Our team
The Executive Committee (EC) is AMI’s governing body, which comprises thirteen trustees, each of whom is responsible for the successful running of the organisation. The EC meets three times a year and is the only decision-making body of the organisation: it develops and oversees the progress of AMI’s strategy, defines policy, agrees the organisation’s business plan and monitors the progress of all of AMI’s activities. Along with the Chief Executive of the organisation the EC ensure the effective management and custody of all AMI assets as they are used to deliver the organisation’s charitable objectives. All decisions taken by the EC are reported to Members at the AGM.
Jack Gilbert
Professor Jack A Gilbert is currently Professor in Paediatrics and in Microbial Oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (University of California San Diego). He obtained his PhD from Nottingham University in 2002, after which he conducted post-doctoral research at Queens University, Canada and was a senior scientist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK. Prior to moving to California in 2019, Professor Gilbert also served as Group Leader for Microbial Ecology at Argonne National Laboratory, a Professor of Surgery, and the Director of The Microbiome Centre at University of Chicago – during which time he cofounded the Earth Microbiome Project and American Gut Project.
Professor Gilbert has authored more than 300 peer reviewed publications and book chapters on microbial ecology. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of mSystems journal and in 2017 he co-authored “Dirt is Good” - a popular science guide to the microbiome and children’s health. In 2014 he was recognized on Crain’s Business Chicago’s 40 Under 40 List. In 2015 he was listed as one of the 50 most influential scientists by Business Insider, and in the Brilliant Ten by Popular Scientist. In 2016 he won the Altemeier Prize from the Surgical Infection Society, and the WH Pierce Prize from Applied Microbiology International for research excellence. In 2019 he was elected to the Philosophical Society of Washington.
Professor Gilbert is the President of Applied Microbiology International.
Nwadiuto Esiobu
Dr. Esiobu is a tenured Professor of Microbiology and Biotechnology with broad expertise in environmental health and microbial ecology at Florida Atlantic University, USA; where, as PI of the first Microbiomes Innovation Center in South Florida, she currently directs applied research in microbiomes of plants and humans. Dr. Esiobu obtained her Ph.D. (Microbiology), University of Louvain, Belgium and a Post-Doc (Molecular Biology and Biotechnology), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA. She is a leading expert in multidisciplinary research for bioeconomy, sustainability and climate-change resilience. She has published over 100 articles and book chapters, co-edited four volumes of Multidisciplinary Advances in Biotechnology, including volumes in Microbiomes and Emerging Applications. She has served as Trustee and Advisory Board member of several professional entities, including the Society for Lifestyle medicine, Nigeria and the School of Science, Miami Dade College (second largest college in the USA).
She served in leadership roles on the Education Board and International Committee of the American Society for Microbiology where for over 12 years she helped shape the education curriculum and international programs/scholarships of the society. She currently serves on the steering committee of the Jefferson Science Laureates following her tenure as a senior science advisor at the US Department of State - the Secretary’s Office of Global Food Security (S/GFS) and the Bureau of Oceans and International Scientific and Environmental Affairs Office of International Health and Biodefense (OES/IHB). Dr. Esiobu’s professional leadership awards include Faculty of Distinction, FAU President’s Broward Council (2011), Outstanding Mentor and Service award, American Society for Microbiology (2007 – 2011); Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow, IEE (2014-2016), Lifetime achievement award, Venus International Foundation (2023).
Emmanuel Adukwu
Emmanuel completed a PhD in Microbiology at the University of Northampton, investigating community acquired infections and identifying decontamination and control measures. He is currently a Professor and Department lead for Employability at UWE Bristol where he is involved in Biomedical Science and Public Health teaching and research at undergraduate and postgraduate level. He is also a fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (FHEA). His research is dedicated to studying the survival strategies in bacteria and fungi as well as antimicrobial resistance and infection control in diverse communities with particular interest in preventing and managing infectious diseases in Africa.
Passionate about equality, diversity and inclusion, Emmanuel has been recognised for his contributions with a National Diversity Award nomination in 2019 (UK), institutional awards and the Bristol BME Powerlist100 in 2018. He is passionate about global education and mentoring and has been a member of Applied Microbiology International for over 10 years and previously served as Events Coordinator and Chair of the Early Career Scientist committee.
