Speaker Biographies

Sir Stephen (Steve) Jackson, Cambridge University, UK

Sir Stephen (Steve) Jackson is the University of Cambridge Frederick James Quick Professor of Biology and Senior Group Leader at the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Cambridge Institute. His research has identified key principles by which cells respond to and repair DNA damage and helped define how their dysfunction yields cancer and other age-related diseases. Steve is a fellow of the Royal Society, the UK Academy of Medical Sciences, The European Academy of Cancer Sciences, and EMBO. He has received various national and international prizes, and in 2023 was awarded a knighthood for his services to innovation and research.

In 1997, Steve founded the drug-discovery company KuDOS Pharmaceuticals, serving as its part-time Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) until and after its acquisition by AstraZeneca. KuDOS developed and took into first patients the PARP inhibitor drug olaparib (LynparzaTM), now marketed worldwide for certain ovarian, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancers. In 2010, Steve founded Mission Therapeutics to exploit advances in protein ubiquitylation and deubiquitylation to derive new medicines and served as its part-time CSO until 2018 (he is now a Board member and chairs the Mission SAB). In 2018, Steve conceived of and co-founded Adrestia Therapeutics, served as its interim CEO and then its CSO. Following the 2023 acquisition of Adrestia by Insmed Inc., Steve is part-time Chief Research Officer for Insmed Innovation UK.

Steve’s academic laboratory (https://www.stevejacksonlab.org) in the CRUK Cambridge Institute is further defining mechanisms by which cells detect, signal the presence of and repair DNA damage.

Sadhana Chitale, NYU Langone Health, New York, USA

Dr. Sadhana Chitale is the Senior Director of Life Sciences/Technology Transfer at NYU’s Technology Opportunities and Ventures Office. Sadhana joined New York University in 2001. Her primary area of responsibility is the management of intellectual property and technology transfer matters (Life Sciences). Prior to joining NYU, Sadhana was a Licensing Manager at the Weill Cornell Medical School. Sadhana received her PhD from the University of Mumbai and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. She did her post-doctoral fellowships at Colorado State University and Weill Cornell Medical School. She is a Certified Licensing Professional and a registered patent agent. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of University Technology Managers.

Karin Dumstrei, EMBO, Germany

Karin Dumstrei is Head of the EMBO Fellowship Programme. Before joining the Fellowship Programme, Karin was a senior editor at The EMBO Journal. She received her PhD from the University of California Los Angeles and did her postdoctoral research at Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen.

Alexandra Boitor, EACR, UK

Dr. Alexandra Boitor is the Scientific Officer at the European Association for Cancer Research (EACR). After studying ING1 involvement in cancer progression during her PhD at the University of Nottingham (UK), and chromatin conformation during her postdoc at the University of Leicester (UK), Alexandra decided to join the EACR team to help support the cancer research community as she believes that good communication and strong communities lie at the foundation of exquisite research. As a Scientific Officer, Alexandra oversees the publication of the EACR Highlights in Cancer Research, hosts and manages The Cancer Researcher podcast and closely collaborates with the Early Career Researchers Council to bring new events for early-career researchers.

Marisol Soengas, CNIO, Madrid, Spain

Marisol Soengas is the Head of the Melanoma Group and the Dean for Academic Affairs at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) in Madrid. She is also the President of the Spanish Association for Cancer Research (ASEICA).

Marisol graduated in Molecular Biology at the Univ Autónoma of Madrid, where she got her PhD in the group of Margarita Salas. After a successful postdoc at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (NY), she set up her first independent group at the University of Michigan, Department of Dermatology. She moved to CNIO in 2008.

Marisol's group is internationally recognized for the identification of tumor drivers and therapeutic targets in melanoma (papers in Nature, Science, Nature Medicine, Nature Cell Biology, Nature Communications and Cancer Cell, among others). Her group has also generated the first-in-class animal models for non-invasive imaging of pre-metastatic niches in melanoma (Nature and EMBO Molecular Medicine), which have identified novel aspects of immune suppression and tumor metastasis (Nature Medicine).

Marisol also cofounded Bioncotech Therapeutics (now Highlight Therepeutics), a start up stemming from the CNIO, with proprietary dsRNA-based nanocomplexes currently in Phase II clinical trials.

