Dr Choo is Chairman of Plasticell Ltd and of Progenitor Labs Ltd. He is the founder of Plasticell and served as Chief Executive and Chief Scientist of the company. Prior to his interest in stem cells he was a founder and Chief Scientist of Gendaq (acquired by Sangamo Biosciences), a biotech company that developed the zinc finger technology now used for gene editing. Previously he was a staff scientist at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, where he pioneered the engineering of protein-DNA interactions using combinatorial methods under Nobel laureate Sir Aaron Klug. Dr Choo holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Cambridge and for his thesis received the Prize for Young Scientists awarded by GE Healthcare and Science (1996), and the Max Perutz Student Prize awarded by MRC-LMB (1995). He sits on the UK Stem Cell Steering Committee which oversees national stem cell research and the UK Stem Cell Bank.
Dr. Tarunina was one of Plasticell’s first recruits, serving the company as Principal Scientist since 2007 and as Research Director from 2017. She has contributed to the development of the company’s CombiCult® technology platform and exemplified its broad applications in different areas of stem cell biology. Prior to joining Plasticell she was a senior scientist at Inpharmatica Ltd conducting drug discovery research in the area of metabolic disease. Previously she held postdoctoral fellowships at Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and Marie Curie Research Institute where her research was focused on tumour suppressors and senescence. Dr Tarunina graduated in Biology/Microbiology from Leningrad State University and holds a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the Russian Academy of Science.
Mr Andurand is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Andurand Capital and was previously founder and Chief Investment Officer at BlueGold, both global commodities hedge funds with peak assets of US$1.6bn and US$2.4bn under management, respectively. Mr Andurand’s previous career was as an energy trader at Vitol SA where he was Partner, before that at Bank of America and formerly at Goldman Sachs. He holds a Masters in International Finance from HEC, Paris and an Engineering Degree in Applied Mathematics from INSA, Toulouse, France.
Dr Aaron T. T. Chuang is the former Chief Scientific Officer of Plasticell. He was previously the Research Director of the Regenerative Medicine Unit at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), where he worked for over 18 years. Dr Chuang was the main driver behind GSK’s stem cell R&D since initiating the first stem cell programme in 2004. He was instrumental in establishing GSK’s alliance with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in 2008, and subsequently coordinated all collaborative projects. He was also the lead biologist initiating GSK’s cell and gene therapy projects, and the lead scientist in the neuro-regeneration programme. He has served as industrial advisor on high profile stem cell initiatives globally, including the UK Stem Cell Initiative, UK Cell Therapy Catapult and the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. Dr Chuang holds BSc and PhD degrees in Physiology from the University of London.
Prof Allen is a Reader at the School of Biosciences, Cardiff University. His research focus is the development and plasticity of neural stem cells, principally using the differentiation of embryonic stem cells as a model system. Prof Allen was previously a Principal Investigator at the Babraham Institute, Cambridge, and holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Cambridge.
Professor Cass is Professor of Chemical Biology, in the Department of Chemistry at Imperial College London. His research interests are in the field of protein engineering and analytical biotechnology: his work was responsible for the development of the first electronic blood glucose measuring system, for which he received the Royal Society’s Mullard Medal. Professor Cass is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Oxford.
Sir Martin is President of Cardiff University and previously Director of the School of Biosciences and Professor of Mammalian Genetics at Cardiff University. He is widely recognized as the father of stem cell research, having been the first to isolate embryonic stem cells from the mouse. Sir Martin has published over 125 research papers, is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Founder Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and is the recipient of numerous honours and prizes, including the 2007 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in recognition of his pioneering work on stem cells.
Professor Griffiths is Director of the Laboratory of Biological Chemistry at the Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie Supramoléculaires (ISIS), Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France. He is a leading expert in combinatorial biology methods, being an inventor on over 19 MRC patents on antibody phage display, and the co-inventor of the in vitro compartmentalization (IVC) method of directed protein evolution on which he currently works. Professor Griffiths was previously a group leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, and holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Leicester.
