Staff Profile

Introduction

I am a Business Development Manager with the University's Arrow Programme and work to match the innovation needs of enterprises in the North East with academic, research and Facilities expertise in Newcastle University and with our regional peers. I've worked with several hundred enterprises to co-create and negotiate projects and their required resources so that feasible projects move smoothly to a contract for delivery. Alongside my Arrow team colleagues, I offer project management support to active projects (the project itself, and compliance with funding rules), and look to signpost enterprises to other support beyond that offered by the Arrow programme. I'm pleased to have placed projects with colleagues in all three of the University's Faculties, and to have supported enterprises to buy expertise that was unavailable in the University. I have worked with businesses ranging from brand new start-ups to more-established businesses. 

Background

A fun year with a UK Trade Association for the biotechnology industry got me interested in working to support multiples of businesses. Before joining Newcastle University I worked with two other ERDF-funded projects making innovation connections for SMEs. Both were in a different UK region, and, unlike Arrow that supports across a broad spectrum of industry sectors, they had a specific focus: on life sciences/biotechnology, and; industrial biotechnology, resource management and bioenergy.

Earlier in my career I was a university Research Fellow before moving to a US biotech's UK manufacturing facility and transitioning to lead its team of R&D scientists in pre-clinical biologic drug discovery and development.

Qualifications

I have a BSc and DPhil in biochemistry from University of Glasgow and University of Oxford, respectively.