role in evaluation of new products and business strategy and was instrumental in establishing a number of relationships, which ultimately led into a series of merger negotiations and exit opportunities for the business. Angela joined Isis Innovation in October 2009.
Matthew Carpenter
Matt obtained a first class honours degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of the West of England, Bristol and subsequently moved to Imperial College, London where he completed a PhD in Immunology in 1999. Matt’s PhD thesis focussed on the role of the CD28 costimulatory pathway in T cell function.
Following his PhD Matt was appointed as a post doctoral research fellow in the Department of Infection and Immunity at Imperial College where he was funded by a new spin out company to investigate the function of Notch signalling in T cell function. In 2002 Matt joined Invitrogen as a technical adviser where he was responsible for providing technical assistance and training to customers, sales and other Invitrogen employees.
Matt joined Research and Knowledge Exchange Services at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow in 2004 as Intellectual Property Rights Manager where he had primary responsibility for the protection and management of Strathclyde’s IP portfolio across the breadth of its research base. Matt joined Isis as a Technology Transfer Manager in June 2011.
Jon Carr
Jon obtained a first class honours degree in Chemistry from the University of Exeter in 1996 and stayed on to complete a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry in 1999. His first industrial role was a Research Scientist for Servomex, helping to design and manufacture novel gas sensors – mainly using catalysis. He joined Molecular Products in 2003 as a Technology Transfer Manager. One successful project completed during this time involved designing a new engineered unit containing soda lime, which could remove carbon dioxide gas released by the crew of the Royal Navy’s submarine fleet.
In 2007 he started a Technical Sales role within Veeco Instruments Ltd – who supply atomic force microscopes, optical and stylus profilers to the university and industrial sectors. Jon joined Isis Innovation as a Technology Transfer Manager in January 2011.
Nikolaos Chalkias
Nikolaos received his first degree in Chemical Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece. After completing his studies he went on to complete his PhD at the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Cornell University. His research was focused on the interface of biochemistry and engineering. Whilst at Cornell he was a member of the Cornell Nanobiotechnology Center and the Cornell Center for Materials Research. His research was on biosensors, enzyme immobilization and the effect of low magnetic fields on a haem-containing enzyme.
His industrial experience is in consumer products and healthcare. In January 2007 he joined Reckitt Benckiser in NJ, USA as a Research Associate working on applied research and product development. There he gained extensive experience in ELISA assays and product formulation. In February 2009 he transferred to Reckitt Benckiser (RB) Healthcare in the UK as a Technology Sourcing Associate in Therapeutic Skincare. During 2010 he sourced and managed a technology portfolio supporting the pipeline of two £200m personal care brands and he delivered four projects to the R&D delivery team.
In his last role within RB he was responsible for the development of the long term technology pipeline for one of RB’s healthcare brand, where he initiated and managed collaborations between RB and external partners. Nikolaos joined Isis as a Technology Transfer Manager in July 2011.
Chim Chu
Chim is a Charted Engineer with an Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering obtained from Newcastle University following service as a Marine Engineering Officer in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service.
Prior to joining Isis in December 2009, he developed Defence Research into Systems projects at SELEX/Finmeccanica, involving innovative partnerships.
At QinetiQ, after an Internal Consultancy role in business and project management, he became Associate Director of New Ventures responsible for transforming defence technology research into stand-alone, merged and spun-out businesses, for exploitation by QinetiQ New Ventures as investment grade opportunities.
When operating through his own Consultancy company, he led the exploitation of advanced technology projects for clients such as the collaborative Artificial Intelligence project COGSYS owned by 35 companies, by creating two new companies. For SME clients: Vertec (software), Eureko (nappy recycling), and Seldoren (dental syringes), he led the commercial and engineering teams to bring to market new technology, techniques and products.
In an earlier career in technology management with GEC, he completed assignments in Business Transformation, Project Management, and Engineering Management. Notable roles were in business change, and in re-aligning organisations to exploit growth markets in China and the Middle East through direct sales, technology transfer and Joint Ventures.