She has received multiple awards (over 40 since 2010), exemplified by the Estela Medrano Memorial Award by the Society for Melanoma Research (2017), the Fritz Ander Medal of the European Society for Pigment and Melanoma Research (2019), the Carmen and Severo Ochoa Award (2021) and the Pezcoller-Marina Larcher Fogazzaro-EACR Women in Cancer Research Award (2022).

Soengas is also actively involved in initiatives to empower and promote career development for female scientists. She has lead an international L’Oreal-MRA Women-Lead Team Award, and is the Founder and coordinator of the “Women in Science” section of Spanish Association for Cancer Research (Asociación Española de Investigación sobre el Cáncer, ASEICA). She has also been recognized among the Most Influential Scientists and Clinical Doctors (Yo Donna/El Mundo, 2018) and has been chosen as the Top100 of Influential Women in Spain 2018, 2019 and 2023 (Mujeres & Cia group), among others.

Soengas is Corresponding Member of the Real Academia Nacional de Farmacia, the Real Academia de Farmacia de Galicia and the Real Academia Galega de Ciencias. Soengas is an EMBO member and is a Board Member of the European Association of Cancer Research (EACR).

Daniele Viarisio, EMBO, Heidelberg, Germany

Daniele Viarisio currently works as Senior Programme Officer in the EMBO Fellowship Programme. During his PhD Daniele established in vitro cellular models of drug resistance using cancer cellular lines at the University of Turin. Shortly after he joined the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg to investigate the role of the Human Papillomavirus in skin carcinogenesis and to establish new diagnostic tools to predict HPV-induced head and neck cancer risk of incidence. After a short career break to acquire some new skills, run after his kids and get settled down, he initially joined EMBO to shape the process of the collection of source data for EMBO Press and then started working at the EMBO Fellowship Programme where he supports the head of the office and the scientific committees in improving the different schemes and in evaluating the applications for the long term fellowships.

Ben Travers, Knights, UK

Ben is a Partner specialising in IP, IT and data protection issues.

With over 15 years’ experience supporting clients from across the UK and internationally on a range of complex matters, Ben’s reputation is for providing an innovative, commercial approach, helping clients to fully realise the potential of their IP. 

His expertise covers contentious and non-contentious matters, with a special focus on areas where technology, branding and the law intersect.  Ben also focuses on IP protection, the negotiation and drafting of complex IT contracts, software licenses and development agreements, online reputation management and advising on emerging technologies including NFTs, machine learning and AI, blockchain and online marketing technologies.

Ben has experience of advising a diverse client base including emerging start-ups, household names, luxury fashion brands as well as supporting UK businesses with navigating international trade activities and international businesses looking to trade in the UK.

In addition, Ben is an active member of the International Trademark Association (INTA) where he sits on a committee.

Recent examples of how Ben has supported clients include:

IP portfolio protection for a leading online ecommerce aggregator;
Global trademark portfolio management (including enforcement) for a number of household name brands;
A role as an IP Adviser in residence for SetSquared, a leading incubator for entrepreneurial businesses emerging from select research focused universities;
Devising and assisting with the roll out of comprehensive IP policies for clients in a variety of sectors, including AI in healthcare; one of the UK’s largest automotive retailers and the fashion sector;
Negotiating and drafting complex tech and IT contracts for clients in the private, public and charity sectors;
Advising and drafting cross-jurisdiction EU funded IP collaboration agreements.

Ian Bell, Oncode, Netherlands

Having spent close to 25 years in academic institutions, industry, government and as an independent consultant, both in Canada and The Netherlands, Ian has successfully held a variety of roles in technology transfer, business development, licensing and company creation.

Ian is currently the Head of Licensing and Business Development at Oncode Institute, an innovative Oncology-focused research Institute funded by the Dutch government and Dutch Cancer Society which is focused on accelerating breakthrough oncology discoveries and their translation for the benefit of cancer patients. 

Barney Leaf, Primas Law, UK

Barney is a Partner within Primas Law's Corporate team, based in Manchester.

He has over 25 years experience across the full range of corporate legal matters including acquiring and disposing of businesses, venture capital and private equity work, start-ups and development of businesses prior to disposal.

