Combining governance excellence, practical boardroom guidance, sector specific insights and great connections, the programme equips participants to operate with authority, influence strategic decisions, contribute effectively to the boards shaping innovation in life sciences and expand their networks.
Designed and delivered by Murray Edwards College (University of Cambridge), AstraZeneca, BioIndustry Association (BIA) and Deloitte, with guest speakers from across the sector.
Applications now closed.
Why now and why NEDs?
The BIA’s Women in biotech leadership report revealed that for female CEOs external stakeholder bias from investors and funders and/or board bias, were the most prevalent challenges faced. In parallel, sector reports from PIR and others show female representation in NED roles is declining.
If we do not address the challenges that women face as companies mature to different stages, we are in danger of losing an incredible swathe of female talent to conscious or unconscious bias and lack of support/backing – ultimately to the detriment of the sector. She Steers NEDs in Biotech is our commitment to making a difference.
She Steers 2026 cohort
Emmanuelle Astoul
Emmanuelle leads the Sanger Institute’s translation function, striving to apply the extraordinary scientific outputs of this genomic research powerhouse towards new products and services that benefit society. Her expertise and area of interest include biodata-driven ventures and cross-sectors partnerships at the interface of tech and life sciences to power predictive biology. With an interest in sharing good practices in the translation of biodata and AI, and building networks and communities, Emmanuelle has founded the Commercialisation of Genomic & Biodata Courses.
Tanya Bos
Tanya is a global biopharma executive, commercialisation leader, and enterprise builder recognised for driving growth at the intersection of science, strategy, and execution— translating breakthrough innovation into meaningful impact for patients worldwide.
With more than 25 years of experience across high-growth biotech and multinational pharmaceutical organisations—including executive roles at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Takeda (formerly Shire), AstraZeneca, and Sandoz—she has built and led international organisations, shaped disease-area and portfolio strategy, and guided multi-billion-dollar investment decisions across R&D and commercial.
She is known for operating seamlessly from strategy through execution and across business models, combining the agility of biotech with the rigour and scale of global pharma. Her work spans first-in-class innovation, rare disease, specialty, and established medicines—bringing breadth across therapeutic areas, modalities, and development stages.
Most recently, as a member of the International Executive Team at Vertex, Tanya built and led the international pipeline and early commercialisation organisation, positioning the company for sustained multi-disease expansion and unlocking significant enterprise value.
A builder and enterprise leader, Tanya aligns organisations around bold ambition, brings clarity to complexity, and mobilises teams to deliver—combining commercial discipline with broad perspective and an infectious energy that inspires followership and accelerates results.
A strong advocate for mentorship and allyship, Tanya is deeply committed to advancing women in science and strengthening leadership representation across the industry.
Tanya holds a degree from McGill University and an MBA from Smith School of Business, Queen’s University
Kylie Bromley
Accomplished senior commercial leader with over 25 years of broad experience across the biopharmaceutical industry in Europe and Asia Pacific, spanning General Management, commercialisation, sales leadership, policy shaping, medical affairs and clinical research. Known for astute commercial acumen and a proven ability to lead high-performing teams, drive transformational change, and deliver strong P&L performance across multiple geographies.
Extensive experience across the full product lifecycle (pre-launch, launch, and mature phases) and a broad range of therapeutic areas including oncology, hematology, nephrology and neurology. Successes are grounded in strategic thinking, collaborative leadership, and a passion for building empowered, results-driven teams.
A strong advocate for science, innovation, and equitable patient access to medicines and clinical trials. Currently serving as Chair of the Bioindustry Association (BIA) Rare Disease Industry Group and Co-Chair of the ABPI Innovation Board Committee in the UK. Also a committed champion of diversity and inclusion—founding member of the Pharma Australia Equity and Inclusion Group (PAIG) and Executive Sponsor of Biogen’s Global Women’s Impact Network—driving equity and empowerment across the industry.
Now seeking a non-executive board role within a biotech or research-driven startup, where I can contribute deep expertise in commercialisation strategy, board governance, and scaling innovation in competitive markets. I bring a future-focused mindset, a commitment to sustainable growth, and a leadership style that inspires excellence.
Alice Brown
Alice Brown is currently Chief Scientific Officer at Purespring Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company. She previously held senior R&D leadership roles at GammaDelta Therapeutics (acquired by Takeda) and PsiOxus Therapeutics. An accomplished R&D leader, company builder and advisor, Alice has a strong track record in securing venture capital funding and advancing therapies from concept through to mid-stage clinical development. She is also passionate about developing people and building high-performing, collaborative teams.
