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Meet the team
Senior Management Team
Steve Bates OBE
What does your role at BIA involve?
Steve Bates FMed Sci OBE has been leading the UK Bioindustry Association as CEO since 2012. He currently chairs the International Council of Biotech Associations and has been a board member of EuropaBio since 2015. He sits on the UK’s Life Sciences Council. Steve is the visible face of the vibrant UK life sciences industry to government and media. Steve was a founder member of the UK Government’s Vaccine Taskforce in the Covid crisis, sitting on its steering Board alongside Kate Bingham.
Previous experience & achievements
Steve has championed, with government, effective industrial incentives like the Biomedical Catalyst, which have crowded in private sector investment into UK SMEs. He has forged several links for the sector across the USA, Europe and in China. In his time at the BIA, Steve has developed new member groups focused on cell and gene therapy, genomics and engineered biology. A strong advocate of partnership working, Steve champions sector collaboration with research charities and academia. Proud to lead an organisation with a diverse Board with over 40% female representation, Steve is committed to next-generation talent and developing the skills needed for the sector to flourish. Before the BIA, Steve worked for Genzyme and was an advisor to the UK Government of Tony Blair. He was made OBE for services to innovation in 2017 and became a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Science in 2020.
Nick Gardiner
What does your role at BIA involve?
Nick is responsible for overseeing the BIA’s operations, ensuring that all activities are professionally delivered to the highest standard and providing an organisation-wide operational perspective to and support for, activities and projects. He has specific responsibility for office management/facilities; financial systems/processes and credit control; the people, skills and talent workstream; company secretariat; human resources and IT/telecoms.
Previous experience & achievements
Nick has extensive industry and not-for-profit management experience. Prior to this role, he ran the Clinical Laboratory Division of Lab21. This involved providing specialist laboratory services to the healthcare, pharmaceutical and clinical trials markets. In that role, Nick had management responsibility for all operations, income, laboratory and customer services and client liaison across the Group. He also has specific and extensive experience of diagnostic testing within the HIV and HCV disease areas. This was gained through building Delphic Diagnostics into a one-stop shop for clinicians, enabling more effective patient monitoring and subsequent treatment options. Nick also has broad management experience within the not-for-profit and charity sector, working for a trade body representing and building the profile of the business communication industry and prior to that working for the world’s oldest active society devoted to natural history.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be?
Alfred Russel Wallace, a naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator, independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection. He travelled the world and I would imagine had some excellent stories to tell.
Nicky Edwards
What does your role at BIA involve?
As Director of External Affairs, Nicky is responsible for enhancing the BIA’s influence by managing relationships with government, parliament, regulators, policymakers and industry bodies. She leads a team which works across policy, public affairs and regulatory affairs and coordinates the community of expert members engaged in the Association’s advisory committees and groups, as well as supporting members who represent us in government/industry forums such as the Life Sciences Council.
Previous experience & achievements
Before joining the BIA in 2018, Nicky gained extensive experience of delivering external affairs strategies for national organisations, including more than a decade of leading on policy and public affairs for businesses and membership bodies in the financial and professional services sector. For five years she served as a member of the Speaker’s Advisory Council on Public Engagement working to make Parliament more open and accessible.
Jane Wall
What does your role at BIA involve?
Strategic and operational leadership of BIA membership, events, marketing and business development teams to ensure that BIA is a sustainable, successful and ever-evolving association. Serving the needs of existing members, whilst growing new communities and producing sector-leading thought leadership and networking events.
Previous experience & achievements
Over 20 years of experience in leadership roles in academic publishing and membership organisations: providing strategic and editorial direction combined with business acumen; driving operational, organisational and community development, profitability and innovation. Previous roles at Oxford University Press, Taylor & Francis (Informa PLC), Oxford Brookes University, Fire Protection Association and Food and Drink Federation. Jane holds a first degree in Italian and European Literature from Warwick University, MA in Social Anthropology from SOAS and MBA from Oxford Brookes Business School.
If you could invite any scientist to dinner, who would it be?
Galileo Galilei: having been slightly obsessed with Italian culture and the Renaissance, I was fascinated by Florence, the Medicis and their patronage of artists and scientists. I am always in awe of the bravery and foresight of individuals willing to push scientific understanding beyond what was generally acceptable at the time: Galileo was willing to risk the ire of the Inquisition and to live condemned as a heretic in times when the punishment was extreme – to become the ‘father of modern science’.
External Affairs
Nicky Edwards
What does your role at BIA involve?