David Churchman
David heads up the Isis Outcomes activity within the Technology Transfer group at Isis. In recognition of his contribution to promoting health outcomes from Oxford he was made an Associate Member of the Health Services Research Unit (HSRU) at the University of Oxford in November 2011. David gained his PhD and MSc from the University of Surrey where he studied Inorganic Analytical Chemistry and Radiation and Environmental Protection respectively. For the past seven years, David has applied his academic background to the commercial sector leading hi-tech scientific product development through international Marketing and Sales roles, such as the Micromass Inorganic Mass Spectrometer group. David joined Isis in April 2004 from a Cambridge University spin-out, where he was responsible for sales development of materials data management software to the U.S. aerospace industry.
Sarah Deakin
Sarah obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences at The University of Exeter. Upon graduation Sarah completed a Masters Degree in Immunology at the University of Birmingham and remained to undertake a PhD in the Department of Medicine, entitled 'Novel Mechanisms of Lymphocyte Recruitment to the Liver', which resulted in the publication of several papers. Sarah left academia to pursue a career in sales and prior to joining Isis was a Technical Sales Specialist with Invitrogen Ltd. In her first year with Invitrogen she was awarded 'Best New Sales Recruit'. Sarah joined Isis as a Technology Transfer Manager in October 2006.
Jamie Ferguson
Having completed his PhD in Organic Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh, Jamie joined BP in 1996. In 1999 he joined the Cambridge inkjet printing start-up Patterning Technologies Ltd (PTL). On spinning out the Jetmask business from PTL, he became its Director of Business Development setting up and overseeing a number of the company’s commercial relationships within the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) market. Jamie played a key role in licensing Jetmask’s proprietary technology to Fujifilm Electronic Imaging Ltd (FFEI) in 2002 and took up a product management position with responsibility for PCB and inkjet based developments. Within FFEI, he led the FineTrak FT300 laser photoplotter development and set up and managed the worldwide business. Jamie successfully obtained DTI funding under the Micro and Nanotechnology (MNT) Initiative and managed the collaborative research programme to develop an innovative hybrid imaging technology aimed at fine structure production. Whilst at FFEI, Jamie completed an MBA with a dissertation looking at the strategic positioning of the company within a new business area. Jamie joined Isis in September 2006 as a Technology Transfer Manager.
Susan Gale
Susan has over 25 years of experience in various commercial roles in the life sciences, and has worked in Australia, USA and the UK. She completed her tertiary studies at the University of Adelaide, South Australia. In 1985 Susan obtained a first class honours degree in Physiology following the completion of a Bachelor of Medical Science, and was subsequently awarded a PhD in Biochemistry in 1989 following submission of her thesis titled “Intestinal survival and adsorption of milk-derived epidermal growth factor in the suckling neonate”.
From late 1988 until 1989 Susan held a post doctoral position at Chiron Corporation (California, USA) studying the various potential therapeutic roles of epidermal growth factor. Following her return to Australia, Susan completed a postgraduate diploma in Education in 1993 before joining GroPep Pty Ltd in 1993 as a Product Manager (the commercialization of insulin-like growth factor, analogs and antibodies for the research market), and then subsequently Bresagen Limited in 1996 as Product Sales and Development Manager (the commercialization of equine growth hormone as a veterinary therapeutic). In late 1999, Susan established the Australian subsidiary of Diagnostic Systems Laboratories Inc (in vitro diagnostics) before taking the role of Program Director at DSL's headquarters in Houston, Texas in 2002.
In 2005 following relocation to the UK, Susan joined BioFocus DPI Ltd (formerly BioFocus Discovery Ltd) as Senior Director of Commercial Operations and was responsible for the drafting, negotiation and closure of the in-licensing and service agreements for the various BioFocus sites located in UK, Switzerland and USA. In early 2010 Susan then joined Lonza as a Drug Discovery Specialist before joining Isis as a Technology Transfer Team Leader in March 2011.
