ESACT-UK Committee
Peter Archibald
Deputy Treasurer
Peter is the Deputy Treasurer and previously served as the Scientific Programme Lead for ESACT-UK, having joined the committee in 2017 as an ordinary member. Peter holds both an undergraduate degree (BSc) in Human Biology and PhD in Regenerative Medicine from Loughborough University. After completing his PhD in 2015, he joined GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as a Senior Scientist in the Cell & Gene Therapy (C>) Upstream Vector Process Development team, working on the development of scalable upstream manufacturing processes for viral vectors. In 2020, he became the Team Lead for the C> Upstream Vector Process Development team at GSK, managing a team of scientists focused on the development and tech transfer of upstream processes for viral vectors, and led this team for a further three years. In 2023, Peter joined Rentschler Biopharma as Upstream Process Development Manager for the ATMP business unit, and was responsible for leading a team of upstream process development scientists delivering client viral vector projects. Peter has recently joined Touchlight as Associate Director of Applications and is accountable for supporting all viral vector customers globally with their use of enzymatic DNA, as well as providing technical support to customers across mRNA, gene editing, and non-viral gene therapy modalities.
Rhian Carter
Meetings Secretary
Rhian joined the ESACT-UK committee as an ordinary member in 2010, and is currently the Meetings Secretary, previously having held the position of Treasurer. Rhian holds a BSc in Microbiology and a PhD in Biotechnology, both gained at the University of Sheffield. Rhian has held a postdoctoral position at Cambridge University in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, before moving to the Process Development Team at Oxford Biomedica, where she stayed for 12 years. During her time at OXB, Rhian developed process for the manufacture of lentiviral vectors, and led the process development, optimisation, characterisation and late stage support activities for multiple client programmes. In March 2025, Rhian took up the position of Head of Process Development, CMC at Sensorion, a biotech company located in Montpellier, France.
Karen Coopman
Chair
Karen is the Chair of the ESACT-UK society, overseeing the running of the society with the support of the Vice Chair and the rest of the committee. With a background in pharmacology Karen has always had an interest in healthcare and her research interests now focus on the manufacturing of cell-based therapies and biopreservation. A Professor in Biological Engineering and Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation (Excellence and Focus) at Loughborough University, she has been involved with the UK’s bioprocessing community for over 15 years, having been Director of the EPSRC/MRC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training in Regenerative Medicine, an Executive Editor for Biotechnology Letters and having served on the Steering Groups of both the Bioprocessing Research Industry Club and BioProNet in the past.
Rachel Crossley
Deputy Trade Coordinator
Rachel joined the committee in 2025 and currently serves as the Deputy Trade Coordinator. She holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Manchester (2007), where her research focused on gene therapeutic approaches to wound healing. Following her PhD, Rachel began her career as a Molecular Virologist before transitioning to a Fermentation Scientist role at Eden Biodesign (now Pharmeron) in Speke, Liverpool. In 2015, she shifted her focus from laboratory work to commercial sales, bringing her scientific expertise into the business arena. She spent two years as the North West UK Technical Sales Specialist for Infors before joining Aber Instruments in 2018. At Aber, Rachel is responsible for managing sales of biotechnology and brewing equipment across the EMEA region.
Julian Hanak
Ordinary Committee Member
Julian has worked in the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical sector for more than 25 years, holding senior leadership positions in small biotech, CDMO and large pharma companies. Graduating as a Biochemist from University College London he completed his Master’s at Bangor University before working in research at the Nation Institute for Medical Research (MRC), Bioproducts Laboratories and Astra Zeneca. He gained extensive Gene Therapy drug development, manufacturing and business development experience at Cobra Biologics, NightStar Therapeutics and most recently Biogen, where he was SVP and the global head of Gene Therapy Product and Process Development. He is currently the Chief Development Officer at Purespring Therapeutics Ltd, a company specialising in gene therapy treatments for kidney diseases and is an honorary lecturer for UCL Biochemical Engineering.
Petra Hanga
Vice Chair
Petra is an Associate Professor in Biochemical Engineering at University College London (UCL) and also the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Quest Meat Ltd. She is a biochemical engineer by training working at the intersection of engineering, life sciences and commercial interfaces with a particular emphasis on multidisciplinary approaches to address one distinct challenge: food and nutrition for health, by advancing cultivated meat technologies. Petra is the Vice Chair of ESACT-UK and also a committee member for the Biochemical Engineering Subject Interest Group (BESIG) in the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). She is also on the Editorial Board and an Executive Editor of Biotechnology Letters. Petra was awarded the ESACT-UK Inaugural Chris Hewitt Rising Star Award (2021).
