Conferences, Seminars, Workshops, Papers and Mentoring

An experienced conference speaker, over the years I have been invited to speak and present papers at many biotechnology conferences around the world. I have also chaired a number of conferences where I have earned a reputation for punctuality and efficiency, most recently a therapeutic protein manufacturing conference in London and Amsterdam and a monoclonal antibody manufacturing conference in Basel. Please contact me to discuss my availability for speaking or chairing conferences as far in advance as possible.

Workshops are an excellent way for me to share my technical expertise in a group setting and I am available to teach and lecture in a workshop setting on bespoke topics. Workshops I have given in the past have been well received. The most recent workshop I ran was on setting therapeutic protein product specifications in Basel and Prague. Please contact me for more information if there is a workshop you would like me to run.

With a strong industrial background, most of the report writing, seminars and conferences I have organised have been for staff, colleagues, and senior corporate management. Consequently the results of any basic research of either a scientific or strategic business use, have been highly confidential and not for publication. However, where the work has been patented or related to projects that have been terminated, I have seized the opportunity to publish in peer reviewed journals. This has allowed me to make real contributions to scientific conferences and to further the general public's understanding of biotechnology by providing public information lectures. All these activities have helped extend my level peer recognition and to build up my extensive network amongst the biotechnology community.

Examples of the topics that have been the subject of publications and seminars I have given include:

the regulation of a microbial enzyme and its application to fermentation process that allowed the production of very high levels of this extracellular enzyme

the development of some of the first biochemical assays for high-throughput mechanism based screens for anti-microbials and pharmaceuticals

the discovery of new biosynthetic enzymes that could be used for the biotransformation of antibiotics

the strategies, including the pioneering use of preparative hplc, that allow for the rapid purification of proteins

specification setting for bio-therapeutics in which I predicted that the extent of protein characterisation would lead to their treatment as chemicals rather than as biologicals

the importance of biodiversity in the discovery of new medicines presented at a conference on Chemistry of the Rain-Forest in Manoase, Brazil and was later repeated before a Congressional House hearing in Washington DC.

the value of plants for low cost protein based fibre manufacture, and issues with their use

screening technology in which I pointed to the importance of early testing for metabolism and distribution, and how to exploit these capabilities that are built into natural products

accelerating bio-pharmaceutical development from research to clinic

monoclonal antibody process development, specifications and manufacture

On a local level, I have provided tutoring to graduates involved in bio-science related businesses, have established good relationships with the Regional Development Agency in its attempts to promote bioscience businesses, and have used my general management expertise to help a number of regional businesses through a business mentoring scheme.