As Director of External Affairs, Nicky is responsible for enhancing the BIA’s influence by managing relationships with government, parliament, regulators, policymakers and industry bodies. She leads a team which works across policy, public affairs and regulatory affairs and coordinates the community of expert members engaged in the Association’s advisory committees and groups, as well as supporting members who represent us in government/industry forums such as the Life Sciences Council.
Previous experience & achievements
Before joining the BIA in 2018, Nicky gained extensive experience of delivering external affairs strategies for national organisations, including more than a decade of leading on policy and public affairs for businesses and membership bodies in the financial and professional services sector. For five years she served as a member of the Speaker’s Advisory Council on Public Engagement working to make Parliament more open and accessible.
Dr Christiane Abouzeid
What does your role at BIA involve?
Christiane has been with the BIA since May 2004. She is a lawyer responsible for regulatory issues concerning the research and development of novel technology products and has been involved in influencing legislative and policy developments affecting the life sciences industry in the EU.
Christiane is the Clinical Trials Topic Leader for EuropaBio, the European Association for Bioindustries.
Previous experience & achievements
Previously, Christiane was part of the Biosciences Group at Eversheds, joining shortly after qualification at Llewellyn Zeitman (now Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP). She worked at the European Commission for one year. Prior to her legal career, Christiane was a research scientist at University College London and Imperial College School of Medicine for over 12 years. She holds a PhD in microbiology and biochemistry from the University of Louvain (Belgium).
Dr Martin Turner
What does your role at BIA involve?
Martin is responsible for all the BIA's policy outputs and public affairs activities and leads on finance and tax policy as well as the BIA’s engagement with the investment community. He authors the BIA’s investment analysis reports and is a regular commentator on the life sciences sector in the national press. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Cambridge University Science Policy Exchange (CUSPE).
Previous experience & achievements
Martin has over ten years experience in policy and public affairs and has worked at the Royal Society, the Campaign for Science and Engineering, and the Association of Medical Research Charities. Before embarking on a career in policy, he completed a PhD in molecular biology at the University of Sheffield, where he also co-founded and was director of an award-winning science communication charity called Science Brainwaves. He has a BSc in molecular biology from the University of Manchester.
Dr Emma Lawrence
What does your role at BIA involve?
Emma leads BIA's genomics, digital, data and artificial intelligence (AI) policy areas. She engages with members who work in these fields to understand their policy needs. Emma provides the secretariat for BIA's Genomics Advisory Committee (GAC) and looks after the TechBio community as part of this. Emma also leads BIA's influence agenda for these areas, engaging with civil servants and other senior stakeholders.
Previous experience
Prior to joining the BIA, Emma worked at the cross-party think tank Policy Connect on a Cell and Gene Therapy Parliamentary engagement programme. She has previously worked in the biomedical research sector understanding the barriers to accessing human samples and data for research. This included leading engagement at the UKCRC Tissue Directory and Coordination Centre (UCL) and the Immunotherapy Trial Simulation Project (Imperial College London). Emma has a PhD in Immunology from the University of Manchester.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?
Ada Lovelace, the godmother of computer programming because she was the first to recognise that a machine would have uses beyond calculations. We’d chat about maths and 19th-century gossip over cocktails.
Linda Bedenik
What does your role at BIA involve?
Linda leads on intellectual property (IP), engineering biology (EngBio), R&D and innovation policy and animal research. She provides the secretariat to BIA's two advisory committees - Intellectual Property (IPAC) and Engineering Biology (EBAC) as well as the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Life Sciences.
Previous experience & achievements
Prior to joining BIA, Linda worked as a Policy Analyst at a non-profit looking into university-business collaboration and knowledge exchange in the UK and as a researcher at a public policy-focused think tank identifying challenges to state-level public service delivery and rural health in India. Linda has an MA in Global Political Economy from the University of Sussex.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?
Santos-Dumont and the Wright Brothers – to have them settle the debate over who flew first.
Rosie Lindup
What does your role at BIA involve?
Rosie leads the BIA’s policy work on access to medicines, rare diseases, cell and gene therapies and antimicrobial resistance. This involves providing the secretariat for the BIA’s Cell and Gene Therapy Advisory Committee (CGTAC) and Rare Disease Industry Group (RDIG). She is also responsible for organising the BIA’s annual Parliament Day, which brings CEOs and senior representatives from BIA member companies to Westminster to meet with politicians and policymakers.
Previous experience
Previously, Rosie worked as a Senior Research Consultant at a Westminster-based public affairs agency, where she supported clients from a range of sectors, including pharmaceuticals, technology and financial services. Prior to that, Rosie worked as a Management Consultant at KPMG, where I assisted on financial and regulatory projects with large corporate clients. She has a BA in Human, Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge.
