Advice Network

  • Running parallel to our mentorship programme is a lifETIME CDT advice network which is available to all students. The advice network consists of academics, industry and charity partners who are happy and provide ad hoc support to students on specific topics/areas.

    If any CDT student would like to contact any of the partners within the advice network, please email lifetime-cdt@glasgow.ac.uk in the first instance with your question(s) and who you would like us to direct your question too. If we have a high volume of reoccurring topics we will arrange focused seminars for these key areas.

    If you would like to join our advice network, please complete the online form.

    Anthony Holmes

    NC3Rs

    Director of Science and Technology

    Anthony has strategic oversight of the science and technology supported through NC3Rs; ensuring that the NC3Rs has a long-term and sustainable strategy for supporting the best science and technology and its use in practice to achieve 3Rs and wider scientific and economic benefits. He leads the CRACK IT open innovation programme.

    CDT Advice:

        1. Careers: Academia and general advice
        2. Skills training: Organisational, networking and leadership
        3. Inclusion: Work/life balance and wellbeing
        4. Other: Company spinouts and placement opportunities

    Silvana Libertini

    Novartis UK

    Lab head, PreClinical Safety

    Silvana Libertini obtained her PhD in Molecular Oncology and Endocrinology from the University of Naples “Federico II” (Italy), with a thesis focused on the use of oncolytic adenoviruses for the treatment of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. She then moved to the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow (UK), where she studied the role of the checkpoint kinase Chk1 in the survival and differentiation of the Lgr5+ve skin stem cell population. During her academic career, she won a FIRC fellowship, a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship and a Hartmann-Mueller Stiftung. Dr Libertini is currently working at the PreClinical Safety Department in Novartis, focusing on the development of new methods to assess the genotoxic risk associated with the use of advanced therapy products (mainly CAR T cells, CRISPR/Cas9, AAV based gene therapy). Her projects include a miniaturized digital soft agar to measure the transformation potential of genome edited adherent cells and the use of iPSCs to measure CRISPR/Cas9 induced DNA damage. Due to her interest in state-of-the-art in vitro models, Silvana is involved in several international consortia, such as CRACK-IT Challenges, HESI CT-TRACS, IMI ARDAT and is an active member of the organizing committee for the GUM and IWGT meetings.

    CDT Advice :

        1. Careers: Academia, industrial, R&D and general career support
        2. Skills training: Communication, networking and leadership
        3. Inclusion: Work/life balance

    Zara Puckrin

    Reprocell Europe Ltd

    Marketing Manager

    Zara is a recent graduate from Glasgow Caledonian University, where she studied cell and molecular biology (BSc). She began working in industry during her second-year studies, after successfully securing a paid internship with REPROCELL. She provided administration support for the CRO during the summer months, and part-time during her final years of study. In her final year of university, she was awarded a Medical Research Scotland Summer Studentship for a cancer research project, where she helped to establish a 3D coculture model for acute myeloid leukaemia. This research was continued into her honours year, for which she was awarded the prize for best academic poster in 2019. After experiencing both the commercial-industrial aspects of research and the academic side, Zara decided to not pursue a career in academia, and started working as Marketing Manager for REPROCELL following graduation. She has been a mentee herself and had many wonderful mentors throughout university who she is still in contact with today. She would love to take part in the program to give back, and to show students the wide variety of opportunities and career paths following an academic education.

    CDT Advice:

        1. Careers: Industrial, marketing and communication, business and general career support
        2. Skills training: Communication, organisational, networking, scientific writing and academic writing
        3. Inclusion: Work/life balance, BAME, LGBTQ+, neurodiversity and wellbeing
        4. Other: Placement opportunities

    Sheena MacCormick

    Scottish Health Innovations Limited

    Innovation Manager

    Sheena MacCormick has a degree in Economics and French from Glasgow University and a post-graduate diploma in marketing and European languages. Sheena’s background is in market research, and prior to joining SHIL, she worked for a number of market research agencies on both commercial and public sector projects. She has experience in a range of market research methodologies in both quantitative and qualitative research. Before joining SHIL, Sheena worked on the English National Patient Survey programme, managing surveys across health care Trusts in England. This work provided patient feedback for both the Care Quality Commission and individual Trusts and was aimed at promoting patient-centred care.

    CDT Advice:

        1. Other: IP/confidentiality

    Catherine Berry

    University of Glasgow

    Senior Lecturer

    Catherine is a researcher who has worked at Glasgow University for 20 years. Catherine previously did a BSc in Pharmacology, an MSc in Bioengineering and a PhD in Tissue Engineering. She runs a small research group and a Stem Cell Engineering Masters course, as well as Skills Training courses for the CDT and the UofG DTP. Catherine has worked part time (60%) for 15 years and balances her research group with 4 children.