Beverley Carr
Beverley has extensive biopharma business development experience. Her most recent position was at Amphista Therapeutics, where she served as Interim Chief Executive Officer and previously as Chief Business and Operating Officer, leading a strategic review of the business and executing two major partnerships. Before joining Amphista, Beverley’s career spanned over a decade at GSK where she was VP Business Development for the Immuno-inflammation Therapy Area, and she has held senior roles at other leading biotechnology companies, including Cambridge Antibody Technology prior to its acquisition by AstraZeneca. She holds an MA in Chemistry and a DPhil in Organic Chemistry from the University of Oxford, and an MBA from the University of Cambridge.
Susan Conroy
Dr Susan Conroy has been involved in Therakind since its inception, Therakind is a specialist UK pharmaceutical company originally focussing on paediatric medicine to increase the availability of authorised speciality medicines and ensure that they are both safe and effective.
Susan was appointed CEO of Therakind in 2008. Under her leadership, Therakind has successfully completed eight clinical trials and gained approval for three medicines in the EU and US. Following a successful MBO in 2024, Therakind has continued its focus on novel delivery.
Prior to Therakind, Susan worked as a consultant specialising in early start up programmes, technology transfer, medical affairs, commercial exploitation of existing products and an independent funding assessor of start-ups. Susan started her career in small and medium-sized pharma company, evaluating and commercialising research programmes, clinical research, market opportunities and novel therapeutic areas.
Susan has a PhD in Molecular Biology from London University and undertook post-doctoral research in oncology at University College London.
Susan is a Trustee of Anthony Nolan – a charity that researches into the treatment of blood cancers and disorders, and supports people with blood cancer and blood disorders to find a stem cell donor. She sits on the Audit & Finance committee and the Governance & Risk Committee.
Shelley Cook
Shelley Cook is Chief Operating Officer at Pathios Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing an immuno-oncology therapy targeting the acid-sensing receptor GPR65. She works closely with the CEO and Chair to shape company strategy, financing and business development, while ensuring priorities and execution remain aligned across the organisation and translating complex science into clear strategic and investor narratives.
Shelley’s career spans biotech company building, capital markets and scientific research. Through senior leadership roles at Pathios Therapeutics, Sitryx and Immunocore, and across the Molecule to Medicine company-creation ecosystem, she has worked closely with CEOs, boards and investors to shape strategy and organisational development as venture-backed and privately funded biotechnology companies scale, including leading alliance management for a major pharma partnership.
Earlier in her career Shelley worked in biotechnology equity research as well as academic research, including a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship focused on emerging tropical viruses. She holds a DPhil in Biology from the University of Oxford.
Joanna Cowler
Jo Cowler is a senior life sciences executive and non-executive director with international leadership experience spanning pharmaceutical research and development, commercial operations, and global compliance. She has built her career at the intersection of science, strategy, and governance, supporting organisations in translating scientific innovation into meaningful patient and organisational impact.
During her executive career, Jo held global leadership roles within major pharmaceutical organisations, working across more than 50 countries and leading large multidisciplinary teams. Her experience spans the full product lifecycle—from clinical development and regulatory oversight through to commercialisation—including contributing to the development and launch of transformational therapies.
Jo has led complex global programmes and business units with significant operational and financial accountability, including oversight of multimillion-dollar budgets and large international teams. She is recognised for strengthening strategy execution, aligning R&D, commercial, and compliance priorities, and fostering organisational cultures that enable leaders and teams to perform at their best.
Alongside her executive career, Jo serves as a Non-Executive Director in the charity sector, where she provides strategic oversight and governance support. She is particularly motivated by purposeful organisations and believes strongly in paying forward experience through mentoring and supporting the next generation of leaders across the life sciences sector.
Through board and advisory roles, Jo is particularly interested in supporting innovative life sciences organisations as they scale, helping leadership teams translate scientific excellence into disciplined execution, strong governance, and healthy organisational cultures.
Sally Curran
Sally is an accomplished IP leader with more than 25 years of experience spanning big pharma, biotech and private practice. Most recently, Sally served as VP, Global Head of Pharma Patents at GSK, where she led a team of patent attorneys responsible for building and protecting GSK's patent portfolios across all marketed and pipeline pharmaceutical assets. Before GSK, she was Head of IP at Bicycle Therapeutics and held senior IP leadership roles at AstraZeneca for over a decade, including serving as Head of IP for AstraZeneca’s Respiratory & Immunology franchise. Sally is now establishing an IP consultancy, leveraging her deep expertise in life sciences IP to help biotech and pharma companies build and optimise holistic IP strategies encompassing patents and additional forms of exclusivity.