Hirra Hussain
Secretary
Hirra is the Secretary of ESACT-UK and joined the committee in 2017. Hirra completed her PhD in Biotechnology at the University of Manchester in 2016. After her PhD, she worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology with different industrial collaborators (Absynth Biologics Ltd and UCB Pharma). Both PhD and post-doctoral projects have concentrated on the molecular understanding of poor recombinant protein production and the use of engineering strategies to overcome this challenge. In July 2021, Hirra moved to the Centre for Process Innovation as a Senior Scientist in the Upstream Processing team at the National Biologics Manufacturing Centre. Currently, Hirra is a Principal Scientist in the Synthetic and Mammalian Upstream team. In this role, she continues to work on the delivery of multi-disciplinary R&D projects with a focus on molecular biology, mammalian cell line development and the process development of different biopharmaceuticals including monoclonal antibodies, viral vectors and nucleic-acid based products.
Luke Johnston
ECR Lead
Luke joined the ESACT-UK committee in 2025 and was appointed as the Early Career Researcher Lead. Luke is a Senior Upstream Bioprocess Scientist at IBioIC, where he develops and executes technical client projects in addition to delivering bioprocess training courses. Luke previously completed a PhD at the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies focused on the application of metabolomics tools to understand and optimise CHO cell biopharmaceutical production.
Pavlos Kotidis
Deputy Meetings Secretary
Pavlos joined the ESACT-UK committee in 2023 as an ordinary member and soon after took up the role of Deputy Meetings Secretary. Pavlos leads the Digital Data and Analytics group in the Biopharm Process Research department of GSK, that focuses on the development of digital solutions for data exploration and platform improvement, leveraging multiple modelling and visualization approaches for early-phase biopharm development. Pavlos holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London, during which he worked on optimising CHO-based biopharmaceutical production and recombinant antibody glycosylation. Pavlos has been a receiver of the ESACT-UK Inaugural Chris Hewitt Rising Star Award (2022).
Rosalyn Masterton
Trade Coordinator
Rosalyn is the ESACT-UK trade coordinator, and her role involves registering trade delegates and organising the exhibition and sponsorships for the annual conference. She joined the committee in 2007, initially taking on the scientific programme coordinator role and then switching to the trade coordinator role in 2010, the role which she continues to date. At the University of Kent in Canterbury Rosalyn is an academic in the School of Biosciences and the Centre Manager and Administrator for the Industrial Biotechnology Centre. Her research interest is focused around the bioprocessing area in improving recombinant protein production from in vitro cultured mammalian cells. Projects focus upon identifying the cellular limitations with regard to recombinant protein production.
Leon Pybus
Social Media Deputy
Leon Pybus is a member of the Bioprocess Strategy & Development team for FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies UK, leading development of the companies next generation CHO expression system and upstream processing technologies that improve and assist customers with the manufacture of therapeutic recombinant proteins. Leon holds a PhD from The University of Sheffield and has worked in the field of cell culture biotechnology for over 10 years.
Glenn Robinson
Treasurer
Glenn graduated from Reading University in 1984 with an honours degree in Biological Sciences, specialising in microbiology. He then joined a general laboratory supplier before specialising in the fermentation & bioreactor equipment supply market in early 1989, working for 3 bioreactor manufacturers since then. Glenn has a solid understanding of whole processes (USP and DSP) although his main expertise is within upstream cell culture & fermentation. Glenn retired beginning of 2025 and offers sales training consultancy in the capital equipment arena. Glenn is our current Treasurer since 2017.
Rebecca Sizer
Social Media Lead
Rebecca leads Public Relations for ESACT-UK, including social media activities, and joined the committee in 2023. She completed a PhD in Biotechnology in partnership with Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, where she investigated novel barriers to enhance transgene expression in mammalian cell culture. During her PhD, Rebecca developed expertise in gene expression and epigenetics, co-authoring nine scientific publications. She is now training as a Clinical Bioinformatician within the NHS, where she applies her skills in data analysis and genomics to support clinical decision-making and patient care.
Eirini Theodosiou
Deputy Secretary
Eirini obtained a Diploma in Chemical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, followed by an MSc in Biochemical Engineering from University College London and a PhD in Biotechnology from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). She worked as a Senior R&D scientist and Purification team leader at Xellia Pharmaceuticals, before returning to academia, and is currently a Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at Aston University. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Webinar coordinator for IChemE’s Biochemical Engineering Special Interest Group, Associate Editor for the Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, and honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Eirini’s research is in the areas of Healthcare and Cellular Agriculture, including the development of methods for the selective separation of human cells for clinical applications, and the creation of scaffolds for tissue regeneration and animal stem cell expansion and differentiation.
Mauro Torres Sebastian
Scientific Programme Lead
Mauro is a Research Associate at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (University of Manchester) where his research focuses on mammalian cell bioprocessing and applications of synthetic biology to redesign biological systems. Collaborating with FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies UK, he is advancing the next-gen CHO expression system. Mauro holds a PhD in Molecular Biology (University of Manchester) and earned a BSc degree in Chemical Engineering from TU Braunschweig (Germany) and PUCV (Chile).