- Twitter:
- @EmmanuelAdukwu
Oern Greif
Oern has been a member of the Society since 2019. Oern started his professional career in finance where he spent 22 years in investment banking, specifically structuring, sales and trading in debt capital markets at Barclays, Nomura and BNP Paribas. He spent a further six years in systems & operations, heading BNP Paribas’ division responsible for middle & back-office services for structured bonds & loan funds. Oern graduated from UCLA (BA), Sciences Po (Diplomé), and the Sorbonne (DEA) with degrees in Literature, Politics and Economics.
Bamidele Tajudeen Akanji
Over the last 25 years, Dr. Bamidele Akanji has been engaged in numerous Nigerian research initiatives including Phase 3 Clinical Trials and national HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives. Bamidele is currently serving the second term as the assistant administrative secretary of the Institutional Review Board (NIMR-IRB) and is also the senior research fellow and coordinator of the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research. His current work as a laboratory co-ordinator is focused on the AMR and safety considerations associated with the mass administration of azithromycin in children aged 1-11 months in Nigeria.
Arpita Bose
Dr Arpita Bose is an Associate Professor of Biology and a Packard Foundation Fellow in the Department of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL). She is also actively involved in several environmental and climate science initiatives, including being a Biodiversity Fellow for the Living Earth Collaborative; a founding fellow at ClimateBase; an Anant Fellow for Climate; an affiliate faculty member of the Centre for Water Innovation; and an affiliate of the Environmental Studies Program at WUSTL.
Dr Bose also helped found India’s first Bachelor of Technology degree in Climate Technologies at Anant National University - the only undergraduate degree program in India offering students the opportunity to specialize in climate technologies. Her lab studies microbial metabolism, its influence on biogeochemical cycling and works towards addressing issues such as the energy crisis, climate change, pollution, human health, sustainability, and the circular economy.
Marc Dumont
Marc is an Environmental Microbiologist with a wide range of research interests focused primarily on methane-oxidising bacteria but extending to the wider roles of microbes in biogeochemical cycles, ecology, environmental health, antibiotic resistance, and their potential application in sustainable agriculture. He is based at the University of Southampton (UK).
Kate Lagerstrom
Kate recently completed her PhD in Biology at Stanford University where she studied the genetic diversity of distribution of Escherichia coli among a wild animal community. She will soon begin a post-doctoral research position at Princeton University where she will continue to study human impacts on host-associated microbial communities.
Samantha Law
After completing a degree in Applied Biology (Molecular and Microbiology) at Nottingham Trent University, Samantha studied ‘Microbial biochemistry of slow sand filters’ for her PhD at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen.
Sam has worked at the National Collection of Marine and Industrial Bacteria (NCIMB), the UK’s major repository for environmental bacteria, since 2005 and is now the Curator of the collection. Working with the collection has enabled her to gain rounded experience in the management of a biobank. Sam also plays a senior role in the management of client projects and the operation of the safe, patent and secure storage facilities offered by NCIMB ensuring they are maintained to ISO or cGMP standards. Sam is also a member of the Scottish Industrial Biotechnology Development Group (SIBDG) and is involved with the BSc (Hons) Applied Bioscience Stakeholders Group at the Robert Gordon University.
Diane Purchase
Diane is a Professor of Environmental Biotechnology and has a keen interest in safeguarding and improving the environment. She is an alumna of King’s College London where she was awarded a PhD degree in Environmental Microbiology in 1992. As an Executive Member of the Committee of the Heads of Environmental Sciences (CHES) in the UK, a Fellow of the Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA), Diane engages in the advancement of environmental microbiology through teaching, knowledge exchange, research and scholarship in the UK and international higher education sectors. She was appointed to the Subject Benchmark Review panel for Earth Science, Environmental Sciences and Environmental Study by the UK Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) in 2014. Diane’s research interest focuses on the role of biotechnology in pollution control and bioremediation. She has published widely and has supervised a number of PhD students in this area. She is member of the editorial boards of the two international journals published by Springer Nature: Environmental Geochemistry and Health and Environmental Science and Pollution Research.