Andrea Cusack
Commercially driven, visionary leader with over 25 years’ experience scaling businesses in the pharma and biotech sectors to create value for stakeholders, while positively impacting patients. Proven track record as CEO and Managing Director in driving growth, unlocking new revenue streams, and delivering investor value in fast-paced, high-growth environments.
Skilled in business development, strategic partnerships, licensing, financial modelling, negotiation, market analysis and expansion. Adept at navigating complex commercial landscapes, raising capital, and executing successful go-to-market strategies. Known for building high-performing teams and fostering cross-functional collaboration across global operations. Passionate about turning innovation into positive commercial impact while delivering scalable solutions that improve health outcomes worldwide.
Nara Daubeney
Dr Nara Daubeney (nee Orban) PhD, MBBS MRCS (Eng). MEd (Surg) DIC FRCS (Orl-HNS) DLO is an entrepreneur and consultant ENT surgeon based in London. She obtained her medical degree at Imperial College and Charing Cross Hospital and is a member and fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons with a Masters in Education and post graduate surgical diploma in ENT. She has a PhD from Imperial College in immunology and has considerable expertise in autoimmunity. Nara has a number of previous roles within the national healthcare landscape. She previously founded and led medical services companies, and has been instrumental in growing Phaim from a UK start-up to a growth company with trials in type 1 diabetes and a discovery pipeline in multiple autoimmune diseases. A Royal College of Surgeons Tutor and Fellow, Nara also serves as the Honorary Secretary of ENTUK and the Clinical Lead for Innovation at the Royal Society of Medicine. She is a public governor at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital Foundation Trust and a mentor for the BioIndustry Association.
Nara is one of Phaim's founding members, an experienced entrepreneur and healthcare innovatior. She is passionate about bringing novel therapies and digital healthcare applications to market as well as nurturing the next generation of leaders and innovators
Ramya Devanand
Ramya is an accomplished Biotech Business Development leader with over 20 years of experience across Big Pharma and small/mid-size biotech. She has shaped global, regional, and local commercial and BD strategies across diverse therapeutic areas, from large competitive markets to underserved rare diseases. Her expertise covers the full asset lifecycle, from clinical development through commercialization, where she has crafted commercial market entry strategies that position therapies for success. With deep expertise in European regulatory, pricing, and commercial environments, she has enabled several successful launches and commercial transactions; always with a focus on expanding patient access to innovative treatments. Her ambition is to leave a lasting legacy by ensuring that innovative medicines reach patients more quickly and equitably throughout Europe.
Catherine Elton
Dr Catherine Elton is Chief Business Officer at Axol Bioscience, where she leads commercial strategy for a company at the forefront of iPSC-derived cell technology and laboratory services in drug discovery and disease modelling. She serves concurrently as Non-Executive Director at Atelerix, a biotech pioneer in non-cryogenic cell preservation.
With over two decades of executive leadership in life sciences, Catherine has a proven track record of building and scaling high-growth organisations. As founder and CEO of Qkine — a University of Cambridge spin-out — she grew the business from inception to serving customers in more than 37 countries, forging strategic partnerships with major global life science firms. Prior to Qkine, she held senior roles at Abcam during a pivotal period of organisational growth, and conducted research as a Daphne Jackson Fellow at the Wellcome Sanger Institute.
Catherine holds a BSc in Biochemistry from King's College, University of Cambridge and a PhD in platelet biology from Corpus Christi College. Her expertise encompasses go-to-market strategy, R&D leadership, and quality and regulatory systems. She is a recognised thought leader in life sciences manufacturing and a vocal advocate for UK manufacturing capability and greater representation of women in STEM, entrepreneurship, and corporate governance.
Claire Foxall
Claire is a senior transformation advisor working with Public Sector clients. She specialises in shared services and commercial and procurement, with an emphasis on senior stakeholder engagement and business change. Claire has 20+ years’ experience of working within government, most recently within the health sector. Claire lives in South Wales with her husband and two children, and does marathons and triathlons (irregularly and slowly) in her spare time.
Elizabeth Hampson
A values-driven leader and Partner at Deloitte working at the intersection of health and life sciences. I help public and private sector leaders improve health and patient access to innovation —building more sustainable organisations and healthier societies. I lead teams that turn innovation into real-world impact: accelerating access to medicines and technologies, creating organisational value, and addressing complex health system challenges. I believe inclusion and collaboration are essential to the Future of Health, and I have worked across public, private, and third sector organisations for over 20 years. As Leader of the European Deloitte Health Institute, I help shape the debate on access to innovation, prevention, employee health, women’s health, and mental health. I am a frequent speaker and contribute thought leadership published through the Deloitte Health Institute. I began my career in investment advisory at Goldman Sachs and UBS, advising institutional investors on equity investments. This foundation (CFA) gave me deep commercial insight—and sparked a long-standing commitment to responsible and sustainable business.