Barney has successfully represented national and international businesses from small start-up businesses to national and international governments across a broad range of sectors including; retail, software, life-science, engineering,  recruitment, professional firms and investment funds.

Having worked in house and in private practice, as an owner, before joining Primas, Barney‘s experience enables him to understand a wide range of corporate activity and the practical reality of the issues that clients are presented with.

Barney’s unique background and deep understanding of corporate law make him an invaluable asset to Primas Law's team.

Birgit Kerber, Open Targets Business Development Lead, Business Development Manager, Head Innovation and Translation EMBL-EBI

Birgit Kerber has been actively engaged in establishing technology transfer at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) more than 20 years ago and over the years she has held various positions at EMBL Enterprise Management, EMBL’s technology transfer arm. Currently, Birgit is responsible for business development at the European Bioinformatics Institute, EMBL-EBI, including the Innovation and Translation programme and the public-private partnership Open Targets. She has managed and licensed EMBL intellectual property in a number of fields with biotech and large pharma companies as customers and is involved in starting companies out of EMBL. Birgit holds a diploma in biology from Philipps-University Marburg, did her PhD work in molecular developmental genetics at the Max-Planck-Institute for biophysical chemistry in Goettingen with Michael Hoch and a postdoc with Stephen Cohen at EMBL Heidelberg. She is a member of BIO Deutschland and co-chair of the BIO Deutschland Technology Transfer working group as well as an alumna of St Gallen Business School, CEIPI, Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds, DFG and EMBO.

Madelon Maurice, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands

Madelon Maurice is appointed Full Professor at the UMC Utrecht and member of the national Oncode institute for cancer research. She is internationally recognized for contributing key mechanistic insights into how stem cell-niche communication controls tissue renewal, and how cancer mutations impact on these processes. Her academic group employs a multiscale approach that allows for the investigation of molecular processes in complex tissues using organoid-based model systems (https://madelonmauricelab.nl/). A longstanding interest is to understand ubiquitin-mediated regulation of key signaling pathways, highlighted by i) the discovery that the membrane-bound E3 ligase RNF43 controls Wnt receptor turnover in stem cells, and ii) the invention of SureTACs technology for targeted membrane protein degradation. The innovative nature of her work was recognized with various prestigious grants (e.g. ERC-St, NWO-VICI, ZonMW-TOP, national Gravitation grant IMAGINE!). Madelon coordinated the international Marie Sklowdoska Curie EU ITN consortium “WntsApp”, comprising 7 academic and 3 private sector European partners (2013-2017). Madelon is a regular invited speaker and organizer of international meetings (e.g. GRC, EMBO) and is co-chair of the Utrecht Platform for Organoid Technology.

Fundamental research in the Maurice lab is integrated with ongoing efforts to translate findings into applications. In 2021, Madelon teamed up with seed investor ArgoBio and Oncode to found the biotech company Laigo Bio. At Laigo Bio, heterobispecific antibodies (SureTACs) are employed for proximity-induced degradation of membrane-bound proteins. Madelon is shareholder, Board member, and chair of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of Laigo Bio.

Rudy Dekeyser, EQT, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Rudy is Partner within EQT's Life Sciences team, responsible for investments in innovative medical device, diagnostic and digital health companies in Europe and the US. Prior to joining EQT, he was co-founder and for 17 years managing director of VIB (a Belgian biotech research institute), particularly responsible for translating VIB's inventions into a patent estate, partnerships with companies and the start-up of fast growing venture capital backed enterprises. Rudy has also been a key catalyst in the foundation and growth of bio-incubators, bio-accelerators and biotech associations and was deeply involved in the foundation of Oncode (Dutch oncology research institute) and ASTP (pan-European association for science and technology transfer professionals). He is director/chair at many international biotech, medtech, diagnostic, agbio and digital health companies and member/chair of the (advisory) boards of several European non-profit foundations active in the field of life sciences. Rudy obtained his PhD in molecular biology at Ghent University. 

