Skills Community Connects

Tiffany Thorn

CEO, BiVictriX Therapeutics Ltd

Tiffany is an experienced executive with over a decade of industry experience in the discovery and development of next-generation precision therapeutics. As Founder and CEO of BiVictriX Therapeutics, Tiffany has been key to developing the commercial strategy around the Bi-Cygni® approach, a novel concept which originated from her previous experience as a clinician in the NHS, and has been pivotal in securing more than £12m in investment to date.  

Rebecca Chapman

OD Business Partner, Autolus Ltd

Rebecca has worked with Autolus (a biopharmaceutical company developing programmed T-cell therapies for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases) since 2016, currently working within the Organisation Development team. She is also the chair of the organisation’s Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging committee and is passionate about driving D&I within Autolus and the wider industry.

Emma Maun

DEI lead RESILIENCE & COO Britest

Emma Maun is COO of Britest and has held key roles across 5-star hospitality, including quality and training management, and customer service leadership. She oversees all management aspects of Britest, including HR, logistics and finances. Emma Chairs the ED&I committee of RESILIENCE.

Joe Camden

ATAC lead, Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult

In my role at Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, I look after the day-to-day operation of the Advanced Therapies Apprenticeship Community (ATAC), a scheme designed to help Advanced Therapies employers to train and upskill individuals using apprenticeships. Through ATAC, over sixty employers in advanced therapies have enrolled just under 400 apprentices, making a real contribution to the UK’s advanced therapies industry. My previous roles include coordinating science and engineering apprenticeships at a major apprenticeship training provider, and I worked in a variety of public sector roles before that.

Malcolm Silander

Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Precision Biosearch

Malcolm has dedicated his professional career to identifying pioneering talent within the Life Science sector.

He has been responsible for scaling three recruitment organisations across the EU and North America, supporting hundreds of drug discovery and development companies.

He partners with investors in assessing and building their management teams, is an Advisor to the University of Westminster School of Life Sciences, a former Mentor for the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, and STEM Ambassador.

Malcolm has a joint Honours MA degree in Sociology & Politics from the University of Edinburgh.

Kate Barclay

Skills Strategy Consultant, BIA

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!