Peter is 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, he joined GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in November 2015 as a ‘Senior Scientist’ in the Cell & Gene Therapy (C>) Upstream Vector Process Development team, and in November 2019 he was promoted to the role of ‘Investigator’. In these roles, he worked 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.
Rhian is a Group Lead in the Process Research and Development Group at Oxford Biomedica. Oxford Biomedica is a leading, fully integrated, cell and gene therapy group, and has recently diversified in to the large-scale manufacturing of the adenoviral based COVID-19 vaccine. Rhian joined Oxford Biomedica in 2013, and helped to develop the first commercially approved LentiVector® process for the production Kymriah®. In addition, Rhian has guided the process development and tech transfer activities for clinical manufacture of numerous other cell and gene therapy candidates for multiple collaborators and clients. Prior to joining Oxford Biomedica, Rhian completed a Post-doctoral Research Associate position at the University of Cambridge. Rhian has been an active member of the ESACT-UK committee since 2010.
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. In this role, she continues to work on the development and production of different biopharmaceuticals including viral vectors and nucleic-acid based products.
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.
Qasim is the Webmaster for ESACT-UK having previously served as the Society’s Secretary from 2015 – 2017 and the Scientific Programme Lead from 2017 – 2019. He is an Associate Professor in Cell and Gene Therapy Bioprocess Engineering at University College London (UCL). He is a multidisciplinary engineer working at the life science, engineering and commercial interfaces with a research focus on the bioprocessing, automation and biomanufacture of cell and gene-based therapies. He is Programme Director of a new MSc programme in the Manufacture and Commercialisation of Stem Cell and Gene Therapies. Qasim is both a Chartered Engineer and Chartered Scientist. He sits on multiple scientific committees including the IChemE Biochemical Engineering Subject Interest Group, British Standards Institute Biotechnology Committee and the BIA’s Cell & Gene Therapy Advisory Committee.