Evert Geurtsen
Evert studied Automotive Engineering in The Netherlands and then joined the new General Motors European Technical Center where he developed early applications of digital engine management systems and emission controls for car-manufacturers in Europe and the Far East. He moved to Lotus Engineering five years later where, as Lotus’ Commercial Head and Client Director, he led many of the most challenging product and technology development projects for major car manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers. As Managing Director of a privately owned fleet logistics company he led a successful turnaround and then founded his own venture commercialising electric cars and technologies in 2005. Evert has an MBA from Warwick and joined Isis Innovation in September 2009 where his primary focus is on physical sciences, engineering and software.
Mairi Gibbs
Mairi is a chemist by background, studying biosynthesis during her PhD at Bristol after graduating from Oxford. She then spent several years working in the fine chemicals industry, where she managed a team of chemists developing aqueous dyes for use in photorealistic printing. Mairi is a named inventor on seven patents resulting from this work. Mairi joined Isis in 2002 as a Technology Transfer Manager and has worked on a number of exciting projects including the spin-out Oxford Catalysts, which successfully floated on AIM in 2006. Mairi moved to a Technology Transfer Team Leader position in 2008 and is currently Operations Manager for the Technology Transfer Group.
Mark Gostock
Mark graduated with a BSc degree in Chemistry with Pharmaceutical & Forensic Science from the University of Bradford, before completing an MSc in Analytical Chemistry & Instrumentation at Loughborough University. Mark furthered an interest in analytical technologies through his PhD research within the Biophysics & Surface Analysis group at the University of Nottingham. His thesis entitled “Imaging of Interactions at Interfaces” involved development of a novel surface plasmon resonance microscope, via characterisation with complementary biophysical techniques such as atomic force microscopy, time-of-flight mass spectrometry and confocal microscopy.
Subsequent to his graduation in 2004, Mark joined Farfield Group Ltd as a Field Application Scientist, taking responsibility for all aspects of application development, sales support and training programs for the company’s range of nanotechnology based interferometer platforms. In 2006 Mark relocated to Pittsburgh, USA as Principle Scientist to facilitate inauguration of Farfield’s North American sales and technology centre. After successfully developing a rapidly expanding customer base and exploiting a national distribution network, Mark was appointed Product Manager and moved back to the UK in 2009. Here he governed development of the product portfolio through collaboration with strategic networks formed in the pharmaceutical and biomedical sectors. Mark joined Isis as a Technology Transfer Manager in October 2010.
Richard Holliday
With a first class honours degree in Materials Engineering and an Engineering Doctorate (EngD) from the University of Wales, Richard’s early career was focused on the introduction of innovative materials in the automotive industry. In 2001 he joined the World Gold Council, leading the gold industry’s global R&D initiative aimed at developing new industrial uses of the metal, in collaboration with business and university partners.
As Director of Technology, he initiated and managed the organisation’s first direct investments, alongside VC investors, in early-stage technology companies. Richard was an active board observer at one of these companies, Nanostellar Inc. This Silicon Valley based developer of nanomaterials, successfully licensed new catalyst technology to the European automotive industry in 2011. Richard is a Fellow of The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, where he has previously served on the governing Council. Richard joined Isis in December 2012.
Alex Marshall
Alex completed an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at the University of Birmingham and a PhD in Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge. Upon completion of his PhD, he stayed on at Cambridge to further develop this research and to co-found a start up diagnostics company – Smart Holograms Ltd. Following initial venture financing in 2004, this company was successfully spun out of the University and located on Cambridge Science Park to commercialise a novel optical sensor technology. Prior to starting at Isis in September 2010, Alex worked in both technical and commercial roles at Smart and is also a named inventor on 13 PCT patent applications.