Susan Hill
Susan brings more than 25 years of experience as a strategic and operational leader in the international biotech, investor and pharmaceutical industries. She co-founded Mestag Therapeutics in 2020, building a strong organization around ground-breaking science and leading the company through a $45m financing and strategic pharma and academic partnerships. In addition to serving as Chief Executive Officer of Mestag, Susan is a Venture Partner at SV Health Investors, an advisor to AdBio (Paris) and a member of the Development Board of Christ’s College, Cambridge. Susan joined Mestag from retinal therapy company Gyroscope Therapeutics (acquired by Novartis), where she served as Chief Business Officer, driving the company’s $62m Series B and adding critical delivery technology via the acquisition of Orbit Biomedical ($12m Series A), where she was founding Chief Executive Officer. Prior to Orbit (Philadelphia), Susan led strategy and operations as Chief Business Officer of Freeline Therapeutics (London). Susan completed multiple transactions during her tenures in Global Business & Corporate Development at Alexion (Switzerland/US) and Merck KGaA (Geneva). Susan began her career in strategy consulting/M&A and led biotech seed investments managed by AMJ, part of global investment company ABRDN. Susan has an MA and PhD from the University of Cambridge and is a previous Fellow of the Securities Institute.
Gill Livock
Gill Livock is a seasoned executive with extensive experience in driving commercial strategy and growth across clinical development. As Chief Commercial and Customer Delivery Officer, she leverages her expertise in market analysis, strategic partnerships, and customer engagement to drive business performance, expand market reach and guide expert end-to-end delivery and implementation across Evinova's customer accounts.
With a career spanning almost three decades, Gill has held key leadership roles in both established Fortune 100 companies and innovative double unicorn startups. Her strategic vision and ability to adapt to changing market dynamics have consistently led to the development of successful commercial initiatives and revenue growth. She is known for her collaborative approach, strategy development and fostering cross-functional teams to deliver exceptional results.
Gill holds an MBA in Life Sciences and is passionate about mentoring the next generation of leaders. Outside of her professional commitments, she enjoys supporting her children in their activities and you will most likely find her in a stable, walking the dogs or reading a book.
Christina Nesheva
Christina is the founder of Ideas Curated, advisory company supporting deep tech founders on their journey of bringing ideas to life. Her particular focus is aligning R&D roadmaps with the value inflection points and identifying the most suitable commercialisation models as well as AI enablement of R&D function and operations.
Until recently, Christina was CEO and later Chair of the Board of Officinae Bio, a techbio company pioneering AI-driven drug design. She led the commercialisation, fundraising and strategy from the early stages to the company successful exit to Maravai Lifesciences.
Previously, Christina co-founded and led a global corporate venture builder in digital health with spinouts scaling in US, UK and EU. She also held a number of general management and senior commercialisation roles with focus on new product launches in large biopharma. She is mentor and advisor in leading deep tech accelerators and the author of “The Entrepreneur’s BattleBook”.
Wendy Orme
Experienced CFO with a demonstrated history of working in the pharmaceuticals industry and not-for-profit sector. Skilled in Business Planning, Life Sciences, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Forecasting, and Strategy. Strong finance professional with a PhD focused in Molecular Biology from University of Cambridge.
Sarah Pollitt
Sarah Pollitt is a commercial leader with deep pharmaceutical experience commercialising new medicines and new medical technologies at GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca. Sarah led successful commercial strategies for over 10 global product launches across the immunology and respiratory therapy areas. Sarah also drove commercial assessments for licensing transactions with a total deal value in excess of £10Bn. In addition to launching global brands, Sarah has expertise in disease strategy, maximising lifecycle revenues and optimising product portfolios.
Sarah recently served as the chair of EnsiliTech, a biotech company partnering with animal health and human health companies to deploy its proprietary thermal stabilisation technology for vaccines and antibodies. This innovation eliminates the need for the cold chain and can improve drug formulation. Under Sarah’s board leadership, the company successfully completed an oversubscribed seed fundraise in 2025, raising £4.5m and securing £1.2m grant-funding.
Sarah is widely recognised as a trusted commercial partner to the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors, helping companies accelerate growth, secure funding and translate innovative science into commercially successful products.
In addition, Sarah is a Transformation Partner at The Leadership High, supporting leaders and teams in building confidence to go in pursuit of better, and a Guest Lecturer at the University of Bath on innovation.