Catherine Rees
Catherine Rees is Professor at the University of Nottingham, where her work focuses on understanding bacterial physiology to improve food preservation and more recently the development of rapid detection methods for Mycobacterial pathogens in the agricultural and dairy sectors. She is a founder of PBD Biotech Ltd, a spin-out biotechnology company that is commercialising a new, rapid, molecular test for detecting Mycobacteria.
Professor Rees also served as an editor for the Journal of Applied Microbiology and Letters in Applied Microbiology for 11 years and was recently appointed to the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Foods - a non-statutory committee that provides expert advice to Government on questions relating to microbiological issues and food safety.
James Timmis
Dr James Timmis holds a BA in Political Science and Philosophy, an MSc in Health Policy and a PhD in Health Innovation. He has worked to build a diverse research portfolio, with a view to improving the translation of knowledge into meaningful applications that drive societal impact. James’ current research and teaching interests are focused on the role of stakeholder interests and their representation in pertinent innovation - he has published on diverse topics related to stakeholder-centred primary care innovation, innovative diagnostic methods for collecting real world evidence, and the contribution of vaccination and microbial biotechnology to broader economic development. James has also co-authored two editorial pieces in conjunction with Applied Microbiology International that argued for increased microbial literacy in society, and is also a Member of the Microbiology Literacy Multimedia Teaching Aids (MTA) Taskforce.
James Williamson
James is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Nottingham, focusing on Engineering Biology and synthetic biology approaches to build microbes capable of producing high value products. His work uses combinatorial assembly of large libraries of metabolic pathways, which can then be screened to find variants capable of producing high titres of product.
He is also investigating the novel use of combinatorial assemblies to validate AI generated predictions of genetic communities within Pangenomes.
He has previously worked on improving strain resistance to industrial stresses via network rewiring and developed strains of Pseudomonas capable of utilising lignocellulosic waste.
- Twitter:
- @JamesJW90
The day-to-day operation of AMI is delegated to the Chief Executive who is accountable to the President and General Secretary. The team are ultimately accountable to the Chief Executive, and each AMI department is overseen by a designated Officer, to ensure continuity between the strategic direction, the operations and governance of the organisation.
Lucy Harper
After completing a BSc in Medical Biochemistry at Birmingham University, Lucy worked in hospital laboratories and university departments across the West Midlands. In 2003 she completed a PhD entitled: "Renal Dopamine and Salt-Sensitive Hypertension" and continued her research career, completing several postdoc projects. During this time, Lucy also taught molecular biology practical classes to final year BSc students and spent her spare time writing articles for various publications. Through this experience she decided that her passion for science came from talking about it rather than doing it. She was offered the honorary Editorship of The Microbiologist magazine and when her postdoc contract ended, she took the position of Communications Officer for Med-Vet-Net, the EU FP6 project on zoonotic disease. Lucy began working as Communications Officer for AMI in June 2006. Since then, she has developed AMI's Communications remit and in June 2009 she was promoted to Communications Manager. In 2010 Lucy was awarded a MBA with distinction, which she completed part-time at Aston University. After a period of maternity leave, Lucy returned to the Society as Deputy CEO, and was then appointed as Chief Executive in November 2014.
Lucy’s key achievements for the organisation since then:
• Strategy - defining the purpose of AMI including rebrand and name change
• Growth of reserves by 53% from 2014 to 2021
• Diversification of investments into ESG
• Strategic relocation to London and then remote working
• DE&I focus
• Growth of core team
Leading AMI through change to operations, governance, and strategy, Lucy takes a collaborative approach, listening to all stakeholders to ensure integrity and openness in communication and decision-making.- Twitter:
- @lucyharper
Kofo Balogun
Kofo oversees the Society's Strategic HR and Operational Development portfolio. Ensuring best practice is maintained, Kofo ensures effective people management processes are in place, handles all HR issues and oversees the implementation of up to date at employment law practices ensuring the Society is legally compliant.