Joe Smale
What does your role at BIA involve?
In his role at the BIA, Joe supports policy work on access to medicines, which involves campaigning to improve the uptake of new medicines by the NHS and addressing issues relating to access and reimbursement. His role is primarily to support the BIA’s Rare Disease Industry Group (RDIG). This involves engaging and organising events with relevant sector stakeholders as well as aiding the delivery of projects carried out by the group.
Previous experience
Joe joined the BIA in April 2021 having graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in Politics and International Relations. Outside of work, he is an ambassador for Blood Cancer UK and has dedicated lots of his time to fundraising and campaigning for research into kinder and more effective treatments for blood cancer patients.
Herbie Lambden
What does your role at BIA involve?
Herbie is responsible for supporting the secretariat for the BIA Advisory Committees and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Life Sciences. He also works on key events within Policy and Public Affairs, including the annual Parliament Day and panels at major party conferences. His work is aligned with the Business Development and Membership Services team to ensure that BIA's policy priorities are communicated effectively across the organisation.
Previous experience & achievements
Herbie joined BIA in February 2022, having graduated with a BA in History from the University of Cambridge.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?
John Snow for what would be a fascinating discussion of the development of public health in the UK over the past century and a half.
Business Development & Membership Services
Jane Wall
What does your role at BIA involve?
Strategic and operational leadership of BIA membership, events, marketing and business development teams to ensure that BIA is a sustainable, successful and ever-evolving association. Serving the needs of existing members, whilst growing new communities and producing sector-leading thought leadership and networking events.
Previous experience & achievements
Over 20 years of experience in leadership roles in academic publishing and membership organisations: providing strategic and editorial direction combined with business acumen; driving operational, organisational and community development, profitability and innovation. Previous roles at Oxford University Press, Taylor & Francis (Informa PLC), Oxford Brookes University, Fire Protection Association and Food and Drink Federation. Jane holds a first degree in Italian and European Literature from Warwick University, MA in Social Anthropology from SOAS and MBA from Oxford Brookes Business School.
If you could invite any scientist to dinner, who would it be?
Galileo Galilei: having been slightly obsessed with Italian culture and the Renaissance, I was fascinated by Florence, the Medicis and their patronage of artists and scientists. I am always in awe of the bravery and foresight of individuals willing to push scientific understanding beyond what was generally acceptable at the time: Galileo was willing to risk the ire of the Inquisition and to live condemned as a heretic in times when the punishment was extreme – to become the ‘father of modern science’.
Michael McGivern
What does your role at BIA involve?
Michael heads up the membership and business development team at the BIA, responsible for the growth and development of the membership and member lifetime value. He oversees the BIA Business Solutions Programme, delivering savings for members, and manages opportunities for member organisations overseas.
Previous experience & achievements
Michael has extensive business development and sales experience across the life science, personal care, and higher education sectors. Following University, he worked for a multi-national raw material distributor in the north-west, supplying API’s and excipients to pharmaceutical manufacturers and then moved on to the University of London. In this role, he managed the tender process for their SaaS products as well as various account management duties for their Not-For-Profit, HE institution and Charity customers.
Alina O'Keeffe
What does your role at BIA involve?
Alina joined the BIA in October 2021 as Head of Marketing and Membership Communications. She leads the marketing team and is responsible for developing effective marketing strategies, which play an integral role in achieving BIA's strategic goals and strengthening brand awareness and member engagement. She also helps manage the BIA's Charity of the Year partnership and other strategic collaborations.
Previous experience & achievements
Alina has more than ten years of experience in management and international communications. She plays an integral role in achieving BIA's strategic goals. Her experience lies in various sectors, from the UK's further education sector and national bereavement charity to an international humanitarian and & development organisation and finance/energy events company. She is a published author on marketing, leadership and innovation with a focus on international development and sustainability.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?
I'd love to meet Maria Salomea Sklodowska, mostly known by her French name - Marie Curie. Despite facing some daunting hurdles, both because of her gender and her family’s poverty, which stemmed from the struggle for independence from the Russian regime, she was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for their work on radioactivity and discovering new elements.
Sam Cruickshank
What does your role at BIA involve? As Programme Manager, Sam oversees the agenda for events that the BIA runs, coordinating with speakers and ensuring that we deliver interesting events that meet the needs of our members and the wider sector. He also oversees BIA's start-up activities to support early-stage companies in the UK ecosystem. Previous experience & achievements Sam previously worked in scientific publishing, coordinating peer review and strategic planning and development of scientific journals. Prior to this, he studied for Masters in Biology at the University of Sheffield. If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why? Probably Darwin – as well as being a fascinating person, given the other strange things he ate, he’s unlikely to complain about my cooking!
