College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences

Professor McInnes is Vice Principal and Head of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, Muirhead Chair of Medicine and Versus Arthritis Professor of Rheumatology at the University of Glasgow. He is also Director of the Versus Arthritis Centre of Excellence for Inflammatory Arthritis, led from Glasgow and including Universities of Oxford, Newcastle, and Birmingham.

Professor Graham is Dean of Research & Innovation, the Gardiner Chair of Immunology at the University of Glasgow, and a global leader in chemokine and chemokine receptor biology. His work is considered seminal in the fields of immunology, inflammation and development. Over three decades, he has delivered pivotal discoveries, perhaps the most prominent of which is the characterisation of the atypical chemokine receptor family. He has melded state-of-the-art biochemistry, molecular, cellular and in vivo biology to dissect out novel in vivo functional roles for chemokines and their receptors. Professor Graham is a generous contributor to the life sciences sector in the UK and currently serves on the UKRI Regenerative Medicine review panel.

Louise is the Head of Innovation & Enterprise at the University of Glasgow’s College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, driving innovation at the interface between academic, industry, policy and clinical research. Previously, Dr. Mason held positions in life science spin-out companies in the UK and US, as well as a research background in biomedical engineering, chemistry and materials science.

Isabel is Market Development Manager at FireFinch Software, which specialise in developing innovative software solutions for the life sciences and biotech sectors. FireFinch offer flexible, expert-led development that combines scientific fluency, regulatory readiness, and strategic insight to help build the right product, the first time. Isabel trained in parasitology and metabolomics at the University of Glasgow and Université Laval in Québec, later completing a Master’s in Public Health. After leaving academia, she built a strong track record in innovation management across biotechnology (at the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre, IBioIC), deep tech (as part of the EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative), the circular economy (EIT's Girls Go Circular), and food innovation (at Prozymi Biolabs). At FireFinch, she is focused on engaging with life science software users to understand their needs and explore how the FireFinch team can support their work.

Lena leads and contributes to projects with partners in biotech and pharma, developing and applying Innophore’s proprietary Catalophore™ technology to create practical solutions for research and development. Innophore is a TechBio company advancing protein and drug discovery through AI-augmented structural biology. Their proprietary Catalophore™ technology analyzes the shape and chemistry of protein binding sites using multidimensional point clouds, revealing function, binding behavior, and druggable opportunities with greater speed and precision than conventional methods. From identifying targets across entire proteomes to repurposing existing drugs, our platform empowers pharmaceutical R&D with faster, smarter decision-making.

Christopher is the CEO of TileBio, a Scottish company developing advanced AI methods for analysing whole slide pathology images. With a background spanning computer science and biomedical research, his work explores how large-scale deep learning can reveal new insights from complex tissue data. Christopher’s recent research focuses on self-supervised approaches that learn directly from unlabelled clinical images, aiming to build interpretable and scalable systems for a range of future applications in diagnostics and biomedical research. He has worked across academic and healthcare settings, with a commitment to advancing technologies that support both scientific discovery and improved patient care.

Professor Cheryl Woolhead is the Dean of Learning & Teaching in the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences (MVLS) at the University of Glasgow. Cheryl has over 20yrs of experience working in the higher education sector, at the University of Glasgow she is leading the future of undergraduate and postgraduate teaching design and implementation, working to diversify our portfolio and to provide the best training possible to allow students to prepare for future careers. Cheryl is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and a Professor of Molecular Biotechnology, working closely with industry in the development and delivery of teaching. 

Professor Stuart Nicklin is Professor of Cardiovascular Molecular Therapy in the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health and Dean of Postgraduate Research in MVLS. He researches the development of gene therapy for cardiovascular disease, with a focus on approaches using adenoviral and adeno-associated viral vector-mediated transfer. He is currently Executive Deputy Editor of Cardiovascular Research and on the Editorial Board of Human Gene Therapy, Molecular Therapy, and Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine- Cardiovascular Biologics and Regenerative Medicine. He is elected President of the British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy.

Professor George Baillie is a molecular pharmacologist that specializes in diseases that are underpinned by aberrant cAMP signalling. He is best known for delineating functions for individual phosphodiesterase isoforms and has published over 200 papers on the subject. His lab was first to develop the following reagents against phosphodiesterase type 4 (PDE4): anti-sense, siRNA, dominant negatives, disruptor peptides, CRISPR and PROTACS. He has published on the roles of PDE4 in cardiovascular disease, cancer, brain degenerative disease, obesity, depression, inflammation, respiratory disease and renal disease. The Baillie lab has gathered the world’s largest repository of bespoke biotools to investigate PDE4 function and he has shared these with many groups worldwide.