Andy Roberts, Bruntwood SciTech, Alderley Park, UK

Andy Roberts is life science innovation manager for Bruntwood SciTech, the UK’s leading developer of city-wide innovation ecosystems and specialist environments, helping companies - particularly those in the science and technology sectors - to form, scale and grow. Andy mainly works out of Alderley Park - the largest single-site life science campus in the UK, and home to over 200 companies, including Medicines Discovery Catapult, Sygnature Discovery, Cyprotex and Sai Life Sciences. 
 
His challenge is to grow, link & strengthen the life science ecosystems at various campuses and to support life science companies of all sizes, whether it is through defined programmes such as start-up Accelerators, or more ad hoc support with funding or finding appropriate professional services to streamline company development. Connecting the regional life-science hubs, such as Alderley Park, Manchester Science Park and CityLabs, with the wider ecosystem, including Birmingham Health Innovation Campus and Cambridge Melbourn Science Park is core to helping the UK ecosystem grow as a whole.
 
Prior to this role, Andy spent over a decade in entrepreneurship and as a consultant to early-stage ventures, helping a variety of early-stage medtech companies to raise several million pounds in equity and non-dilutive commercial grant funding. A qualified chemist, he previously spent 12 years at AstraZeneca working in oncology and cardiovascular, before leaving to complete a full-time MBA with a focus on entrepreneurship and finance, which has underpinned his entrepreneurial journey.

Damià Tormo, Columbus Venture Partners, Madrid, Spain

Managing partner and co-founder of Columbus Venture Partners, Damià has spent the last 15 years working in healthcare and the biopharmaceutical industry. He has focused on life science venture capital investing and company formation since 2010, where he focuses on private company investments in the biopharmaceutical, life science and medical technology sectors. He has founded several biotech companies such as Artax Biopharma Inc, Bioncotech Therapeutics SL, Restaura Biotech SL, or PTS. From 2010 to 2013 he was CEO of Bioncotech Therapeutics, an oncology clinical stage drug development company. Damia is currently on the Boards of Viralgen Vector Core, PolypeptideTherapeutic Solutions, Artax Biopharma, Highlight Therapeutics and Sanifit. Moreover, Damia is the President of Fundación Columbus, a non profit organization that facilitates acccess to advanced therapies for children with cancer and ultra-rare genetic diseases.

Before this, he was a researcher in different institutions such as the Uniklinik Bonn, University of Michigan or the Spanish National Cancer Center (CNIO). He has been awarded several prizes related to innovation and entrepreneurship, including TR35 from MIT, the Biogen Foundation Award or the Princess Girona Foundation Award.
Damia holds a MSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Valencia, a Master in Biotechnology Managment from IE Business School and earned his PhD in Immunology and Molecular Genetics from the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Germany.

Thomas Axel Haag, Linden Lake Venture Capital, Bethesda, USA

Thomas is Managing Partner of Linden Lake Venture Capital. He is a biotechnology investor, entrepreneur and intellectual property lawyer specializing in the commercialization of early-stage biotechnologies and genetic medicines. Most recently he was CEO of Linden Lake portfolio company, AexeRNA Therapeutics, a next-generation mRNA lipid nanoparticle technology company he co-founded with the late Michael Buschmann of George Mason University and Drew Weissman at the University of Pennsylvania. AexeRNA was acquired by a large publicly traded biotechnology company. He also served as CEO of Linden Lake portfolio company C-Reveal Therapeutics, an immuno-oncology therapeutics company spun out of the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School co-founded with Mark Cobbold, Pam Sharma and Keith Flaherty. He was also a co-founder, and Interim CEO of PhosImmune, Inc., an immuno-oncology company co-founded with Donald Hunt at the University of Virginia and acquired by Agenus, Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN). During his legal career he served as partner and co-Chair of Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s Life Sciences IP Practice. Prior to its acquisition by Seyfarth, he was Chair of Fanelli Haag PLLC, a preeminent life science focused Washington, D.C. law firm. Thomas was also General Counsel of Arrowhead Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ARWR). While at Arrowhead he also served as CEO of Tego Biosciences, an ARWR portfolio company, which was acquired by Luna Innovations (NASDAQ: LUNA). He graduated from The George Washington University Law School. He earned a B.S. in Biology and Ph.D. in Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology from UCLA where he was an NIH Pre-doctoral Fellow in Genetic Mechanisms.