George Caterer
What does your role at BIA involve? George works to grow the BIA as an organisation, engaging with new innovative companies, supporting new sectors and expanding our reach throughout the UK. George is also responsible for working with the current members to ensure they are fully engaged and making the most of BIA membership! This includes working closely with our start-up community, helping them to utilise the BIA network on their commercialisation journey. Previous experience & achievements His previous experience has been a slightly meandering path. After completing an MSci in Zoology at University College London, George started work for a small biotech in Hertfordshire before becoming an editor for a portfolio of journals within the Springer Nature Group, eventually moving on to become an Ecology Consultant. Now back in the biotechnology sector, he enjoys working on the commercial side of the sector and supporting all of the scientific work he can just about understand! If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why? It would have to be Doc. Brown… just imagine what else he has seen.
Sam Care
What does your role at BIA involve?
Sam is responsible for the planning and delivery of a range of BIA events including TechBio UK, Start-up Festival and the Women in Biotech series. Sam manages the end-to-end event logistics and works closely with the membership team to develop exciting event supporter opportunities for BIA members and non-members. She also helped establish the Women in Biotech mentoring programme and is responsible for the smooth running of the scheme.
Previous experience & achievements
Sam previously worked at the Chartered Governance Institute developing and delivering their event & training programme. She also worked on a joint project with Sport England helping to establish the Sports Governance Academy and has previously worked in recruitment. Sam has a degree in Business Studies from the University of Liverpool.
Chloe Hartley
What does your role at BIA involve?
Chloe's role involves planning and executing large-scale events involving conferences, dinners and exhibitions.
Previous experience
She has previously worked at the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the events department, organising conferences and workshops for doctors.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?
It would probably be Andrew Carnegie because he had a strong moral compass and built public libraries, theatres and child welfare centres to help better the community.
Erica Hollingsworth
What does your role at BIA involve? Erica leads the BIA’s social media presence, delivering content, facilitating online communities, and increasing brand awareness. She also coordinates BIA's weekly Newscast emails to members and wider stakeholders, and our bi-weekly Member Insights newsletter. Erica's role also involves daily website management, creating marketing materials, and coordinating and copywriting BIA blogs. Previous experience & achievements Previously, Erica worked for a global medical device company, Spineart, at their headquarters in Geneva where she gained experience in marketing, medical education, and product management. She also gained experience working as an intern at GSK in Switzerland and the A*STAR laboratory in Singapore. Erica has a BSc in Human Sciences from UCL. If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why? I would invite Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis… I have a keen interest in psychology and would love to hear more about his life and work.
Operations
Nick Gardiner
What does your role at BIA involve?
Nick is responsible for overseeing the BIA’s operations, ensuring that all activities are professionally delivered to the highest standard and providing an organisation-wide operational perspective to and support for, activities and projects. He has specific responsibility for office management/facilities; financial systems/processes and credit control; the people, skills and talent workstream; company secretariat; human resources and IT/telecoms.
Previous experience & achievements
Nick has extensive industry and not-for-profit management experience. Prior to this role, he ran the Clinical Laboratory Division of Lab21. This involved providing specialist laboratory services to the healthcare, pharmaceutical and clinical trials markets. In that role, Nick had management responsibility for all operations, income, laboratory and customer services and client liaison across the Group. He also has specific and extensive experience of diagnostic testing within the HIV and HCV disease areas. This was gained through building Delphic Diagnostics into a one-stop shop for clinicians, enabling more effective patient monitoring and subsequent treatment options. Nick also has broad management experience within the not-for-profit and charity sector, working for a trade body representing and building the profile of the business communication industry and prior to that working for the world’s oldest active society devoted to natural history.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be?
Alfred Russel Wallace, a naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator, independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection. He travelled the world and I would imagine had some excellent stories to tell.
Riana Potamitis
What does your role at BIA involve?
In her role, Riana supports the COO in overseeing the BIA’s operations. This includes managing the BIA office and facilities, maintaining relationships with suppliers and finding solutions for office use and management. Specifically, she is involved in the renewal and negotiation of contracts, BIA Board elections and governance and the onboarding of new staff members.
Previous experience & achievements
Previously Riana worked as an Office Sales Administrator providing administrative support for a large team offering property conveyancing. Riana has a BSc in Zoology and she completed her MSc in Zoo Conservation Biology, focusing on animal behaviour and conservation.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?
I would invite Charles Darwin as I have a keen interest in travel and the natural world and would discuss his time spent on the HMS Beagle and the Galapagos Islands.
