Now a Non-Executive at a range of leading Biotech companies including Spirea, PharmEnable, Macomics, NanoSyrinx and Elasmogen, Jane Dancer has built a highly successful career in Business Development in the sector.

Jane joined us to discuss that career, how she created a portfolio of NED positions, the real value of an MBA and whether you really need a PhD.

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"I see all the other element of my current role - the leadership, management and mentoring - as enabling the science."

Samantha Bailey-Bucktrout is the Senior Vice President of Research at Akamis Bio, a company harnessing the power of tumour gene therapy in the fight against cancer.

Samantha talked to us about her career in cancer immunotherapy, what Greek mythology has to do with modern-day Biotech, and the importance of a collaborative approach to drug development.

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"You can learn corporate finance. You can do Excel modelling. You can read books on negotiation. But I strongly believe that Business Development is an art, and it's something that you can only really learn by doing."

Beverley Carr is the Chief Business & Operating Officer of Amphista Therapeutics, a company re-engineering TPD therapies to tackle cancer and neurological disorders.

Beverley joined us on Careers in Discovery to talk about how Amphista are tackling the limitations of first-generation TPDs, why strategic Business Development is coming back into fashion, and the qualities that make a good BD person.

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"I realised that drug development was much more than just research. There's a huge amount of work beyond coming up with a molecule, but research scientists just don't get exposed to it."

Janette Thomas has built a career from Researcher to Project Manager, Operations Director and now CEO of Five Alarm Bio, a company focused on novel approaches to anti-aging.

Janette joined us to talk about the current state of anti-aging research, what makes a good project manager and why you should never be limited by fear in your career.

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"If you've got into science because science itself motivates you, try and stay with it. Do other things too, learn what you need to, but be careful not to leave that science behind."

Dan Williams is the CEO of SynaptixBio, a company dedicated to developing lifesaving therapies for severe leukodystrophies.

Dan joined us to talk about the challenges of building a company around an ultra rare disease, why exposure to an executive team is critical for career development and what REALLY makes early stage Biotech companies successful.

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"Taking a vaccine from concept and early stage data through to a licensed product that you're putting into millions of people takes 10-15 years on average, but it was done in 10 months. So how did we manage to acheive that? Nobody wanted to be stuck in lockdown forever and so everyone really focused on coming together - a combination of industry, government and academia, all focused on how to [deliver this vaccine] on the shortest possible time, safely and effectively."

Matthew Duchars is the CEO of CHAIN Biotech, a fascinating company developing oral vaccines and immunotherapies that target the microbiome.

Matthew joined us to discuss the importance of culture and environment in delivering great science, how a career in vaccine development was set into motion by an encounter with a dead mole, and being at the heart of the UK vaccines ecosystem during the COVID pandemic.

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"Whatever opportunity arises, it may not be on the path that you think you should be on, but it will bring value. You have to do your best to identify what that value is. So keep an open mind about opportunities - there's sometimes value in applying for something that you only have 30% of the requirements for."

Orla Cunningham is the Chief Scientific Officer of Granular Therapeutics and Ultrahuman 8, companies developing novel single antibody therapies for a range of diseases.

Orla talked to us about her fascinating career to date, as well as the therapeutic potential of mast cells, how to get the best from your CRO partners and why communication is the most important skill scientists must develop.

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"LinkedIn is like the professional Instagram. It looks like people's careers were so easy, mapped out and planned. It doesn't tell of the difficult decisions, the failures, the challenges, the dead ends and having to start again."

Rebecca Godfrey is the Chief Operating Officer of ExpressionEdits and the author of "The Leadership Vaccine".

Rebecca talked to us on Careers in Discovery about her journey from Immunology PhD to COO, figuring out who you are professionally and why she loves her job.

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"Cancer drugs only started working once we realised that we actually had to measure what was going on in the tumour and match them appropriately [to patients]...we're just on the cusp of that approach being accepted in neuroscience."

Jenny Barnett is the CEO of Monument Therapeutics, a Biotech company using precision medicine approaches to develop new treatments for psychiatric and neurological conditions, and the Chief Scientific Officer of Five Lives, a digital therapeutics business focused on reducing dementia risk.

Jenny joined us on Careers in Discovery to discuss her career so far, why academia wasn't for her, how digital biomarkers can improve clinical trial performance and the things she had to learn to become an effective CEO.

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"The most important thing is to enjoy what you're doing. If you're in the lab and enjoying your research, that's great. Keep enjoying it and you'll probably delivery well. If you want to keep focusing on research, you can, and if you want to experience different things, you'll have created the opportunity to do so."

Paul Thompson is the Chief Scientific Officer of Mission Therapeutics, a company at the cutting edge of DUB inhibitor research to treat a range of conditions.

Paul talked to us about his career so far, how his background in clinical development has informed his approach to preclinical research, and how to choose between large and small companies at the start of your career.

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