Prof Angela J. Russell gained her DPhil in Organic Chemistry in 2004 under the joint supervision of Steve Davies and Tim Perera from Yamanouchi plc (now Astellas Pharma Inc.). In March 2006 she became a Departmental Research Lecturer in Organic Chemistry and in July 2007 was awarded a prestigious Research Councils’ UK Fellowship in Medicinal Chemistry. In 2014 she became an Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry. In her academic career Angela has realised several successful multidisciplinary research collaborations, including identifying small molecules to upregulate utrophin for the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, developing novel inhibitors and activators of developmental signaling pathways and new anti-cancer agents. Since 2005 Angela has initiated a number of collaborative programmes involving the discovery and development of small molecules to manipulate stem cell fate. Angela has published over 80 original articles, book chapters and patent applications. She co-founded the Oxford spin-out MuOx Ltd, acquired by Summit Therapeutics plc in 2013, and co-founded OxStem Ltd in May 2016. OxStem Ltd aims to identify new classes of drugs that can re-programme or stimulate existing endogenous cells to repair tissues in age-related conditions including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and heart failure. The company raised £16.9M, a record for a UK spin-out, to fund the development of a series of daughter companies. In November 2016, Angela was named as a ‘Rising Star’ in the ‘BioBeat 50 Movers and Shakers in BioBusiness 2016’ report. Released annually, the report celebrates 50 outstanding women entrepreneurs and business leaders who are recognised for their contributions to global health innovation.

Adam is the COO for Oxford University Innovation Ltd (OUI), the technology transfer company of the University of Oxford, and is responsible for the Licensing & Ventures and Consulting Services activities, in addition to several business support groups. He has worked for more than 15 years in commercial roles encompassing business development and licensing, new venture formation, product development, lobbying/advocacy and general management. Prior to his current role Adam led the Life Sciences Licensing & Ventures Group at OUI, where he oversaw the formation of more than 20 new spin out companies and led the creation of LAB282, a £13M partnership with Oxford Sciences Innovation plc and Evotec AG to accelerate Oxford drug discovery activities. Between 2010 and 2013 Adam worked as Deputy General Manager for the Oxford-Emergent Tuberculosis Consortium Ltd, a joint venture between the University of Oxford and Emergent BioSolutions Inc, which raised more than $30M to conduct the first ever efficacy study of a next generation TB vaccine in infants. Prior to this Adam worked in healthcare consulting with Technomark Ltd and then in increasingly senior commercialisation roles at OUI.

Oliver joined the MSD team in 2012 and has worked on business development partnerships and projects focussing on areas of inflammation and neuroscience research. Prior to this role he worked for Ogilvy CommonHealth in account management for a range of multinational pharmaceutical companies. His scientific background is in neuroscience and he was a postdoc in the Pharmacology department here in Oxford for over three years.

Nick is based in the UK to lead Pfizer's interactions with the academic & medical institutions of the Global Medicines Excellence Cluster (GMEC) in the Pfizer Rare Disease Consortium and the broader Research Unit relationships with all UK institutions.

Nick has a wide breadth of experience across the preclinical and clinical phase of drug development and in a variety of therapeutic areas including allergy, respiratory, inflammation and rare disease. Nick has over 19 years pharmaceutical and 5 years academic experience and obtained his PhD in Anatomical Neuropharmacology at the University of Oxford in 1997 following his Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacology.

Since December 2016, Thomas is overseeing a growing portfolio of strategic academic partnerships at Evotec, spearheaded by LAB282 in Oxford. From November 2013 to November 2016, Thomas was responsible for scientific advancement and commercial licensing of Evotec’s preclinical R&D projects in the areas of inflammation and immuno-oncology, with a particular focus on building high-value, performance based drug discovery alliances with academia and pharma.
From 2007 to 2013, Thomas was Sourcing Director at the Biopharmaceuticals Research Unit of Novo Nordisk, where he identified and evaluated partnering opportunities related to compounds, targets and technologies within haemophilia, autoimmune/inflammatory diseases, growth disorders and protein technologies. At Novo Nordisk, Thomas initiated agreements with academic institutions and biotech companies both in Europe and the US.
Prior to joining Novo Nordisk, Thomas was co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at the German biotech company TeGenero, where he headed the R&D efforts to develop first-in-class immunomodulatory monoclonal antibodies (2002-2007).
Preceding his entrepreneurial activities, Thomas was group leader and Assistant Professor for Immunobiology at the University of Würzburg (1999-2002) following a PostDoc at the University of California in Berkeley where he researched basic cellular immunology (1996-1999). Thomas received his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Würzburg in 1995. He is (co-) author of approximately 30 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals.
Today, Thomas has 20+ years of experience in research and drug development in academia, biotech and pharma. Fostering innovation and continuous improvement, Thomas manages cross-functional teams as an assessor/developer, sets directions and builds trust in a company.

Shoumo Bhattacharya studied medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, trained in cardiology at Northwick Park and Hammersmith Hospitals, where he was also a MRC Training Fellow with James Scott. He followed this with Fellowships at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute with David Livingston, and was then a Wellcome Senior Fellow at Oxford. His primary focus in the last few years has been the development of novel therapeutics and targets.

Riwa leads Network Intelligence at Oxford Sciences Innovation, an investment company focused on turning world-beating IP from the University into enduring companies.
Previously, Riwa co-founded a think tank and special projects agency focused on the intersection of Technology and Culture. She is co-writing a forthcoming book and recently taught an MBA course at Sciences Po in Paris on Innovation and Disruptive Business Models.
She was Head of Innovation Growth Strategy at global Innovation and Foresight firm Idea Couture, before taking on the role of Managing Director for the MENA business. In her 5+ years with the firm, she was dedicated to helping Fortune 500 organisations prepare for and shape the future, from defining the industries of tomorrow to designing strategies to capture disruptive growth.