Ali Morse
Ali has been working as Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive of AMI for 7 years, after 8 years working for the Chief Executive of BBSRC. She supports the Chief Executive with all diary related matters and provides ad hoc support to the wider team and Trustees as required.
Ikenna Abani
Ikenna provides support with the HR Information & Data systems and Recruitment requests for the Society. In addition, Ikenna looks after the onboarding process and inductions for new starters whilst working closely with other teams in the Society to provide support with HR activities and queries.
Amir Amin
Amir graduated from the University of Westminster with a First-Class Honours degree, earning an Excellence Award for being a top performer within his faculty. His academic background provided him with a solid understanding of international development and economics, as well as contemporary global issues, including sustainability and climate change. As a marketing and digital marketing specialist, Amir has gained valuable experience working with organisations across different sectors. He is keen to leverage his skills by contributing to organisations that drive positive change on a global scale, such as AMI.
Tom Babington
Tom works as brand and visuals designer at AMI. He works across the organisation, creating designs for a range of uses, mainly for events and marketing, whilst also acting as brand guardian.
He has over 7 years experience in the design world, and also has a passion for sustainability and the outdoors.
Steve Brading
Steve brings a wealth of experience across various sectors, including food packaging, visual display, and chemical engineering. With a strong background in marketing, communications, and commercial strategy, Steve has worked for both commercial and large international not-for-profit membership organisations. Although his formal education is not rooted in science, he is passionate about using his marketing experience to help ensure that the Applied Microbiology community has a diverse and impactful voice, and that it can positively engage with a wide range of stakeholders. Specifically, his focus will be to promote the vitally important contributions that the Applied Microbiology profession is making to solve some of the greatest challenges facing society.
Outside of work Steve is a school governor at a large secondary school which provides lots of opportunities for real life continuous learning.
Henry Coles
Henry has a over a decade of experience working in various areas of IT and now specialises in application support and administration. Initially starting his career in the agricultural industry as a robotics engineer, Henry has a passion for problem-solving and process improvement.
Henry provides administrative and technical support to the team in relation to all membership and community activity.
Lucky Cullen
Lucky completed her undergraduate degree in Medical Biochemistry at Kingston University in 2014, where her passion for microbiology originated through summer research internships and a research scholarship funded by the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC). A recurring factor in all of her research was antimicrobial resistance including next generation sequencing techniques to identify antimicrobial resistance within the nasopharyngeal niche, Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation and the bacterial profiling of mastitic cows. Lucky progressed onto a PhD at Kingston University, where she developed an experimental evolution tool to explore the phenotypic and genotypic mutational pathways underlying the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli. During her PhD Lucky attended many ECS and AMI conferences, as well as events such as Parliamentary Links Day. Lucky presented her research at the ECS Research Symposium in 2016, and was given the opportunity to present at the AMI Antimicrobial Resistance Meeting. Lucky was then awarded the AMI (then SfAM) presidency fund to present at the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) conference in New Orleans.
- Twitter:
- @LuckyCullen
Lindsay Flook
Following a BSc (Hons) in Biology at the University of Bath, Lindsay joined the Society for Endocrinology/Bioscientifica in 2006 as an Editorial Assistant, subsequently being promoted to Peer Review Staff Editor, Managing Editor and Publisher. Throughout this time she worked with both the Society for Endocrinology and client societies to run their journal editorial offices, ensuring optimal peer review processes, supporting journal Editorial Boards and latterly focusing heavily on journal development. In 2020 Lindsay began working as a Freelance Managing Editor for The Editorial Hub, working with publishers including Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. Lindsay joined AMI in April 2023 as Journal Development Manager, supporting the Director of Publishing, our journal editorial boards and our publishing partners to develop AMI’s journals in line with publishing strategy.
Matt Koch
Matt studied for a PhD in Microbiology, where his thesis was focused on natural product discovery from the marine environment and the microbiota of deep-sea sponges. Matt has since pursued a career in science communications and worked as a Science Communications Officer for AMI before becoming the Features Editor at The Microbiologist, where he enjoys being able to stay on top of the latest research and widen his knowledge base of the greatest subject in the world.