Carolyn Porter
Carolyn obtained a first class honours degree in Pharmacology from University College Dublin in 1991. She subsequently obtained a PhD in Immunology from Trinity College Dublin investigating the role of Protein Kinase C in T cell function. Following her PhD she held a post doctoral position in the Department of Biochemistry at Oxford University in the fields of cell signalling and Immunology. In 1998 Carolyn joined Ernst & Young as Life Sciences Knowledge Manager and went on to become a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group where she assisted Companies with fund raising, acquisitions and Company sales. She joined Chiron Vaccines in 2003 as a Business Development Director focusing on vaccines in 3 areas, meningitis, paediatric and travel. Carolyn's most recent industry position was Head of Search and Evaluation for Europe region in Novartis Vaccines Business Development team. Carolyn has an MBA from Warwick Business School and joined Isis as a Technology Transfer Team Leader in March 2009.
Martin Procter
Martin obtained a first class honours degree in chemistry from the University of Southampton, and stayed on to complete a PhD in synthetic organic chemistry in 1996. After 18 months postdoctoral research at Florida State University, he returned to the UK as a Medicinal Chemist with OSI Pharmaceuticals in 1998 becoming a Project Leader and Collaboration Manager shortly after. In 2003 Martin joined Prosidion as Head of Chemistry, with responsibility for synthetic, computational and analytical chemistry. Martin is an author or inventor on over 50 papers and patent applications, and has been involved in the discovery of a number of compounds that have progressed to clinical trials. Martin joined Isis as a Technology Transfer Manager in April 2010.
Manjari Chandran-Ramesh
Manjari, a Rhodes scholar, completed her doctorate from the Mobile Robotics Group, in the Department of Engineering, University of Oxford. Her PhD thesis was on assessing the quality of urban maps built by robots using machine learning techniques. She gained a wide exposure to various areas of robotics, estimation and optimisation algorithms as well as programming languages during this time. Her Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering (first class with distinction) was from the University of Madras.
After completing her doctorate, she worked as a post doctoral researcher at the Computational Linguistics Group, University of Oxford on the Companions project (Intelligent, Persistent, Personalised Multi-modal Interfaces to the Internet). She also taught Engineering undergraduates at St. Hilda's College during this period and continues to do so. A professional classical instrumentalist, she regularly performs at various concert halls. Manjari joined Isis as a Technology Transfer Manger in August 2011 and specialises in the commercialisation of Engineering / Computer Science research in particular as well as software.
Bharti Ranavaya
Bharti graduated with a BSc in Biomedical Sciences from the University of The West of England, which incorporated a year placement with Bayer AG identifying target genes for insecticides. She then completed her PhD in Plant Genetics at the University of Birmingham, where she was awarded a one year Medici Fellowship in which she raised awareness and commercialised research from the Schools of Biosciences and Medicine. Subsequent to her graduation in 2007, Bharti joined Agilent Technologies within their Genomics Division as an Account Manager. Prior to joining Isis, Bharti worked at NHS Innovations London. Here she identified commercially viable technologies, assessed their commercial feasibility and delivered healthcare innovations to the market. Bharti joined Isis as a Technology Transfer Manager in February 2011.
Andy Robertson
Andy studied Engineering Science at Oxford University and was awarded a PhD from the University of Edinburgh. His PhD, sponsored by a CASE studentship in collaboration with Lucas CAV, studied the application of artificial intelligence techniques to engineering design. After working as a manufacturing systems engineer and design engineer in the automotive sector, Andy joined an Oxfordshire-based IT company as a technical consultant specialising in computer-aided design and systems management.
In 2005 Andy joined a medical devices start-up (now Adlens Ltd) co-founded by Oxford academic Josh Silver as the first member of the technical team. At Adlens, Andy’s role involved building on the founding variable focus lens IP; developing new product concepts; growing the technical team and managing/co-ordinating projects. The company’s first project was successfully licensed in 2007 and its first product – a pair of adjustable eyeglasses for emergency use - was brought to market in Japan in 2011. Andy joined Isis Innovation in August 2011 and focuses on physical sciences and engineering.
