Confirmed speakers
Mark Kotter, MD, PhD
Founder | bit.bio
Keynote speaker
Mark Kotter, MD, PhD
Founder | bit.bio
Mark is a stem cell biologist and neurosurgeon at the University of Cambridge. Aged nineteen, he decided to pursue a career in medicine to serve others and to make a difference in people’s lives. His curiosity led him down a path of clinical service and laboratory discovery. He became fascinated by synthetic biology, as he saw it as the key to a new generation of medicines. He is the founder of bit.bio and co-founder of the cultured meat start-up Meatable.
Ryan Jones, PhD
Research Associate
| Cardiff University
Speaker
Ryan Jones, PhD
Research Associate
| Cardiff University
Dr Ryan Jones is a post-doctoral research associate within the Biomechanics and Bioengineering Centre Versus Arthritis in Cardiff University, where he investigates the interface between neural and bony tissues and how these interactions can generate pain in pathology. Dr Jones' ambition is to become an established academic in the field of pain in musculoskeletal conditions, by delivering high-impact research and developing new methods of modelling disease mechanisms.
Dr Jones has contributed to the development of the mechanical 3D osteocyte bone model with a particular emphasis on bone interactions with the nerves upon mechanical loading and inflammation to reveal pain mechanisms. He has extensive research experience in musculoskeletal biology, focusing on molecular mechanisms involved in mechanical and inflammatory responses, elucidating new signalling mechanisms that regulate bone and nerve biology, to provide therapeutic and diagnostic targets for pain in musculoskeletal disease.
Irantzu Perez Ruiz, PhD
Study Director | Scantox Neuro
Speaker
Irantzu Perez Ruiz, PhD
Study Director | Scantox Neuro
Irantzu Perez Ruiz is Study Director in Scantox Neuro, Grambach, Austria. She obtained her PhD in Biomedical Research from the University of the Basque Country (Spain) focusing on oxidative stress and female fertility. After gaining experience across various scientific fields, she joined Scantox Neuro in 2022 as a Research Associate in the In Vitro department. In this role, she developed strong expertise in cell culture techniques, applying them to advanced in vitro models for studying neurodegeneration. Since 2023, she has held the position of Study Director, primarily leading client-focused cell culture studies.
Sara Martin, PhD
Scientst | Advanced Cellular Assays | Axxam
Speaker
Sara Martin, PhD
Scientst | Advanced Cellular Assays | Axxam
Sara Martin is a scientist in the Advanced Cellular Assays Group in Axxam. She graduated in Cell Biology applied to Biomedical Research in the Neuroscience field. Then, she obtained the PhD in System Medicine at the European School of Molecular Medicine, investigating the contribution of autophagy to genome integrity in the molecular oncology context. In Axxam, she gained experience in functional and High Content-Imaging-based assay development and disease-modeling, exploiting different iPSC-derived and immortalized cell lines. Outside of work, Sara enjoys hiking, reading and travelling to discover new places and meet new people.
Manos Metzakopian, PhD
former CSO
bit.bio
Speaker
Manos Metzakopian, PhD
former CSO
bit.bio
Emmanouil received his Ph.D. in midbrain development from University College London and the National Institute for Medical Research (now part of the CRICK institute). He then moved to the Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK, focusing on gene editing and genetic screening for therapeutic target identification while developing his research group. During this time, Emmanouil identified novel reprogramming factors and produced the Sanger CRISPR arrayed libraries distributed worldwide by MERCK. Finally, Emmanouil moved his lab to the UK Dementia Research Institute at University of Cambridge, where he specialised in iPSC-derived neurodegenerative disease models and CRISPR-Cas9 genetic screens for therapeutic targets.
Martina Esposito Soccoio, PhD
Senior Research Associate | AviadoBio
Speaker
Martina Esposito Soccoio, PhD
Senior Research Associate | AviadoBio
Martina Esposito Soccoio is a Senior Research Associate in the Transcriptomics Team at AviadoBio, a gene therapy company focused on developing transformative treatments for neurodegenerative disorders such as FTD and ALS. After completing her bachelor’s and master’s in Biology at the University of Naples ‘Federico II’, she obtained a PhD in Neurogenetics from the University of Leicester where she investigated the role of regulating the inflammatory responses of microglia in neurodegeneration. In her current position at AviadoBio, Martina integrates NGS and iPSC technologies to evaluate the effectiveness of recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors for gene delivery and gene silencing. Her work contributes to the development of innovative gene therapies and accelerates progress in translational research aimed at treating neurodegenerative disorders.
