Our people
Meet the IBIC management team
The IBIC management team is made up of representatives from the founding institutions. Together they agree and set the direction of IBIC and organise key IBIC activities.
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Aline Miller
IBIC Director
The University of Manchester -
Sabina Hawthornthwaite
Programme Manager
The University of Manchester -
Jen Smith
Programme Officer
The University of Manchester -
Sam Naylor
Project Officer
The University of Manchester -
Enna Bartlett
Communications and Marketing
The University of Manchester -
Neil Dixon
Co-lead – Manchester
The University of Manchester -
Claire Eyers
Academic Lead – Liverpool
University of Liverpool -
Andrew Carnell
Co-Lead – Liverpool
University of Liverpool -
Natalie Ferry
Academic Lead – Salford
Salford University -
Mayri Alejandra Diaz De Rienzo
Co-lead – Salford
Salford University -
Ed Randviir
Manchester Metropolitan University
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Femi Olorunniji
Academic Lead
Liverpool John Moores University
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Meet the IBIC advisory board
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Phil Carvil
Head of Clusters, Science and Technology Facilities Council
Phil is the Head of Clusters for the Science and Technology Facilities Council (part of UK Research and Innovation) where he supports better connected, engaged and thriving R&D ecosystems. He is the Chair of the IBIC Advisory Board and together with the other board members helps drive IBIC forward in its mission to build an interconnected industrial biotechnology ecosystem in the north-west. A scientist by training, Phils has worked on astronaut projects for the European Space Agency among many other projects focused on supporting cross-sector innovation.
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Aline Miller
Aline is the Director of the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Catalyst, Vice-President for Enterprise at The University of Manchester, a professor of Biomolecular Engineering in the Department of Chemical Engineering at The University of Manchester and is also part of the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology. Her research focuses on polymer and peptide design, development and application. Inspired by nature’s materials, she explore the chemistry of these molecular building blocks and use a suite of experimental tools to engineer and scale them into functional materials that people use in everyday products, focussing on regenerative medicine, looking at materials for tissue generation, tissue repair, and drug delivery.
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Sabina Hawthornthwaite
Sabina is a research management professional with over 20 years’ experience in the higher education sector, combining expertise in funding, community building, development of interdisciplinary academic and industrial partnerships and research portfolio management. She holds a degree in Chemical Engineering and an MPhil in Materials Science.
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Natalie Jones
Head of Regional Engagement, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Natalie is the Head of Regional Engagement for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) joining in 2020. Previously she was at the Economic and Social Research Council where she spent seven years building and managing impact, infrastructure and research investments. Natalie also has twenty years’ experience working in civic bodies across Wales and England, in the fields of environmental planning, corporate research, economic development and neighbourhood regeneration.
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James Winterburn
Research Lead, Holfierm Limited
James Winterburn is Research Lead at Holiferm, where he drives innovation around the production of biobased chemicals with an emphasis on translation and market impact. His interests span developing sustainable technologies, enabling collaborative research environments and mentoring the next generation of leading science and engineering experts. James is also Green-Tech Expert in Residence at The University of Manchester Innovation Factory and an Honorary Professor of Biochemical Engineering at The University of Manchester.
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Jeremy Shears
Chief Scientist for Biosciences, Shell
Jeremy Shears is Shell’s Chief Scientist for Biosciences. He leads the company’s strategic thinking and innovation agenda in bioscience. His work areas include bioenergy, such as biofuels, chemicals from renewable feedstocks, and nature based solutions: natural ecosystems as carbon sinks. He joined Shell in 1986 and has held various commercial and technology management positions in the UK, Belgium, United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
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Reuben Carr
Since joining Ingenza in 2004, Reuben has spearheaded the company’s core technology development delivering numerous proprietary bioprocesses which has underpinned growth of the company to date.
Reuben has delivered, on time and on budget, commercial projects spanning carbon capture utilisation, biobased chemical production, small molecule API production, medical diagnostics and many others.
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Adrian Jervis
Research Manager, Unilever
Adrian is a Research Manager in Unilever where he develops ingredient sourcing solutions through biotechnology towards disruptive innovation and improved sustainability aligned with Unilever's net zero targets. He has a long technical track record in Academia in microbial biotechnology, from glycoengineering to produce novel vaccines to industrial biotechnology for chemical manufacture.
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Richard Smith
Richard has spent 40 years in the chemical industry (25 at board level). His roles have seen him based in UK, The Netherlands and India with global responsibilities. He is the COO and a main board director of 2M Holdings Ltd, a portfolio of chemical manufacturing and distribution companies based in the UK, Europe, USA and China.
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Farhad Ahmed
Head of Strategic Partnerships, LYVA Labs
Farhad is Head of Strategic Partnerships at LYVA Labs, an innovation and commercialisation agency for Liverpool City Region, where he leads on identifying and shaping transformational innovation opportunities based on large scale collaborations. He co-currently serves as an Non-Executive Director of an NHS Trust chairing committees relating to People and Culture and Commissioning.
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Francesco Falcioni
Francesco graduated with honours in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the university of Milan (Italy) followed by a PhD in Biophysics from the university of York and a postdoc in Biochemical engineering at the technical university of Dortmund (Germany).
He has since worked in small and large companies in various fields of applied biotechnology – primarily pharma, but also food and beverages, and fine chemicals.
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Anastassia Bolotkova
Business Development Manager, MIDAS
Anastassia is a Business Development Manager at MIDAS, Manchester's inward investment agency. First training in molecular biology and biocehmistry, she went on to have a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry. Since 2020 she has specialised into business support for life sciences companies, now focussing on supporting the north-west's regional development in this area.
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Kirk Malone
Chief Executive Officer, Britest Limited
Kirk Malone is the CEO of Britest Limited, a company that develops and applies innovative methodologies to support sustainable process understanding. Kirk has extensive experience at the interface of academia and industry and a track record of securing substantial funding for innovation and R&D. He has successfully engaged industry across multiple sectors to transfer knowledge, develop IP, and deliver collaborative projects.
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Matthew Kershaw
Senior Policy Officer for Innovation, Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Matthew is a policy and economic development professional with extensive experience in various roles across prominent private and public sector organizations. He is currently a Principal Officer for Innovation at the GMCA, focusing on how the public sector can strengthen Greater Manchester’s innovation ecosystem, and on how it can help grow the City Regions’ Health Innovation and Life sciences Sector. Prior to this, Kershaw worked on economic development policy at Tameside Council and on business representation and lobbying work at the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, in a varied role that included chairing Stockport’s Portas Pilot leadership group, establishing a Digital Infrastructure Group to lobby for better connectivity, and leading on Property and Construction Policy development. Kershaw holds a BA (Hons) in History from The University of Manchester.