Rakesh Roshan
Rakesh - former Felix scholar - obtained a DPhil in Physics from the University of Oxford in 2001. His thesis entitled “optical spectroscopy of semiconductor v-groove quantum wires” incorporated development and implementation of a novel near-field optical microscope. After graduating from Oxford, Rakesh moved on to work for a leading Japanese electronics manufacturer, in their research and development wing. As a supervisor in the advanced optoelectronics department he was involved in developing several cutting edge technologies, at different levels of the value chain, including development of semiconductor lasers, optical communication systems for automotive applications, display technologies and solid-state lighting. He was also involved in a variety of strategic roles focussing on the development of corporate technology road maps, market analysis and competitors’ IP analysis for mutual licensing agreements. Rakesh joined Isis as a Technology Transfer Manger in August 2007 and became Technology Transfer Team Leader in September 2010.
Brijesh Roy
Brijesh studied Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry at St. Peter’s College, University of Oxford. For his PhD, he moved to the Neural Signalling Laboratory in the Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research at University College London to research the pharmacology and enzyme kinetics of nitric oxide signalling. After publishing his thesis, Brijesh moved to the hedge fund, Millennium Capital Partners, as a healthcare analyst on a small trading team managing a $600m investment portfolio. Subsequently, he worked as an associate strategy consultant at LEK Consulting, gaining experience across a broad range of sectors, predominately supporting private equity clients. Brijesh joined Isis Innovation in November 2009.
Andy Self
Andy obtained a BSc honours degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Birmingham in 1999. Upon graduation, Andy spent 1 year at the CRC Department of Clinical Oncology at the University of Nottingham, researching a signalling pathway associated with a number of cancer cell types. Andy then switched to industry, spending 9 years at the drug discovery services company BioFocus DPI, initially as a lab based scientist, before being promoted into a project management role. In 2006, Andy moved into the commercial team at BioFocus DPI, as Associate Director of Business Development, where he was responsible for Biology business generation within Europe. Andy joined Isis as a Technology Transfer Manager in July 2009.
Christine Whyte
Christine obtained a first class honours degree in Microbiology from the University of Bristol then obtained a DPhil at the University of Oxford, studying gene expression in bacteria. In 1991 she joined Unilever as a management trainee, based in the women’s health and diagnostics company Unipath. She had a number of roles in marketing, research management and clinical trials in the diagnostics company Oxoid (now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific). Christine spent 6 years at Cancer Research Technology where she negotiated a number of licences for clinical stage small molecules and immunotherapeutics, as well as being on the board of the spin-out company Hybrid Biosystems. She also advised several of Cancer Research UK’s drug development committees on matters relating to intellectual property. In 2003 Christine joined Oxxon Therapeutics as In-Licensing Manager before spending some time as a freelance consultant. Christine joined Isis Innovation in October 2007.
Weng Sie Wong
Weng Sie obtained a BSc honours degree in pharmacology at University College London and went on to complete a PhD in toxicology at the university. Her PhD was sponsored by a BBSRC CASE studentship in collaboration with SmithKline Beecham, and she spent ten months in their R&D labs in Harlow. After obtaining her doctorate, Weng spent three years at University of Edinburgh undertaking postdoctoral research, investigating the mechanisms that protect small cell lung cancer cells from chemotherapeutic agents. At the same time, she completed a part-time MBA at the University of Edinburgh Management School. Following this, Weng worked as a medical sales representative at GlaxoSmithKline for 21 months before joining Isis as a Technology Transfer Manager in October 2006.