    CDT Advice:

        1. Careers: Academia and general advice
        2. Skills training: Communication, organisational, networking, scientific writing and academic writing
        3. Inclusion: Work/life balance and wellbeing

    Emma Lardner (She/Her)

    University of Birmingham

    Operations Manager for Healthcare Technologies Institute

    Emma has a lot of experience with marketing, communications, blog/news article writing and project management. Her role at Birmingham sits across several different departments, one being the College Communications team who are responsible for Marketing and Communications within the University of Birmingham. Another aspect of her role is being a Wellbeing Champion, which entails listening to staff feedback and feeding into the college board to support the University in making decisions that can positively impact wellbeing. Lastly, Emma is part of the LGBTQ+ community so is able to give advice to others who identify as LGBTQ+ or may be questioning or exploring their sexuality and/or identity, and would like advice on navigating ‘coming out’ at work.

    CDT Advice:

        1. Careers: Marketing and communication
        2. Skills training: Communication and organisational
        3. Inclusion: LGBTQ+ and wellbeing

    Aideen Ryan

    NUI Galway

    Lecturer Above the Bar

    Dr. Aideen Ryan is a Lecturer Above the Bar in the School of Medicine, National University of Ireland, Galway and is a member of the Biomedical Sciences Institute. Dr Ryan has a BSc. in Biochemistry and Microbiology from NUI Galway and a PhD in Medicine from University College Cork. Her PhD research focused on the role of Fas Ligand and immune suppression and cancer, specifically in the area of colon cancer. Dr. Ryan started her post-doctoral career in Prof. Laurence Egan’s lab at NUIG, where she studied the role of NF-kappaB in colon cancer metastasis using molecular and cellular technologies, as well as other disease models. Following this, Dr. Ryan moved to the Immunology Group within the Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI). Dr. Ryan’s has multiple industry collaborations in the area of immune-oncology and stromal cell immunology. Over the course of Dr. Ryan’s research career to date, there have been several interesting outcomes, most notably research publications describing novel discoveries in Cancer Research, Oncogene, Molecular Therapy and Cell Cycle, which rank as top journals in the field of Cancer Biology and Stromal cell immunology. Dr. Ryans current research interests include understanding mechanisms of immune modulation of mesenchymal stromal cells, colon tumor cell and stromal cell interactions in the colon cancer microenvironment, as well as understanding mechanisms of immune evasion in colon cancer with particular focus on the influence of tumor cell NF-κB activity and macrophage/stromal cell interactions on the microenvironment.
    CDT Advice:
        1. Careers: Academia and general advice

    Manuel Salmeron-Sanchez

    University of Glasgow

    Chair of Biomedical Engineering

    Manuel is Professor of Biomedical Engineering and co-director of the Centre for the Cellular Microenvironment at the University of Glasgow. He did a PhD in Valencia and postdoctoral research in Prague and Leuven. He was Full Professor at Universitat Politecnica de Valencia and Visiting Professor in Georgia Tech. His group has pioneered polymers that trigger the self-assembly of proteins to promote high efficiency presentation of growth factors. His research lies at the cell/material interface, with interests in in vitro models for drug screening and disease modelling, along with materials for cancer research, stem cell engineering and regenerative medicine.

    CDT Advice:

        1. Careers: Academia and R&D
        2. Skills training: Networking, leadership, scientific writing and academic writing
        3. Inclusion: Work/life balance and wellbeing
        4. Other: IP/confidentiality, company spinouts and placement opportunities

    Andrew Hart

    NHS / University of Glasgow

    Consultant Hand, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon

    Andrew has clinical subspecialty expertise in major nerve reconstruction, microsurgical limb reconstruction / upper limb reanimation, and sarcoma reconstruction. His research has focused on the neurobiology of nerve injury, microvascular anatomy off the skin, and tissue engineering for nerve and bone reconstruction. Andrew is Editor of JPRAS, Europe’s leading reconstructive surgery journal.

    CDT Advice:

        1. Careers: Clinical
        2. Skills training: Scientific writing
        3. Other: Clinical interactions and placement opportunities

    Ann Kramer

    The Electrospinning Company

    CEO

    Ann Kramer is CEO of The Electrospinning Company, an SME with a biomaterial platform with applications in regenerative medicine and cell therapy. Ann spent 20 years in agritech multinationals, then 15 years in UK SMEs including Oxitec, Immunocore and Biosyntha.

    CDT Advice:

        1. Careers: Industrial, marketing and communication and business
        2. Skills training: Networking, leadership, scientific writing and academic writing
        3. Inclusion: Work/life balance and wellbeing
        4. Other: IP/confidentiality and company spinouts