Lauren Bampton-Smith
What does your role at BIA involve? Lauren is responsible for the corporate finances of the BIA. This includes working with the BIA's outsourced finance function, the Operations team and the Director of Business Development and Membership Services. Lauren works closely with Membership and Events team staff in invoice generation and collection. Another aspect of her role is providing Credit Control Services to the organisation.
Netty England MBE
What does your role at BIA involve?
Netty has been a consultant for BIA since 2014. Her role is to support BIA’s work on bioprocessing, including the COVID-19 Vaccines Expert Advisory Group, Manufacturing Advisory Committee (MAC), Science and Innovation Community (SIC), bioProcessUK Conference and Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership (MMIP). In 2016, she was a member of the MMIP Advanced Therapies Manufacturing Taskforce and continues to help drive skills recommendations from it.
Previous experience
Netty has been a bioprocessing consultant since 2003, following 15 years in bioprocess development working for Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, British Biotech and Applikon. She holds a BSc in Biological Sciences and an MSc in Biochemical Engineering from Birmingham University.
As well as the BIA, Netty also currently consult for the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult on their skills programmes and supports Cytiva in the delivery of an annual oligonucleotides conference. She is part of other voluntary committees including ESACT-UK. Netty was made an MBE for services to the UK Bioprocessing Community and the Vaccine Taskforce in 2021.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?
I work every day with inspirational people, so enjoy the luxury of dining with them at bioProcessUK and other events. If I had to pick one that I have not yet met, it would be Carl June, for pioneering CAR-T therapies.
Dr Kate Barclay
What does your role at BIA involve?
As an experienced Biochemical Engineer, Kate leads skills and talent programme development across STEM industries using over 30 years of experience within large pharma and small company networks. Working with BIA, she represents the sector ensuring access to the incredible talent and addressing skills gaps to start, grow and scale innovative life sciences and biotech organisations.
Previous experience & achievements
In addition to her role at BIA, Kate works as an independent consultant supporting organisations to develop their skills and talent strategies. She has oversight for quality governance of technical and professional education as IfATE Non-Executive Director and is a Board member of North Hertfordshire College. Kate holds MBA from Open University and a PhD in Bio-Chemical Engineering from UCL. As a Chartered Engineer (CEng FIChemE), she held previous senior leadership roles across diverse pharmaceutical manufacturing and R&D portfolios including Solid Dose, Parenteral & Inhaled Devices.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?
Rosalind Franklin, as she made contributions to the understanding of the fine molecular structures of DNA and RNA. She studied science at a time when few women attended university and led pioneering work on multiple viruses. Kate would love to know what she thinks about what we know now!
CEO's Office
Steve Bates OBE
What does your role at BIA involve?
Steve Bates FMed Sci OBE has been leading the UK Bioindustry Association as CEO since 2012. He currently chairs the International Council of Biotech Associations and has been a board member of EuropaBio since 2015. He sits on the UK’s Life Sciences Council. Steve is the visible face of the vibrant UK life sciences industry to government and media. Steve was a founder member of the UK Government’s Vaccine Taskforce in the Covid crisis, sitting on its steering Board alongside Kate Bingham.
Previous experience & achievements
Steve has championed, with government, effective industrial incentives like the Biomedical Catalyst, which have crowded in private sector investment into UK SMEs. He has forged several links for the sector across the USA, Europe and in China. In his time at the BIA, Steve has developed new member groups focused on cell and gene therapy, genomics and engineered biology. A strong advocate of partnership working, Steve champions sector collaboration with research charities and academia. Proud to lead an organisation with a diverse Board with over 40% female representation, Steve is committed to next-generation talent and developing the skills needed for the sector to flourish. Before the BIA, Steve worked for Genzyme and was an advisor to the UK Government of Tony Blair. He was made OBE for services to innovation in 2017 and became a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Science in 2020.
Miriam Gedge
What does your role at BIA involve?
Miriam's role includes full diary management, reading, monitoring and responding to CEO's email, answering calls and liaising with members/stakeholders/clients; drafting of correspondence on CEO's behalf and delegating work in the CEO's absence. She also supports project planning and managing ad hoc projects, especially from nascent ideas to project plans, including formative meetings, planning and organising events.
Previous experience & achievements
Miriam joined BIA in June 2018 as an Executive Assistant to Steve Bates. Previously she has worked within the Human Resources Department of ITN and held a wide variety of secretarial/administrative roles across higher education institutions. She holds a degree in Modern and Medieval Languages from the University of Cambridge.
If you could invite any scientist or entrepreneur to dinner, who would it be and why?
Albert Einstein once said “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious”, which is something I attest to.