Seed Investment Manager: technology transfer group
Andrea Alunni
Andrea joined Isis in August 2008 as Seed Investment Manager to help the University of Oxford invest at proof-of-concept level and raise finance for progressing technology spin-outs. An electronics engineer by background, Andrea gained an MSc in Strasbourg (France-1994) in the field of Technology Transfer and an MBA in Rome (Italy-1995) focusing on finance. His professional experience spans 15 years in financing technology, from corporate finance in Telecom Italia, technology investment banking at Nomura and private equity at CDC Capital Partners. Andrea is a qualified Securities & Financial Derivatives Representative.
head of group: oxford university Consulting
Andrew Goff
Prior to joining Isis in February 2003, Andrew was Business Development Director at Penguin Digital Media and latterly Pearson Broadband. At Pearson he was responsible for setting up a business to license digital intellectual property and to commercially exploit the group's media development capabilities. Prior to this Andrew was with Dorling Kindersley Multimedia for six years where he was Director of Sales and Marketing. Andrew started his career in publishing at Oxford University Press, where he held posts in book commissioning and marketing. Andrew has a BSc in Zoology from the University of Bristol and five years' research experience with the Medical Research Council both in Cambridge and the University of Oxford.
Project Managers: oxford university Consulting
Susan Clark
Susan has been involved in systems technology implementation projects in a consulting capacity for over 20 years. Specialising in SAP implementations Susan has managed major programmes across diverse industry sectors such as oil, chemicals, high tech, retail, manufacturing, and the public sector. Susan holds an MBA from Oxford University's Saïd Business School, a post-graduate diploma in Technology Management and is currently undertaking a dissertation in Technology Management to complete her MSc. Susan is a member of the Project Management Institute, the British Computer Society and is PRINCE2 qualified.
Gurinder Punn
Gurinder has held roles of Team Leader for Business Clusters at a regional development agency and senior sales management positions within the automotive, electronics and engineering sectors. In previous roles he has set a joint venture to commercialise intellectual property and managed pan European sales operations. He holds an MBA from University of Birmingham and has represented the UK at the 2004 Commonwealth Study Conference in Australia. He has also written and published a photographic book exploring landscapes as diverse as Antarctica, Alaska, Patagonia, Iceland and New Zealand.
Josef Walker
Josef obtained his PhD in Molecular Immunology from University College London in January 2004 investigating the interaction between human dendritic cells and type I interferons using cDNA microarrays and subsequently spent two years engaged in post-doctoral research at The Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research at Compton in Berkshire. Josef then joined the consultancy firm PharmaVentures, where he spent four and a half years providing strategic support to pharmaceutical and biotech companies through product valuations, portfolio reviews, deal benchmarking and competitive licensing landscape analysis. Josef joined Isis in April 2010.
Head of group: Isis Enterprise Asia
David Baghurst
David studied chemistry at the University of Oxford prior to completing a DPhil entitled "Applications of microwaves in chemical synthesis". Following two years as a fixed term lecturer in chemistry at Imperial College, London, David joined the Cookson Group as Head of the Advanced Products Group at the Cookson Technology Centre. The group carried out development work in a wide range of materials fields including studies in ceramics, electronic materials (solders and adhesives) and polymer products (fibres). David joined The Oxford Trust as Director of Industrial Programmes in 1996 supporting the creation and growth of high tech companies and encouraging technology business networks. David has an MBA from Warwick Business School and joined Isis in July 2002.
Consultants: Isis Enterprise
Elena Andonova
Elena is a graduate of the American University in Bulgaria with a double major in Economics and Business Administration; she then worked as a capital markets professional with Lehman Brothers in London where she was engaged in the structuring and marketing of bonds and other fixed income products. Elena next completed an MBA from Oxford's Saïd Business School. She won a competitive Isis-SBS Fellowship, working with Isis Enterprise where she drove the establishment of the Intellectual Property lab in Bulgaria and was involved in several projects in Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine. Elena joined Isis Enterprise as a consultant in January 2010.