Elizabeth Di Lullo, PhD
Associate Scientific Director | BrainEver
Speaker
Elizabeth Di Lullo, PhD
Associate Scientific Director | BrainEver
Elizabeth completed her undergrad studies at UCL and obtained her Master’s degree from the University of Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris. She completed her PhD in developmental neuroscience at the École Normale Supérieure and at the College de France, Paris. She continued her research as a post-doctoral scholar at UCSF working on human stem cells in development and disease. She joined BrainEver as a senior scientist implementing the use of cell models for disease modelling and is currently associate scientific director of the preclinical pharmacology program.
David Fischer, PhD
Chief Technology Officer
| Discovery
| Charles River
Panellist
David Fischer, PhD
Chief Technology Officer
| Discovery
| Charles River
Davide Gianni, PhD
Senior Director | Functional Genomics | Discovery Sciences | AstraZeneca
Panellist
Davide Gianni, PhD
Senior Director | Functional Genomics | Discovery Sciences | AstraZeneca
Dr. Davide Gianni is Senior Director Functional Genomics in Discovery Sciences, BioPharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca and is responsible for leading a department comprising three teams of scientists to deliver new therapeutic opportunities for AstraZeneca’s therapy areas of interest.
Davide joined AZ from Boehringer-Ingelheim in 2015 where, acting as a Research Laboratory Head, he has led a team of scientists aimed at identifying and validating novel target opportunities for Oncology. Earlier in his career, he conducted his postdoctoral studies at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla (California) where he focused his research activities on deciphering the contribution of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in mechanisms underlying human diseases including cancer, neurodegeneration and cardiovascular disease.
Davide has authored >20 publications and is currently co-editing the first dedicated Special Issue on Functional Genomics for SLAS Discovery journal. He has played a key role in initiating the collaboration with CRUK for the creation of the AZ/CRUK Functional Genomics Centre and he is now the AZ Science lead for the new functional genomics partnership with Milner Therapeutics Institute and MRC. He is a member on the MRC advisory board for the UK Functional Genomics Initiative and a SAB member for the UK Regenerative Medicine Platform. Finally, Davide has been recognised multiple times in his career for his strong scientific contributions to advance biomedical research (2009 Young Scholar Award from the Alzheimer’s Association San Diego, the 2013 Boehringer-Ingelheim Golden Award for the discovery of innovative drugs for cancer patients and the 2020 SLAS Discovery Excellence Award).
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Camin Dean, PhD
Heisenberg Group Leader | DZNE / Charité University of Medicine
Panellist
Camin Dean, PhD
Heisenberg Group Leader | DZNE / Charité University of Medicine
Camin Dean received her PhD from the University of California Berkeley where she studied synapse formation. After a postdoc at the University of Wisconsin Madison researching synapse function, she established her own group at the European Neuroscience Institute in Goettingen Germany, researching synaptic mechanisms of learning, remembering, and forgetting, from molecular to behavioral levels. In 2020, she moved to the German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease in Berlin at Charité University of Medicine, where she is developing pipelines to screen for compounds that strengthen or weaken synapses to treat cognitive disorders and neurodegeneration, using human IPSC-derived networks of neurons, astrocytes, and microglia.
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Jeremy Krohn, MSc
PhD Candidate in Neuroscience | DZNE | Charité Medical Neuroscience Graduate Program
Speaker
Jeremy Krohn, MSc
PhD Candidate in Neuroscience | DZNE | Charité Medical Neuroscience Graduate Program
Jeremy Krohn received his BS in Biology from the University of Hamburg, and his MS in Developmental, Neural, and Behavioural Biology from Georg-August University in Göttingen, Germany with a focus on neuroscience. As a PhD student at Charité University of Medicine in Berlin, he is developing an astrocytic calcium imaging pipeline in human IPSC-derived networks, for drug discovery. He led a team developing astrocytic, neuronal, and synaptic calcium imaging outputs for drug screening in the Digital Health Accelerator innovation program at the Berlin Institute of Health. He is also a member of the Berlin animal experiment advisory committee in Berlin.
Malika Bsibsi, PhD
Research Leader Neuroscience | Charles River Laboratories
Speaker
Malika Bsibsi, PhD
Research Leader Neuroscience | Charles River Laboratories
Malika Bsibsi is a neuroscientist and senior research leader at Charles River Laboratories. She leads a team of scientists developing iPSC-derived cell-based assays for application in neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory disease drug discovery workflows. Previously, at Delta Crystallon, she led research into the anti-inflammatory effects of alpha B-crystallin in multiple sclerosis. Her career began at TNO, where she completed her Ph.D. in collaboration with KU Leuven and The Institute of Neurology on the role of toll-like receptors in multiple sclerosis.
