PROFESSOR DAME ANNA DOMINICZAK DBE, MD, FRCP, FAHA, FRSE, FMedSci
Chief Scientist (Health) for the Scottish Government and Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Glasgow
Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak is Chief Scientist (Health) for the Scottish Government and Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Glasgow. She was awarded an OBE for services to medicine and a DBE for services to cardiovascular and medical science. Recognised as a world-leading cardiovascular scientist and clinical academic, her major research interests are in hypertension, cardiovascular genomics, and precision medicine, where she not only publishes extensively in top peer-reviewed journals (over 500 publications), but also excels in large scale research funding for programmes and infrastructure. From 2010 – 2020, Professor Dominiczak was Vice-Principal and Head of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences at the University of Glasgow. She was the driving force behind the fundraising, development, and delivery of the University of Glasgow’s clinical academic campus at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, home to a Clinical Innovation Zone from which she led a triple helix partnership between academia, the NHS and industry to accelerate innovation, maximise patient benefits and stimulate economic growth. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, the American Heart Association, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, European Society of Cardiology, and the Society of Biology. From 2013 to 2015, she was President of the European Society of Hypertension. She is past President of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland.
Dame Anna is a member of several editorial boards and, from 2012 – 2022, was Editor-in-Chief of Hypertension, journal of the American Heart Association, currently she is Editor-in Chief of Precision Medicine due to launch in 2023.
In March 2020, Anna successfully led the establishment of Lighthouse Laboratory in Glasgow to provide rapid Covid–19 diagnostics, and then was asked to become Director of Laboratories at the UK Department of Health and Social Care to lead all 10 Lighthouse Laboratories across the UK, the role she fulfilled till 2022.
MARK COOK
Chair Life Sciences Scotland ILG, Chair Teachers Pension Scheme, and Chair ABHI Scotland
Mark has spent 30 years in roles within the health sector including biologicals/pharmaceuticals, medical technology and consultancy.
In February 2022 Mark became Co Chair of the Life Sciences Industrial Leadership Group in Scotland, he also continues to support decision making for non-medicine technologies through membership of the Scottish Health Technology Group plus as a member of SHIP he raises the profile for the Life Sciences Sector in Scotland.
Current focus for the Life Sciences ILG is the refresh of the sector strategy and Mark is leading on this work to ensure we not only meet, but exceed, our goal of £8 Billion generated by the Scottish Life Sciences sector by 2025 .
Mark is active in industry trade bodies including ABHI (Chairs ABHI Scotland), MedTech Europe, ADVAMED and has published on healthcare resource utilisation in areas such as diabetes, hypertension and heart failure.
TOBY REID
Executive Director, Pioneer Group
Toby has spent the last decade supporting life science and biotech companies grow through the provision of physical real estate, supportive connected innovation communities and venture capital.
Toby joined BioCity in 2011 and was CEO from January 2019, negotiating and guiding the company through its acquisition by Trinity. He is now an executive director of Pioneer Group.
Toby helped architect the structured venture development process used by Pioneer Group to help early-stage innovations become commercial realities. He has a degree in Engineering from the University of Nottingham and qualified as a chartered engineer with Arup. He founded several start-ups and worked in company financing prior to joining BioCity.
GILES HAMILTON
CEO, ODx Innovations
Giles is driven to help improve standards of care in medicine, through useful medical Dx & device development and enabling teams & companies to achieve their potential.
He has served as a board member of over 50 organisations, mainly public and private technology companies in the UK, USA, Japan and Australia. He has wide experience of developing products in fast growth companies, capital raising, M&A, including advisory roles with US MedTech investment banks.
Past Ministerial board appointments in UK and Scottish Government include roles in Employment, Research and Economic Development. He serves on the Scottish Government Industry Leadership Group for Life Sciences & vice-chairman of the Association of British Healthcare Industries. Giles has received many nominations and awards for work in business, medical technology development and was elected FRSA in 1998.
ALIX MACKAY
Industry Leadership Group for Life Sciences, Founding Director The Life Sciences Marketing Academy
Alix Mackay has over 20 years of commercial experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences industries. Having led brand marketing strategy for some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, she now provides go-to-market consultancy and marketing training to start-ups, businesses and academic entrepreneurs across the UK. Alix is a member of Scotland’s Industry Leadership Group for Life Sciences and The Royal Society of Chemistry.
ELAINE JAMIESON
Head of Food and Drink, Life Sciences and lead for Blue Economy
Elaine Jamieson is a dynamic economic development executive with expertise in food and drink, life sciences and blue economy sectors, including upstream and downstream supply chains. Elaine is a collaborator and influencer across rural businesses, regional and national agencies, where much of her work aims to inform policy, strategy and initiatives to enable long-term sustainable business growth and community prosperity. A graduate from Robert Gordon University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Elaine is skilled in business development and entrepreneurship. She is also a certified Climate Change Champion by the Royal Geographic Society.
DR DEBORAH O’NEIL, OBE FRSE
CEO, NovaBiotics
A biotechnology entrepreneur and immunologist by training, Deborah has over two decades of experience in drug discovery and development. Deborah studied at University College London and then worked in postdoctoral positions in internationally acclaimed laboratories in San Diego and Ghent before moving to Aberdeen (to the Rowett Research Institute, now part of the University of Aberdeen) where she founded NovaBiotics in 2004. The business has since become a leading global biotechnology business, developing a portfolio of first-in-class therapy candidates for a number of life-threatening and life-limiting conditions including treatments for inflammatory, infectious and respiratory disease. The company’s lead candidate, NM002, is currently in a phase 3 clinical trial for community acquired pneumonia caused by COVID-19, influenza and bacterial infections.
Deborah is a board member of the UK’s BioIndustry Association, a director and founding member of the BEAM Alliance (Biotechs of Europe innovating in Anti-Microbial Resistance). Deborah also chairs the UK’s Cystic Fibrosis AMR Syndicate and is a board member of the Scottish Life Sciences Association. She is also chair of the Life Science Board of Opportunity Northeast. Deborah is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. Named as one of the 20 women leaders in European biotech in 2019 and one of the 30 top female leaders in UK Healthcare in 2018, Deborah was made OBE in 2020 in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, for services to biotechnology, industry and charity.