Andrew Barber
Andrew achieved a PhD in Solid State Physics from Imperial College London and a further Dphil in Astrophysics from the University of Sussex and has been involved in the commercialisation of Intellectual Property for some 15 years. He has worked in a number of successful companies and academic institutions including Imperial Innovations, based on Intellectual Property from Imperial College London, Capper Neill Plastics (formerly the UK’s largest distributor of plastics), NetScientific (Intellectual Property acquisitions and investments) and the Universities of Surrey and Sussex.
Most recently, at Imperial Innovations, he was the senior technology transfer manager for the physical sciences and at NetScientific he helped the company build a portfolio of investible start-up companies based on IP acquired from US and European universities. In total, he has been directly involved in the formation of 12 new high technology companies and negotiated a number of licence agreements, commercialisation services contracts with multi-national organisations, and research contracts encompassing a very broad range of technologies. Andrew joined Isis in April 2013.
Sarah Bond
Sarah gained an MEng in Electrical and Information Sciences from Newnham College, Cambridge University, and a DPhil in Engineering Science from Keble College, Oxford University. She specialised in image analysis methods for medical imaging for a range of applications. She continued post doctoral research in medical imaging at Oxford University before moving to Siemens Molecular Imaging in 2007. At Siemens, Sarah worked as a scientist in the development of advanced software applications for Nuclear Medicine scanners, as well as managing the IP portfolio. Sarah joined Isis in April 2012.
Costas Chryssou
Costas has over 15 years experience in the photonics and telecom industries involved in technology innovation, research and product development as well as in the creation of intellectual property. He has worked for academia and world-class multinational corporations such as Alcatel Submarine Networks. He also had the opportunity to work for a high technology start-up that span out from the University of Southampton, from its initial stages until its floatation in the AIM stock market, where he managed technology development projects for the defence and telecoms sectors.
Prior to joining Isis, Costas worked for Pera Innovation as an Innovation Projects Manager where he managed and delivered business consulting services to commercial organisations and government departments specifically in operational improvement and high growth strategic management.
Costas has a degree in Physics from the University of Athens and an MSc in microwaves and opto-electronics and a PhD in opto-electronics from University College London. He also gained his MBA from the School of Management at the University of Bath. Costas joined Isis Enterprise in January 2010.
Steve Cleverley
Steve is a life scientist with a PhD in Immunology gained at Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London, and commercial experience in sales, marketing and product development. He spent five years with Ciphergen BioSystems Inc, a US-based mass spectroscopy company focusing on the clinical and translation research markets, where he built and coaching a team of field application scientists and introduced several new products into Europe. He later joined Wood Mackenzie Ltd as Head of life sciences marketing, and then Touchdown Biomarketing, a small life sciences consulting organization offering strategic and tactical support to overseas biotech companies looking to enter the Europe. Steve also has experience of company formation and SME management. He has a MA in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford and gained his MBA at Henley Management School in 2008. Steve joined Isis Enterprise in January 2011.
Wenming Ji
Wenming was most recently a project manager for Innovation China UK responsible for creating and managing collaborative research projects between UK and Chinese academics. With a technical background in food engineering and fermentation science Wenming has take a number of roles in sales, technology management and research. BSc, MSc and PhD qualified, Wenming was involved in research in the chemistry department in Oxford related to the spinout company Oxford Biosensors. Wenming joined Isis in January 2011, his role in Isis Enterprise is to build on activities in China.
Sarah Macnaughton
Sarah completed her PhD in Microbial Ecology at the University of Newcastle in 1992. After three years in post-doctoral research at Newcastle she became the senior researcher at a US environmental analysis business. Following this she joined the Centre for Environmental Biotechnology at the University of Tennessee before moving back to the UK in 2000 to join AEA Technology Environment and its Momenta operating division. At Momenta Sarah worked on a number of projects including research into bioremediation, management of a UK site for contaminated land research, a review of environmental science and training in the UK and the DTI BIOWISE Programme. Her final role at Momenta was as regional manager on the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships programme. Sarah joined Isis Enterprise in October 2006.
