After obtaining a PhD in Paris in 1996 on the characterisation of novel neutrophil elastase inhibitors in COPD models, Gus pursued a post-doc in Cambridge where he characterised novel metalloproteinases with potential therapeutic applications for arthritis. In 1999, he joined GSK and led a team of assay scientists. In 2006 he transitioned to GSK’s Respiratory Therapy Area where he led multiple projects, and he now applies his experience gained on Respiratory projects to novel targets for various immune-related indications. Gus has deep expertise in molecular pharmacology and is experienced working with various immune cells, having authored over 50 publications and patents.

In addition to being a Biochemical Society Trustee and chairing the Society’s Industry Advisory Panel, Gus is also an Industry advisor to the EU-Openscreen consortium and a GSK scientific fellow, who enjoys mentoring the next generation of scientists.

Dr Andrew Goddard is an industrial microbiologist hailing from Sheffield, and has worked in management systems, waste treatment – hazardous, water and organic materials - for most of his career within the waste sector. His academic qualifications are in biological sciences with an emphasis on industrial biochemistry/microbiology, with some knowledge of chemical engineering, and his other qualifications include CoTC in hazardous transfer/treatment, teaching qualification, NVQ (level 3)/NEBOSH certificate in safety management, NVQ (level 4) in waste management, chartered biologist and waste manager status and quality assurance qualifications from the Institute of Quality Assurance. He has attended many conferences and seminars on biological sciences and their application. He also sits on technical groups run by CIWM on organic waste and thermal treatment of waste.

During his career, he has primarily involved in hazardous treatment of liquid in bulk and drummed, and in last twenty years in organic waste. He has also been involved in chemical cleaning with acids, high pressure jetting and chlorination of industrial plants, designing and building a physicochemical treatment plant, and in odour troubleshooting and organic treatment compliance and hazardous transfer operations.

He is currently employed by Freeland Horticulture, a soil blending operation providing sandy loam soils to urban development and are investigating several wastes and non-wastes as the source of materials to provide realistic alternatives to peat in horticulture and urban soil markets. Freeland are also exploring the recovery of rare earth metals with bio-chelators from WEEE, and growth of black soldier fly larvae on food waste.

Andrew is also Treasurer of the Fuel and Energy Research Forum.

Chris studied at the University of Oxford for an MBiochem in Biochemistry and a DPhil in Engineering Science. He then undertook a Masters degree in Bioinformatics at the University of York with a research placement at Uppsala University. Chris spent a number of years postdoc-ing at the University of Oxford, with a concurrent teaching position as College Lecturer in Biochemistry at The Queen’s College. Here he researched cancer antigens and microRNAs in lymphoma (NDLCS), structural genomics of human disease proteins (Structural Genomics Consortium) and poly-ADP ribosylation in cancer (Sir William Dunn School of Pathology) focusing particularly on cancer targets such as ETS transcription factors, Polq, and ALC1. In 2015 he established his research group at the University of Huddersfield as a Senior Lecturer, focusing on the structural biochemistry of DNA replication and repair and their exploitation for biotechnology. Chris moved to his first industry position in 2021, as Director of Protein Science at Peak Proteins, prior to becoming the Director of Protein Sciences at CHARM Therapeutics in 2022.

Alongside being a member of the Industry Advisory Panel, Chris is also the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Biochemical Society’s journal Bioscience Reports, and is passionate about supporting early career researchers, having given presentations about transitioning careers between academia and industry at the University of Nottingham and also for a recent Biochemical Society webinar. Chris is also an active member of the Microbiology Society, where he is Chair-Elect of the Prokaryotic Division and was also a member of the Industry Working Group.

Liz has a BSc in Molecular Genetics (University of Sussex) and a PhD in Biology (University of York). She joined Green Biologics (an industrial biotech company) in 2007 as a Senior Research Scientist, becoming Group Leader in 2014, and then CTO in 2017. She was responsible for developing the clostridial genome editing technology, CLEAVE™, which enabled the use of clostridia as chassis strains for the production of alternative chemicals through fermentation of renewable and sustainable feedstocks. Since 2020 Liz has been CEO of Biocleave which has further established clostridia as a platform host for high value biomolecules, including proteins and peptides.

Liz is on the Biochemical Society's Training Theme Panel and Industry Advisory Panel. Alongside her colleague Mandy, she is co-developing a training workshop focussing on providing students with the transferrable skills needed to succeed in industry-based roles.

Marion graduated with a Master's in biotechnology from the University of Strasbourg, France, and completed a Master's thesis in the field of epigenetics in the US. After graduating, Marion joined Illumina in Cambridge, UK, and began her career as a lab-based biochemist, focusing primarily on the development of new sequencing platforms, biochemical assays, and analytical tools. After 5 years in product development working on different projects, she transitioned to the commercial side of the organisation working as an application scientist trainer. As part of the training team, she certified in delivering training on Illumina workflows whilst utilising her technical and communication skills. She enjoyed translating complex scientific concepts to diverse audiences and bridging the gap between technical knowledge and effective communication, whilst building expertise in the different applications of sequencing and customers’ needs/challenges on the market. After a year, she joined Eagle Genomics as a pre-sales application scientist, now applying her expertise in genomics to support the sales process of scientific products and solutions in the field of microbiome. She works closely with cross-functional teams and customers, providing technical guidance and conducting product demonstrations, while building expertise in the field of microbiome research and data analysis.

Mike received his B.Sc. (Hons) in Analytical Chemistry from UMIST, Manchester in 1985, and a PhD in mass spectrometry from the same institution in 1988. He undertook academic positions in Japan (Osaka University), USA (Purdue University) and Canada (National Research Council) before joining Micromass/Waters in the R&D department in 1994.

He founded the Clinical Operations Group within Waters in 1999 and was responsible for the development of applications of mass spectrometry in neonatal screening, therapeutic drug monitoring and clinical toxicology. He rejoined the mass spectrometry research team in 2010 and maintains a keen interest in the uses of mass spectrometry - particularly in the health sciences.

Mike has been the co-organiser of a number of national and international scientific meetings, has co-authored more than 65 publications, contributed to two Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidance documents and is a named inventor on 24 granted US patents. He is also a Chartered Chemist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (C.Chem., F.R.S.C.), currently sits on the Executive Committee of UK Community for Analytical Measurement Science, is a member of the Advisory Board for the Departments of Chemistry at the Universities of Reading and Manchester, and is a member of the Chemical and Biological Metrology Committee for the UK National Measurement Institute.

From a young age, Parisa has been interested in science and passionate about helping others through medical advances. She pursued a biochemistry and molecular biology degree, focusing her studies on pharmaceutical manufacturing and process development. She began her career in the biotechnology industry, working with microbial cells for plasmid DNA and recombinant protein production and gained extensive experience managing and optimising bioreactor processes through scale-up and commercialisation from early research. 

As her career progressed, she took on more managerial and consulting roles besides technical work, acquiring project management, scheduling, budgeting, and process optimisation skills. Parisa is currently a Project Manager at Charles River Laboratories (CRL). She prides herself on working collaboratively with cross-functional teams to accomplish complex goals. She stays current on the latest advancements in her field and embraces new approaches that may further scientific progress. Professional development and continuous learning have been priorities throughout her career journey, and moving forward, she plans to utilise her expertise and passion to make a meaningful impact and contribute to the critical work being done by the Industry Advisory Panel and its members.