Prize Advisory Panel

Till Bachmann is the Deputy Head of Infection Medicine at the Deanery of Biomedical Sciences at Edinburgh Medical School. He is also Director of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases MSc and Biomedical Sciences and PhD programmes at The University of Edinburgh and the Zhejiang University – University of Edinburgh Institute in China. Till has a PhD on biosensors from research at University of Stuttgart and The University of Tokyo and a German Habilitation in Analytical Biotechnology. 

He is an expert in point of care detection of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance, conducting research at the interface of biomarkers and rapid diagnostics. Till is coordinator of the UK-India project ‘DOSA – Diagnostics for One Health and User Driven Solutions for AMR’, the JPIAMR-VRI Network AMR Dx Global, succeeding the JPIAMR Transnational Working Group on Rapid Diagnostic Tests. Till fulfils a variety of industrial and institutional advisory roles worldwide. As such he is vice-chair of the JPIAMR Scientific Advisory Board UK AMR Diagnostic Collaborative, panel member for the Longitude Prize on Antibiotics, Scientific Advisory Board member for Devices & Diagnostics under National Biopharma Mission of the Indian BIRAC, and founder of AMR DxC – the Antimicrobial Resistance Diagnostics Challenge competition.

Doris-Ann Williams has been Chief Executive of BIVDA since October 2001. She has more than 35 years’ experience in the IVD sector. She has held a variety of roles, initially in R&D at Amersham International/Amerlite Diagnostics Ltd and subsequently in commercial roles internationally for Becton Dickinson, ICN and Hitachi Chemical Diagnostics. 

Doris-Ann also works closely with other global IVD industry associations and in the UK as part of Life Sciences UK. She was awarded an MBE in January 2011 and was recognised as a Friend of the Royal College of Pathologists in November 2012 and also as Friend of the Association for Clinical Biochemistry in July 2015. She is currently a Vice-President of the Parliamentary & Scientific Committee. She is also an active member of a number of Government and NHS steering groups & boards. 

During 2016, Doris-Ann was invited to attend the High-Level meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York (September) and was a member of the Precision Medicine delegation to India for the Prime Minister’s visit in November.

Chris Butler is professor of primary care in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow at Trinity College. His main research interests are in common infections (especially the appropriate use of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance), and health behaviour change (especially adaptations of motivational interviewing in health care).

Paul has almost 20 years of experience in the IP profession with clients ranging from universities and SMEs to large multinational companies particularly in the biotechnology, chemistry and pharmaceutical fields. He has significant expertise in biologics including antibody technology, stem cells, RNAi and vaccines.

Dr. Ghafur is the primary author and coordinator of the “ Chennai Declaration”,  a document and initiative to tackle the challenge of antimicrobial resistance from an Indian perspective. He is also a Consultant and Adjunct Associate Professor in infectious diseases and Clinical Microbiology at the Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, India.

Patrick is a Lecturer within the Nanotechnology and Integrated BioEngineering Centre (NIBEC) at Ulster University. He is a chartered biologist with a strong academic background in applied biology and chemistry. Patrick’s research activities focus on the development of nanomaterials for disinfection and the design of biomedical sensors. Locally, Patrick is Chair of the NI AMR Network, a “One Health” focused multidisciplinary body bringing together academia, industry and government to discuss AMR issues and collaborate to find solutions.

Martin is a Research Fellow at the Richard Wells Research Centre at the University of West London and is Director of Clinical Research and Education for Gama Healthcare. Prior to this he was Nurse Consultant and Deputy Director of Infection Prevention and Control at Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust in the North-West of England. He has worked in the field of infection prevention and control for 25 years in a variety of settings.

Rosanna Peeling is currently Professor and Chair of Diagnostics Research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Director of the International Diagnostic Centre. Trained as a medical microbiologist, Dr. Peeling had been Research Coordinator and Head of Diagnostics Research at the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme on Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (WHO/TDR) in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Chief of the Canadian National Laboratory for Sexually Transmitted Diseases before assuming her current position.

Lucy Yardley is Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Southampton and Director of the Centre for Applications of Health Psychology (CAHP). Her current major research focus is on using the internet to support self-management of health. She pioneered the development of the unique ‘LifeGuide’ open source software for developing web-based intervention, and is now leading the ‘UBhave’ programme to develop software for creating interventions for mobile phones.