Tumi Ladele
Tumi manages the development of AMI's Recruitment, Training and Payroll activities providing an employee-oriented and collaborative culture. Furthermore, she supportsthe Associate Director of HR, EDI and Tech in implementing policies and programs that aim to assist colleagues with HR issues to further the Society’s strategy.
Irene Lavergne
Irene graduated with a masters in Global Health Policy from the University of Edinburgh, providing her with an understanding of key global health challenges including the rise in antimicrobial resistance and the role of climate change in diseases patterns.
She has previous experience interning with nongovernmental organisations working locally on access to healthcare services and reducing inequalities in health outcomes. Her interest in addressing global challenges through policy led her to joining AMI where she will support the policy team's work.
Daisy Neale
After completing a Biological Sciences undergraduate degree at the University of Exeter, Daisy worked in the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) policy team at the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, focussing on coordinating the UK’s national AMR surveillance programme in livestock and supporting the production of the annual UK-VARSS report. After three years at the VMD, Daisy decided to pursue a career with a wider microbiological and One Health focus, which lead to joining the policy team at AMI.
Emma Prissick
Having completed a degree in Biochemistry at The University of Bath, Emma changed careers and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with a leading accountancy firm. Since then she has worked with varied organisations including University College London as well as conservation, health and older persons charities. Over nearly twenty years she has specialised in the Charity and Not-for-Profit sector, both in the UK and internationally, and has advised clients, led financial functions and acted as a trustee. Emma joined AMI in February 2022 and oversees all aspects of AMI’s Financial Strategy, planning and reporting.
Chloe Radcliffe
Chloe graduated from the University of Liverpool with a degree in Microbiology. Following this, she joined Frontiers as a Journal Specialist, working on Frontiers in Microbiology for two years. In this role, she was responsible for driving the growth and development of the journal through editor engagement, development of themed article collections, and the launch of new sections.
As Journal Development Editor, she will be supporting the Journal Development Manager in developing AMI journals in line with publishing strategy.
Katherine Roberts
Katherine is a Chartered Company Secretary, specialised in corporate governance. She supports the Chief Executive and Trustees to make sure AMI is achieving good governance and working within the rules and relevant regulations for charities. She has worked for a range of charities and healthcare organisations, as a Company Secretary and as a volunteer trustee.
Paul Sainsbury
Paul initially trained as a journalist and has over twenty years’ experience in marketing and communications working for commercial companies such as Harrods and the Freeplay wind-up radio. His passion for science comms took him back to University and he completed a PhD at the University of Warwick entitled Biocatalytic Valorisation of Lignin via Genetic or Chemical Intervention of Bacterial Aromatic Degradation Pathways.
- Twitter:
- @science_paul
Tina Sellwood
Tina has been working for membership associations for the last thirteen years in a Membership Services Manager role, during which time she has been involved in a wide variety of areas. Tina has responsibility for the administration of grants and the day-to-day financial housekeeping for the Society.
Linda Stewart
Linda studied Pure & Applied Biology BA at St Anne’s College, Oxford, before completing an MSc in Conservation at UCL. After two years in a Water Service lab in Northern Ireland, she switched to a career in newspaper journalism, working as a general reporter at the Belfast Telegraph before becoming the regional daily’s first Environment Correspondent from 2008 until 2016. She was named Environment Correspondent of the Year 2011 and Feature Journalist of the Year in 2014 at the NI Media Awards. After serving as editor on a number of retail sector magazines, she is enjoying turning her journalism skills to delivering fresh and fascinating scientific news content in The Microbiologist.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Twitter:
- @LindaFStewart
Kathryn Spiller
Kathryn began her career in publishing at Taylor & Francis and subsequently Informa Healthcare, where she held a number of editorial roles in biomedical journals. She joined the Society for Endocrinology/Bioscientifica in 2008 where she managed the commercial and client side of the publishing business before being promoted to Head of Publishing in December 2011. She doubled the publishing portfolio during her seven years in this role, launching the Society’s first open access journals. In May 2019 she joined Jisc with the remit of engaging with society publishers to offer transformative agreements to the UK market. She achieved agreements with 19 publishers during her 18 months in the role. Kathryn joined AMI in January 2021 to strategically develop and oversee the publishing portfolio.