Sarah holds an MBA from INSEAD Business School, a degree from the University of Cambridge and the Financial Times NED Diploma in board governance.
Carolina Mendoza Topaz
Carolina Mendoza‑Topaz, PhD, hold 20 years’ experience across academia and the pharmaceutical industry. She has spent the last past five years at AstraZeneca and currently serves as Director and line manages a team of nice in Early Research and Development, delivering Oncology programmes. Her responsibilities include portfolio prioritisation and cross‑functional stakeholder engagement and ownership of an outsourcing budget of approximately US$350k per year. She serves on the interview panel for the Babraham Institute’s Accelerator, supporting early‑career entrepreneurs, and is an active member of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) Cambridge organising committee. An aspiring NED, she is focused on platform‑based and cell‑science‑driven biotech, bringing expertise in cell sciences and strategic programme direction, and seeks to broaden board‑level exposure and networks through the programme.
Catherine Tucker
Catherine Tucker is an experienced business development and corporate growth executive with more than 25 years’ leadership across biopharma, biotech, AI‑enabled drug discovery and strategic consulting. She has an extensive track record of shaping enterprise strategy, driving innovation, and executing high‑value partnerships, acquisitions and portfolio strategies that strengthen pipelines and create long‑term value.
Catherine is Vice President, Head of Strategy and Corporate Development (Research) at Syngene International, where she leads strategic partnership development and growth initiatives with global biopharma, biotech, venture partners and academia.
Her earlier roles include Vice President of Business Development at BenevolentAI, as well as senior business development and partnering positions at Allergan, BTG, UCB, Élan and other leading organisations. Across these roles, she has delivered high‑value collaborations, licensing agreements and strategic transactions that have shaped portfolio direction, informed capital allocation and supported organisational scale‑up.
Catherine holds an MBA, an MSc in Clinical Pharmacology, and a BSc in Biochemistry.
Annelise Vuidepot
As an accomplished senior executive with over two decades of experience in the biopharma industry, I have played a pivotal role in driving innovation and delivering strategic success. I bring a proven track record in scientific leadership, operational management, and technology development, having played a lead role in pioneering a novel class of TCR based therapeutics and contributed to the growth of Immunocore from a start-up to a globally recognised biotech leader with the commercialisation of its first approved drug in 2022.
In my current role as SVP, Chief Science and Technology Officer, I am leading the company’s enterprise technology strategy and the evolution of the ImmTAX platform to drive scientific innovation and strategic growth. As a key integrator between R&D and commercial operations, I work to ensure Immunocore’s cutting-edge research translates into impactful therapeutic solutions.
In addition to my scientific and technical leadership, as the head of Immunocore’s UK site of 350 employees, I am passionate about fostering collaboration and innovation within the scientific community. I have built strong relationships with academic institutions, biotech organisations, and industry bodies, positioning Immunocore as a key player in the UK's biotech landscape.
This collaborative approach also informs my role as a Non-Executive Director at Advanced Oxford, where I contribute to shaping the future of Oxford's innovation ecosystem, advocating for policies that enhance growth in the region.
I am eager to leverage my experience in science, technology, and leadership to provide strategic guidance to organisations that prioritise innovation and growth. My particular interest lies in contributing to boards of companies at the intersection of biotechnology, healthcare, and technology, where I can help drive sustainable growth and progress.
Ola Wlodek
Ola is the CEO of Constructive Bio. She holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Cambridge and executive MBA from Warwick Business School. Her scientific interests in genetic engineering of GC-rich microbes, unnatural products and peptide cyclisation led her to seek transformative applications of synthetic biology in the real world. Prior to joining Constructive Bio, she worked for various companies in the Cambridge biotech cluster, most recently as Chief Operating Officer at Reflection Therapeutics.
Debbie Young
Debbie Young is a healthcare partner and a Vice Chair in the UK Firm. Vice Chairs are some of Deloitte’s most senior client facing partners who are appointed to help our partnership make a greater impact on our clients through their market knowledge and relationships.
She has over 30 years of international experience in advising organizations, Boards, Regulators and other stakeholders within both the public and private sectors on strategic, operational and financial transformation. Debbie typically leads large multi disciplinary teams with a particular focus on assessing the capabilities of an organization, developing options and working collaboratively with stakeholders to implement solutions from operating model design and implementation through to financial and operational restructuring. She has worked exclusively with healthcare organisations for over 10 years.
Australian by background, she moved to the UK in 1992, is married with two children, has two naughty dogs (golden retrievers) and enjoys cooking, and playing tennis and golf in her spare time.
Powered by