Matthew Thompson is a Professor of Family Medicine, Global Health and Pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle, and formerly a GP and Director of the Oxford Center for Monitoring and Diagnosis/ NIHR Diagnostic Evidence Cooperative in England. He is an expert in new diagnostic technology evaluation and implementation in primary care settings, with a focus on point of care testing’

Helen Lambert is Professor of Medical Anthropology in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the University of Bristol. An expert in lay understanding of health, medicine and risk, she has extensive experience researching social and cultural dimensions of global health problems and is a respected authority on popular medical traditions in India. She has undertaken research and advisory work for the Department of International Development, India’s National AIDS Control Organisation and the Wellcome Trust.

In 2015 she was appointed Research Champion for AMR by the Economic and Social Research Council. She leads an interdisciplinary collaboration investigating pathways to antibiotic use in China.

Betsy brings over a decade of experience in the diagnostics industry, focused mainly on the development and commercialization of infectious disease diagnostics. As the CARB-X Diagnostics Alliance Director, Betsy’s primary focus is on identifying novel technologies that can support appropriate use of antibiotics, globally.

Direk is the Head of Microbiology at Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) where he has worked as a research physician since 2004. Direk is also Associate Professor at the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Thailand. 

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a key research area for Direk, having led several clinical and epidemiological studies on AMR in LMICs. He formed the Thailand Melioidosis Network (TMN) and International Melioidosis Society (IMS) and is associated with Surveillance and Epidemiology of Drug-resistant Infections Consortium (SEDRIC). Direk also initiated the AMR Dictionary to address the jargon surrounding AMR in local languages.

Tom Boyles is an Infectious Diseases clinician who has most recently worked in both urban and rural settings in South Africa. He is passionate about the appropriate use of medical tests, having written and taught courses to medical students and having recently completing a textbook on the subject. He has worked in the field of antibiotic resistance including as an investigator on the MERINO trial and his current research interests include the appropriate diagnosis and treatment of different forms of Tuberculosis in low resource settings.

Hassan is Director, Senior Management Advisor & Member of the Executive Board at the Moroccan Foundation for Advanced Science, Innovation & Research (MAScIR), where under his leadership, Morocco’s first diagnostic kits for several diseases were developed. He is also a Member of the Diagnostic & Technical Advisory Group (DTAG) at the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Hassan has over 20 years of R&D experience in both industrial and academic settings. He is an expert in biotechnology, diagnostic testing development, clinical validation and manufacturing with 14 patents. The research in his laboratory has led to the creation of two start-ups, including Moldiag, which manufactures diagnostic tests.

Jane is an Infectious Diseases and Microbiology clinician working as a Diagnostics advisor for the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Access Campaign.

Her focus of interest is in enabling equitable access to accurate and effective diagnostics with a further focus on febrile illness and antimicrobial resistance.  She is passionate about leveraging innovative diagnostic techniques in low and middle in-come contexts with a particular emphasis on diagnostics relevant to patient cohorts in MSF settings.

Penny joined in the MHRA in June 2022, having been seconded from Innovate UK to DHSC and UKHSA as a Lead Scientific Advisor in the Technology Validation Group. The Innovative Devices team in the MHRA has 3 main pillars of activity, (a) diagnostics (b) software and AI as a medical device and (c) regulation – which has a focus on the new regulatory regime.

Focusing on patient safety, the MHRA is working in partnerships with industry, academia, across government and internationally to put the MHRA at the heart of innovation in regulatory science.

In Innovate UK Penny held a number of positions, including Senior Diagnostic Specialist in UKRI’s Data to Early Diagnosis and Precision Medicine programme, Senior Specialist in AMR Vaccines and Global Health and responsibility for the organisations Precision Medicine and Infectious Disease programmes. Penny has delivered a series of major programmes across the UK and leveraged significant funding from industry and the third sector.

Penny worked for over 25 years in the diagnostics industry in a number of senior and strategy roles, including Director of technology assessment and acquisition, for what is now Siemens Healthineers, and  Senior Director of Advanced Technologies for a company in the US developing a point-of-care system for use in primary care. She has been an advisor to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the African Union on the development and use of diagnostic technologies.