Dr Connor Blair is a translational pharmacologist at the University of Glasgow with an established track record in the discovery and development of precision Disruptor Peptide-based therapeutics against a broad-range of diseases with high unmet needs. He is currently spinning out a University of Glasgow start-up biotech, Disruptyx Therapeutics, which he co-founded and is CEO/CSO of. He is responsible for driving the innovation behind Disruptyx discovery engine, and has demonstrated the commercial potential of Disruptor Peptides in enabling precision medicine through patents, license deals, industry sponsorship/collaboration (Bristol Myers Squibb, Evotec, Novo Nordisk), commercialisation grants, and innovation awards. He is also ex Principal Scientist at Portage Glasgow Ltd and currently consults for the Scottish Government and its Chief Scientific Office on innovation, entrepreneurship and enterprise through the Scottish Science Advisory Council. Dr. Blair is also a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh – Young Academy Scotland.

Naomi Hickey is the Education and Quality Lead at Glasgow Clinical Research Facility (CRF). She brings extensive experience in delivering education and training across all areas of clinical research and leads the NHS Research Scotland Good Clinical Practice (GCP) training programme. As a registered nurse, Naomi is a passionate advocate for the research nursing profession and consistently champions the visibility and development of the research nurse role. She has played a key role in supporting the next generation of clinical research professionals, including the implementation of student research placements and supporting educational resources.

Liz has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol and then spent 10 years at the University of Michigan specialising in Deafness and Hearing research using animal models. She returned to the UK in 2012 and took up a position as Transgenic Facility Manager for the MRC at the University of Edinburgh. This developed her interest in laboratory animal management and she continued to progress within the University which culminated in becoming Deputy Director of Facilities. In 2021 Liz took up the position of Director of Biological Services at the University of Glasgow. Liz is passionate about supporting world changing research whilst developing people to reach their full potential.

Claire is a business development professional with expertise in medical devices and healthcare innovation. With a background in medicinal chemistry and industry experience in the medical device sector, she specialises in developing partnerships, driving technology transfer, and advancing commercialisation efforts. Claire has successfully built collaborations with universities, startups, and corporate partners to accelerate innovation pipelines, secure funding, and support spinout ventures.

Phillip Whitfield is the Director of the MVLS Shared Research Facilities (SRF), which brings expertise and state-of-the-art technologies in genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics,biophysical characterisation, protein purification, light and electron microscopy, flow cytometry,histology, magnetic resonance imaging, research software engineering and data analytics. The MVLS SRF offers a comprehensive range of service options and has extensive experience of delivering projectsfor industrial partners working within the biological and biomedical scientific arenas. Prior to joining the University of Glasgow, Phillip held the posts of Professor at the Highlands and Islands and Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool.

Pamela is Head of the Glasgow Tissue Research Facility (GTRF). The GTRF provides comprehensive support to researchers and industry partners engaged in tissue-based research. We have developed an integrated pipeline that streamlines the analysis of tissue samples, ensuring high-quality histopathology outputs and reliable research results.

Professor Sandosh Padmanabhan is the Pontecorvo Chair of Pharmacogenomics in the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health at the University of Glasgow. He completed his MBBS and MD at JIPMER, Pondicherry, India and was awarded the Gold Medal for MD General Medicine in 1995. His PhD (1999-2003) on G-protein signalling in hypertension was awarded the Bellahouston Medal by the University of Glasgow in 2004. He received the Austin Doyle Award from the International Society of Hypertension in 2004. His pharmacogenetic genomewide linkage study led to a BHF Intermediate Fellowship (2006-2009). He was the lead on a genome wide association analysis of Hypertension between 2008 and 2010 resulting in the discovery of a new gene and pathway for hypertension. He was a visiting fellow to the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT (2010-2012). He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, the British Hypertension Society and the American Heart Association. Professor Padmanabhan’s research combines epidemiology and randomised clinical trials incorporating high-throughput genomics and metabolomics in the dissection of cardiovascular traits and drug response.

Carolyn is a Knowledge Transfer Adviser for Innovate UK Business Connect, part of Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency.  She is responsible for developing and managing a portfolio of successful Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) between businesses based in the West of Scotland, and academia.  She supports KTP activity at Glasgow School of Art, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, University of Glasgow, University of Strathclyde, and the University of the West of Scotland.

Gillian, Senior Innovation Engagement Lead (Academic Innovation) plays a pivotal role in driving collaborations between academia and industry. Gillian supports academics across Scotland’s universities, colleges, and research institutes and leads the development and refinement of Interface’s approach to connecting research groups with SMEs.  Leading the framework for early-stage piloting and implementation of activities, Gillian is committed to developing adaptable and sustainable engagement models to drive innovation and impact. 

Following studies in Design for Industry and E-Business, Gillian brings over a decade of business support experience, alongside knowledge of funding streams and support agencies. With a strong understanding of the business landscape, she is well placed to help academics explore industry collaboration opportunities and drive research, development, and real-world impact. 

Leia works with CRUK funded researchers across the Glasgow region (CRUK Scotland Institute, University of Glasgow and University of Strathclyde) to help translate their research towards patient benefit faster. In her role she helps academic researchers protect and commercialise their valuable IP through patenting, licensing and spin out formation.