Start-up Festival

Nataly Hastings

CEO, Cellestial Health

Dr Nat Hastings has background in clinical research and bioengineering at the University of Cambridge, focussing on Parkinson's disease modification and brain cell network communication. She led the relevant academic project since 2018 and managed the Cellestial Health spin-out process in 2023. As the CEO of Cellestial Health, her goal is to transform academic insights into a tangible patient benefit. 

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Abigail Martin

Co-Founder & CEO, ImmuONE

Dr Abigail Martin is a scientist turned entrepreneur in biotech, with a passion for applying research to the commercial world. She cofounded university spin out ImmuONE in 2019 with the aim to engage with inhalation and allergy industries, advocating for standardised in vitro technologies. With early on support from Innovate UK followed by recent seed investment of +£2M, she continues to lead the revenue making venture from start up to scale up. As CEO, she is passionate about supporting alternative methods to animal testing, empowering her colleagues and navigating ImmuONE on its growth trajectory. To date the company has launched multiple human-lung and immune in-vitro products, offering standard testing and advanced assays to assist clients in bringing products to market. 

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Jack O'Meara

CEO, Aerska

Jack O’Meara is the CEO of Aerska, a biotech company developing RNAi medicines to address neurodegenerative diseases. Prior to founding Aerska, Jack co-founded and served as CEO of Ochre Bio, which applies advances in data science and organ perfusion to develop RNAi medicines for patients suffering from liver diseases. Between both he has raised over $100M in top tier venture capital and closed pharma partnership deals worth up to $1B. He began his career in management consulting, where he supported the global launch of Zolgensma at Novartis Gene Therapies. Jack holds technical degrees from the University of Galway in Ireland and the University of Notre Dame in the United States. His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and the Financial Times.

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