- Twitter:
- @kattypill
The Finance, Audit and Risk Subcommittee meets four times a year and is responsible for advising the EC on the application and use of resources, risk management practices and monitors the organisation’s planning process. The subcommittee also review the annual management accounts and annual financial accounts with the auditors before recommending them for approval to the EC. The subcommittee is chaired by the Treasurer, and its membership includes the Officers, the Chief Executive, two elected Members of AMI and one representative from outside AMI who brings specialist knowledge.
Emma Prissick
Having completed a degree in Biochemistry at The University of Bath, Emma changed careers and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with a leading accountancy firm. Since then she has worked with varied organisations including University College London as well as conservation, health and older persons charities. Over nearly twenty years she has specialised in the Charity and Not-for-Profit sector, both in the UK and internationally, and has advised clients, led financial functions and acted as a trustee. Emma joined AMI in February 2022 and oversees all aspects of AMI’s Financial Strategy, planning and reporting.
Jack Gilbert
Professor Jack A Gilbert is currently Professor in Paediatrics and in Microbial Oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (University of California San Diego). He obtained his PhD from Nottingham University in 2002, after which he conducted post-doctoral research at Queens University, Canada and was a senior scientist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK. Prior to moving to California in 2019, Professor Gilbert also served as Group Leader for Microbial Ecology at Argonne National Laboratory, a Professor of Surgery, and the Director of The Microbiome Centre at University of Chicago – during which time he cofounded the Earth Microbiome Project and American Gut Project.
Professor Gilbert has authored more than 300 peer reviewed publications and book chapters on microbial ecology. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of mSystems journal and in 2017 he co-authored “Dirt is Good” - a popular science guide to the microbiome and children’s health. In 2014 he was recognized on Crain’s Business Chicago’s 40 Under 40 List. In 2015 he was listed as one of the 50 most influential scientists by Business Insider, and in the Brilliant Ten by Popular Scientist. In 2016 he won the Altemeier Prize from the Surgical Infection Society, and the WH Pierce Prize from Applied Microbiology International for research excellence. In 2019 he was elected to the Philosophical Society of Washington.
Professor Gilbert is the President of Applied Microbiology International.
Nwadiuto Esiobu
Dr. Esiobu is a tenured Professor of Microbiology and Biotechnology with broad expertise in environmental health and microbial ecology at Florida Atlantic University, USA; where, as PI of the first Microbiomes Innovation Center in South Florida, she currently directs applied research in microbiomes of plants and humans. Dr. Esiobu obtained her Ph.D. (Microbiology), University of Louvain, Belgium and a Post-Doc (Molecular Biology and Biotechnology), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA. She is a leading expert in multidisciplinary research for bioeconomy, sustainability and climate-change resilience. She has published over 100 articles and book chapters, co-edited four volumes of Multidisciplinary Advances in Biotechnology, including volumes in Microbiomes and Emerging Applications. She has served as Trustee and Advisory Board member of several professional entities, including the Society for Lifestyle medicine, Nigeria and the School of Science, Miami Dade College (second largest college in the USA).
She served in leadership roles on the Education Board and International Committee of the American Society for Microbiology where for over 12 years she helped shape the education curriculum and international programs/scholarships of the society. She currently serves on the steering committee of the Jefferson Science Laureates following her tenure as a senior science advisor at the US Department of State - the Secretary’s Office of Global Food Security (S/GFS) and the Bureau of Oceans and International Scientific and Environmental Affairs Office of International Health and Biodefense (OES/IHB). Dr. Esiobu’s professional leadership awards include Faculty of Distinction, FAU President’s Broward Council (2011), Outstanding Mentor and Service award, American Society for Microbiology (2007 – 2011); Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow, IEE (2014-2016), Lifetime achievement award, Venus International Foundation (2023).