Mireya Mckee
Mireya earned a BSc in Chemistry from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, México, and completed a research internship at the Texas A&M University Citrus Center focused on natural product isolation and characterization. Subsequently, she obtained a PhD in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of Texas at Austin as a CONACyT fellow specializing in medicinal chemistry synthesis and biomolecule-binding studies. She then carried out postdoctoral research in the Department of Biological Physics at the University of Oxford that combined organic synthesis and DNA nanotechnology. Mireya also completed the Science Innovation Plus Program at Oxford’s Saïd Business School where she developed skills for the assessment and business plan development for the commercialisation of scientific research. Mireya is fluent in Spanish and English and joined Isis Enterprise in July 2012.
Gaurav Misra
Gaurav is an expert in the commercialisation of biomedical technologies with a special interest in licensing of drugs, discovery platforms and medical devices. As a strategy consultant for large biopharmaceutical companies, he has led projects on royalty monetisation, product pricing and investment due diligence over an eight year career in the life science sector. Prior to consultancy Gaurav worked as a health economist at Eli Lilly and as a strategic planner at Bayer Healthcare.
In the early part of his career, Gaurav established and managed an IT start-up and data centre, where he gained hands-on exposure to the challenges of establishing new business ventures. Gaurav has an undergraduate honours degree in Chemistry and a biotechnology focussed MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business in Canada. He joined Isis in May 2011.
Chris Moody
Chris’ career in technology marketing and sales management includes senior positions with Helix Technology Corporation, Kulicke & Soffa Industries and KLA-Tencor Corporation, as well as a broad consultancy background with Edgeworth, Inc. His extensive international business experience, particularly in Asia, adds to the rich knowledge base within Isis Enterprise. Chris has also served on a number of industry and corporate boards. He holds a BA from the University of the Pacific in California and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Willamette University in Oregon.
Viraj Perera
Viraj is a biotechnologist with a PhD in Biotechnology from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University in Australia. Following a short contract as a postdoctoral researcher at RMIT, he co-founded a biotechnology start-up to develop molecular diagnostic tools for the rapid detection of respiratory bacterial pathogens. He managed the company as the CEO and is experienced in capital raising from private investors and government agencies, IP development and management, business planning, R&D project management, and start-up management. Following a successful start-up venture, Viraj joined the InnovationXchange (IXC) Australia as an innovation intermediary where he serviced clients from public and private sectors.
Viraj then migrated to the UK and worked as a Business Development Manager at Warwick Ventures, the technology transfer office of the University of Warwick, where he was involved in commercialising university IP. At Warwick, Viraj was involved in commercialising technologies from the School of Biological Sciences, Warwick Medical School and Warwick HRI where be gained experience in commercialising medical as well as plant biotech-related inventions.
Since joining Isis Enterprise in 2010 Viraj has been actively involved in project design and delivery, conducting IP and technology portfolio audits, commercialising UK university inventions via Technology Transfer Partnerships, and training/coaching technology transfer personnel and academic researchers from Europe, South America and Asia.
Ya-hsin Shen
Ya-hsin first joined Isis as a Technology Transfer Manager for the Technology Transfer group in 2008. She managed a portfolio of different technologies from engineering to medical products and biotechnology. Ya-hsin became a consultant for Isis Enterprise group in 2009 to develop and expand Isis Enterprise's business operations in Hong Kong, mainland China, and Taiwan. Ya-hsin holds a first class honours degree in Bioindustry Engineering from the National Taiwan University in 2001 and a Master in Electrical Engineering from the National Chiao-Tung University. She obtained an MBA degree at Said Business School, University of Oxford in 2007, and her entrepreneurial project in Said was rewarded as a runner-up for the JPMorgan Best Entrepreneurial Project. Prior to the MBA, she was a researcher in Academia Sinica and an IT Specialist at IBM Life Sciences Center of Excellence.