BIA honours bioprocessing leaders driving innovation at annual conference

27 November 2025, Newcastle, UK – The BioIndustry Association (BIA) has recognised outstanding leadership and impact in bioprocessing and advanced therapies by presenting three awards at its 22nd Annual bioProcessUK Conference.

Cath Green OBE received the Peter Dunnill Award for her exceptional leadership during COVID-19 and her contributions to bioprocessing. The Future Targeted Healthcare Manufacturing Hub was awarded the Richard Wilson Impact Award for its significant influence across the biopharma and advanced therapy sectors. Emilia Reyes Pabon received the Bioprocessing Apprentice of the Year Award in recognition of her contributions across manufacturing, research, training and workforce development.

Cath Green OBE receives Peter Dunnill Award

Cath Green OBE, Head of Clinical BioManufacturing Facility at University of Oxford, has been awarded the Peter Dunnill Award for her outstanding leadership and contributions to the field of bioprocessing, particularly during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The annual award, established in 2009 in memory of Professor Peter Dunnill, celebrates individuals whose work demonstrates a sustained commitment to advancing UK bioprocessing. Professor Dunnill was a pioneer who played a pivotal role in founding the UCL Department of Biochemical Engineering in 1998.

Cath is an Associate Professor in Chromosome Dynamics at the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics and emerged as a key figure in response to COVID-19, having served as the manufacturing lead in the development of the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine in 2020, for which she was awarded an OBE. She is co-author of Sunday Times bestseller, 'Vaxxers’, and via interviews on TV, radio and in national newspapers, she played a key role during the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine rollout, in particular addressing vaccine hesitancy and misinformation in the public arena.

Cath is the Oxford lead and co-director of the BBSRC-funded Collaborative Training Partnership with Oxford Biomedica: DPhil in Advanced Bioscience of Viral Products. She is also the Oxford lead and co-Director of Vax-Hub Global, a £10 million, five-year research grant from the Department of Health and Social Care and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. She is also a co-investigator on the Vax-Hub sustainable research project (£12 million and seven years). She is currently overseeing a CRUK-funded expansion of the CBF to triple its capacity and holds advisory positions with Duke University’s Vaccine Centre and Canada’s Immuno-Engineering and Biomanufacturing Hub.

Future Targeted Healthcare Manufacturing Hub wins Richard Wilson Impact Award

The Future Targeted Healthcare Manufacturing (FTHM) Hub received the Richard Wilson Impact Award, presented by incoming BIA Chair Shaun Grady, in recognition of its transformative contributions to biopharma and advanced therapies.

From 2017–2024, the Hub — led by UCL with five partner universities and a consortium of 45 industrial collaborators — delivered decisive tools, technologies and insights for personalised and stratified medicines. This national asset shaped national policy, regulation, and reimbursement strategies, delivering over 40 industry-academic feasibility studies with partners including Ipsen, Fujifilm DB, Pharmaron, Oxford Biomedica, Trakcel, CGTC and BIA MAC. Its work reduced development timelines and costs, influenced national investment priorities, and strengthened the UK’s competitive position in advanced therapies.

Key achievements include:

• Foundational evidence shaping the £18 million UK Gene Therapy Innovation Hubs, fed into BIA sustainability initiatives
• Contributions to major policy and regulatory initiatives, including the G7 100 Days Mission and MHRA regulatory frameworks for ATMPs
• Critical solutions across modalities such as ADCs, CAR-T, AAVs, pDNA, mRNA and cell-free synthesis
• Training 28 postdocs and more than 160 PhD students, delivering 200+ publications and 100 sector events

The FTHM Hub catalysed highly engaged collaborations between industry, academia, and government to build the tools, talent, network and strategies that ensure the UK leads in the manufacture of next-generation medicines.

Emilia Reyes Pabon named Bioprocessing Apprentice of the Year

Emilia Reyes Pabon received the Bioprocessing Apprentice of the Year Award, presented by CGT Catapult, in recognition of becoming an indispensable member of the Clinical Biomanufacturing Facility at Oxford University.

Since joining the facility as a Level-3 apprentice, Emilia quickly became integral to the Production team, taking on complex bioprocessing tasks including drug product filling, and becoming a key source of support for new colleagues. She has excelled while simultaneously progressing through her Level-6 apprenticeship, demonstrating exceptional skill, resilience and leadership potential.