Mike Dempsey
Mike’s interest in microbiology began when he was about 10 and his grandmother bought him a toy microscope, but it was not until he reached university that he really became interested in the subject. Following a highly successful MSc in Biodeterioration of Materials under the charismatic Gareth Jones, Mike stayed on at Portsmouth Polytechnic to do a PhD in marine bacterial fouling. Mike went on to use adhesive yeast and bacteria in the development of a fluidized bed fermenter for fuel ethanol production as a Postdoc in Bernard Atkinson’s inspiring Biochemical Engineering Group at UMIST. Following appointment as a Lecturer in the burgeoning Biology Department at Manchester Polytechnic, Mike designed a new Fermentation Laboratory and continued his research on fuel ethanol production. Due to waning interest in fuel Mike switched his interest to enzyme, antibiotic, and plant secondary metabolite production. Later, Mike instituted a project to develop an expanded bed biofilm reactor to nitrify wastewater treatment plant effluents as a tertiary treatment. The success of this project led to the incorporation of a spin-out company, Advanced Bioprocess Development Ltd. (ABD), which now has a full-scale prototype operated at a UK water company site by a Licensee.
Ian Feavers
Ian studied for his PhD at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, eventually moving to NIBSC after periods of postdoctoral research in molecular genetics at the University of Sheffield and the Friedrich Miescher Institut in Basel. During the late 1990s, when new conjugate vaccines were being introduced, he headed the laboratory responsible for the control and standardisation of meningococcal and pneumococcal vaccines. Ian continues to oversee an active research programme on the molecular genetics and immunology of meningococcal antigens. Because of his broad experience of bacterial vaccines and molecular biology, he has been closely involved with a number of meningococcal vaccine developments. He regularly contributes to WHO and EU guidelines, has been an advisor to the International Vaccine Institute’s typhoid conjugate vaccine initiative, and serves on the PHE’s invasive bacterial diseases forum. He is one of NIBSC’s observers on Joint Vaccination and Immunisation Committee (JCVI) and a member of the JCVI subgroups on meningococcal and pneumococcal vaccines. He is a former editor of the Journal of Applied Microbiology and is currently an associate editor of Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics. He has over 100 publications most of which are peer reviewed research papers. Ian teaches on vaccine related courses at the University of London and the University of Surrey, and is a Visiting Professor at Imperial College.
Oern Greif
Oern has been a member of the Society since 2019. Oern started his professional career in finance where he spent 22 years in investment banking, specifically structuring, sales and trading in debt capital markets at Barclays, Nomura and BNP Paribas. He spent a further six years in systems & operations, heading BNP Paribas’ division responsible for middle & back-office services for structured bonds & loan funds. Oern graduated from UCLA (BA), Sciences Po (Diplomé), and the Sorbonne (DEA) with degrees in Literature, Politics and Economics.
Mike Poole
Mike is a Chartered Accountant with over 20 years’ experience of working in the charity sector. He has been the Finance & Commercial Director at the British Pharmacological Society since 2013, where he is responsible for the strategic and operational delivery of Corporate Services and the Membership function, providing a robust platform that enables the Society to undertake its work.
Lucy Harper
After completing a BSc in Medical Biochemistry at Birmingham University, Lucy worked in hospital laboratories and university departments across the West Midlands. In 2003 she completed a PhD entitled: "Renal Dopamine and Salt-Sensitive Hypertension" and continued her research career, completing several postdoc projects. During this time, Lucy also taught molecular biology practical classes to final year BSc students and spent her spare time writing articles for various publications. Through this experience she decided that her passion for science came from talking about it rather than doing it. She was offered the honorary Editorship of The Microbiologist magazine and when her postdoc contract ended, she took the position of Communications Officer for Med-Vet-Net, the EU FP6 project on zoonotic disease. Lucy began working as Communications Officer for AMI in June 2006. Since then, she has developed AMI's Communications remit and in June 2009 she was promoted to Communications Manager. In 2010 Lucy was awarded a MBA with distinction, which she completed part-time at Aston University. After a period of maternity leave, Lucy returned to the Society as Deputy CEO, and was then appointed as Chief Executive in November 2014.