Sejla Salic-Hainzl, PhD
Vice President of R&D, bit.bio discovery
Speaker
Sejla Salic-Hainzl, PhD
Vice President of R&D, bit.bio discovery
Sejla received her training as a stem cell biologist in the laboratory of Sasha Mendjan at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) in Vienna, Austria. She embarked on her biotech career at Signalomics and Haplogen, where she made valuable contributions to the development of an antiviral drug candidate. In 2019, she assumed the role of Project Lead at Myllia Biotechnology (formerly Aelian Biotechnology), and subsequently progressed to Team Lead. Sejla's journey led her to bit.bio discovery in 2020, where she now serves as the Vice President of R&D. She strongly believes in the power of teamwork and collaboration, recognising the importance of fostering an inclusive and innovative environment that empowers individuals to thrive and make meaningful contributions.
Euan Yates
Scientist | bit.bio
Speaker
Euan Yates
Scientist | bit.bio
Euan Yates is a Scientist at bit.bio, working within the Cell Applications and Development team. With a background in immunology, they specialise in flow cytometry, functional assay development, and co-culture system design. Over the past five years, they have contributed to the development and launch of the ioMicroglia product line, as well as the characterisation of ioMotor Neurons, ioGlutamatergic Neurons, and ioSkeletal Myocytes. Their work focuses on developing iPSC-derived cell types and ensuring their phenotypic and functional fidelity to provide researchers with reliable, high-quality in vitro models
Inês Ferreira, MSc
Senior Product Manager | bit.bio
Speaker
Inês Ferreira, MSc
Senior Product Manager | bit.bio
Inês is a Senior Product Manager at bit.bio. She is responsible for the strategy and new product development of ioCells and is the product management lead for the ioOligodendrocyte-like cells. Prior to working at bit.bio, Inês worked in other product management positions at abcam and Cell Guidance Systems. She obtained her MSc from Instituto Superior Tecnico in Bioengineering and Nanosystems where she optimised biomaterial substrates to enhance neural stem cell differentiation.
Luke Foulser
Field Application Scientist | bit.bio
Speaker
Luke Foulser
Field Application Scientist | bit.bio
As a Field Application Scientist at bit.bio, I leverage my expertise in neuroscience, particularly high-throughput cellular reprogramming and MEA experiments, to empower researchers. I am deeply passionate about fostering strong customer relationships and driving success by ensuring users can confidently achieve robust and consistent results with ioCells. My focus is on providing comprehensive support and technical guidance, bridging the gap between cutting-edge biotechnology and impactful scientific discovery in both academic and industrial settings.
Gianmarco Mastrogiovanni, PhD
Principal Scientist | Cell Type Development | bit.bio
Speaker
Gianmarco Mastrogiovanni, PhD
Principal Scientist | Cell Type Development | bit.bio
Gianmarco Mastrogiovanni is a Principal Scientist in bit.bio. He leads the development of cell types from endoderm and mesoderm-derived tissues, including liver, pancreas and adipose tissue. Before joining bit.bio, Gianmarco completed a PhD and postdoc at the University of Cambridge, focusing on developing in vivo and in vitro models for hepatic and pancreatic cancer. He has a strong background in building and characterising cell models to study diseases.
The venue
The user exchange will take place at the Cambridge Union, located in the centre of Cambridge.
Cambridge Union
9a Bridge Street, Cambridge, UK, CB2 1UB,
Phone: +44 (0)1223 566 421
Email: info@cus.org
Travel information
Within Cambridge, the conference venue is easily accessible by public transport:
By Train
From Cambridge Railway Station:
Walking: Approximately 30 minutes.
Taxi: Around 10–15 minutes, depending on traffic.
Bus: Take a bus towards the city centre and alight near Bridge Street; then walk to the venue.
From London:
Trains from London King's Cross to Cambridge take about 45 minutes.
From London Liverpool Street, the journey is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.
By Bus
Cambridge's city centre is well-served by local bus routes.
Alight at stops near Bridge Street; the Union is a short walk away.
By Car
Parking: The Cambridge Union does not have on-site parking.
Nearest Car Park: Park Street Car Park is the closest public parking facility.
From Airports
Stansted Airport (STN):
Direct trains to Cambridge take about 30 minutes.
National Express coaches to Cambridge Bus Station take approximately 45 minutes.
Heathrow Airport (LHR):
Take the Piccadilly Line to King's Cross St. Pancras, then a train to Cambridge (about 45 minutes).
Gatwick Airport (LGW):
Direct trains to Cambridge take approximately 2 hours.
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