Lucy’s key achievements for the organisation since then:
• Strategy - defining the purpose of AMI including rebrand and name change
• Growth of reserves by 53% from 2014 to 2021
• Diversification of investments into ESG
• Strategic relocation to London and then remote working
• DE&I focus
• Growth of core team
Leading AMI through change to operations, governance, and strategy, Lucy takes a collaborative approach, listening to all stakeholders to ensure integrity and openness in communication and decision-making.- Twitter:
- @lucyharper
Mark Cornish
Mark started his professional career in finance with KPMG with clients including Skipton Building Society, Yorkshire Building Society, Bradford University, and a number of FTSE listed companies. Mark then spent 10 years with the British Wool Marketing Board, before moving into the charity sector. Mark is currently Director of Finance, People and Performance at CPRE – The Countryside Charity and was a member of the Charity Finance Group’s finance committee for nine years. In addition to his degree in Economics, Mark has completed the Advance Development Programme at Cranfield University, and Diploma in Charity Finance with ICAEW. In his spare time Mark is a keen sailor and enjoys walking with his wife and their border terrier in the countryside.
Edward Ralph Nicholls
Employed for the past 17 years with a charity – Cerebra for Brian Injured Children & Young People. My current role CEO (Interim), prior to this - Head of Finance & Administration. Cerebra is a registered Children’s charity where we undertake high level research and directly support children, families and professional practitioners for children who have a neurological condition. Within my current role I am responsible for all HR related issues, review, developing and promoting effective organisation development, through our people. Implementing the longer term strategic plan. In my previous role of Head of Finance & Administration I was responsible for all Governance matters, financial administration and reporting. I am also the current Data controller, Health & Safety representative and mentor to a number of SMT staff, work closely with the Board of Trustees.
Prior to joining Cerebra, Business Director with Pembrokeshire County Council (local Authority), Prior to this worked for many years in Toronto, Canada, as a Corporate Accounting Analyst for a commercial Hotel company. Trained as an accountant (CIMA) in London with British Telecom before securing professional and further company roles. Have held a number of very senior Accounting and Financial roles including internal Company, Director of Finance, Auditor and Lecturer in Accounting & Business Studies. I have also worked within Manufacturing as Managing Director.
Richard Hayler
After completing a BSc in Biochemistry at Bristol University, Richard joined KPMG as an auditor of Chemical and Pharmaceutical companies. Over the next 15 years he progressed to Senior Managing Director of a listed US Consulting Firm and Equity Partner of Big Four Accounting Firm.
Following this in his first role as a CFO he supported the successful fundraising for a group focused on entomology and microbiology. He is presently the Group CFO of Firebolt Group and a member of the Standards Review Board of the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC).
In the charitable arena, Richard helped set up a USD1bn plastics charity and held the post of Honorary Treasurer of a dispute resolution charity for seven years. He is a frequent public speaker and was a member of Adjunct Faculty at Singapore Management University.
The Editorial Team of The Microbiologist is responsible for planning, sourcing and commisioning all contents of the digital magazine. Their job is to support authors and journalists, monitor writing progress, and act as central point of contact for all contributors.
Matt Koch
Matt studied for a PhD in Microbiology, where his thesis was focused on natural product discovery from the marine environment and the microbiota of deep-sea sponges. Matt has since pursued a career in science communications and worked as a Science Communications Officer for AMI before becoming the Features Editor at The Microbiologist, where he enjoys being able to stay on top of the latest research and widen his knowledge base of the greatest subject in the world.
Linda Stewart
Linda studied Pure & Applied Biology BA at St Anne’s College, Oxford, before completing an MSc in Conservation at UCL. After two years in a Water Service lab in Northern Ireland, she switched to a career in newspaper journalism, working as a general reporter at the Belfast Telegraph before becoming the regional daily’s first Environment Correspondent from 2008 until 2016. She was named Environment Correspondent of the Year 2011 and Feature Journalist of the Year in 2014 at the NI Media Awards. After serving as editor on a number of retail sector magazines, she is enjoying turning her journalism skills to delivering fresh and fascinating scientific news content in The Microbiologist.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Twitter:
- @LindaFStewart