Medilink Midlands Innovation Day 2023

Melanie Davidson

Chief Executive Officer, Medilink Midlands

Melanie is Chief Executive Officer of Medilink Midlands, the life sciences industry association that helps life sciences companies to establish, develop, and grow, through business support, connectivity, and collaboration.

Melanie has been with Medilink Midlands for thirteen years, starting out as an Innovation Project Manager before becoming Chief Operating Officer and then Chief Executive Officer.

She has a strong background in industrial research, business and economic development, and international investment, having held previous roles at the East Midlands Development Agency (emda), bioKneX, and West Pharmaceutical Services in the Drug Delivery Division.

With a BSc (Hons) in Animal Science from the University of Nottingham, Melanie also broadens Medilink Midlands’ bioscience reach.

At Medilink Midlands, Melanie has overseen the transition of Medilink West Midlands and Medilink East Midlands to one, unified organisation and has managed the funding applications that will help sustain Medilink Midlands well into the future and enable it to continue to deliver innovation and business support to all its members.

Dr Roger Mendonça

Chief Executive, Midlands Engine

Roger is the Chief Executive of the Midlands Engine. He has over twenty five years’ experience working in economic development at national, regional and local level. Previous roles include Chief Operating Officer at the West Midlands Growth Company, where he oversaw the Business & Tourism Programme for the Commonwealth Games, interim CEO at the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership, and the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation.

Roger also has experience of working within central Government, where he piloted legislation through Parliament and ran capital programmes for regional development, physical regeneration, and the redevelopment of the Thames Gateway. He was also lead adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister on economic development potential of the London 2012 Olympic Games bid during the candidate city process.

Christian Kumar

CEO, Medtech Makers Lab

Christian has extensive experience in corporate finance, investment banking, and wealth management. With over three decades of dedicated involvement in driving strategic growth for various enterprises.

Throughout his career, Christian has honed a profound understanding of strategic growth across diverse sectors, and is proud to have played a pioneering role in developing “demand-based” business modelling. Christian thrives in the dynamic realms of Corporate Finance and Investment Banking, evident in his impressive portfolio encompassing six companies and over 22 investments across sectors such as Leisure, Med Tech, Construction, and Energy.

Currently, he is actively engaged in supporting universities and governmental bodies in devising strategic inbound investment initiatives. His role involves shaping comprehensive expansion strategies that harmonize with their overarching goals, fostering growth and innovation within these institutions.

Dr Jennifer Hill

Programme Lead for the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC), NHS England

The AAC brings together industry, government, regulators, patients and the NHS to remove barriers and accelerate the introduction of ground-breaking new treatments and diagnostics to transform care.

Jennifer leads the development of the new NHS Innovation Service (innovation.nhs.uk) which is set to provide a step-change in the experience for innovators hoping to access the NHS, allowing them to access support and guidance on one online platform. The NHS Innovation Service will bring improved efficiency for health system organisations supporting these innovators, encouraging collaboration and cross organisational working.

With a background in Medical Physics and PhD in Audiology, Jennifer previously led teams developing NICE clinical guidelines at the Royal College of Physicians.

Alison Mlot

Commercial Manager, Health Innovation East Midlands

Alison is Commercial Manager at Health Innovation East Midlands (formerly East Midlands Academic Health Science Network). With over 20 years’ experience as a Business Advisor in the medical and healthcare technologies sector, and as an Innovation Consultant for UK and EU Digital Health start-ups.

Alison led the Digital Health Innovation Platform for Innovate UK and was a Business Coach for Horizon 2020 EASME Framework Programme. She is an Assessor for NHS England, Innovate UK, and the UK Research Councils.

Tom Llewellyn

Remote Monitoring Lead, Health Innovation West Midlands

Tom began working for the NHS in 2004 and has developed expertise across roles in Information Governance, Research Management, Research Operations and currently is the Remote Monitoring Lead for Health Innovation West Midlands (formerly known as West Midlands Academic Health Science Network) and has responsibility for programmes and activities relating to remote monitoring and digital innovation across the West Midlands region.

Helen Landels

Technical Director, NICE Scientific Advice

Helen is the Technical Director for NICE Scientific Advice, leading and chairing national and parallel scientific advice meetings with HealthTech and Pharmaceutical companies. She has a special interest in optimising how NICE best supports industry partners on complex technologies through early engagement and proactively evolve processes in areas of innovation.

Helen is passionate about working to positively impact patients’ lives. She has experience within the NHS and Pharmaceutical consultancy, spanning a breath of therapeutic areas across general, surgical and emergency medicine as well as vaccines. Before joining NICE, Helen was as a Director in a Market Access consultancy, focusing on Value, Insights and Communication. She has an in-depth clinical knowledge, established through her earlier work as a GPhC registered Pharmacist Independent Prescriber in the NHS, leading the pharmacy service for the Urgent Care Directorate in a North-West Teaching Hospital.

Helen holds a Master of Pharmacy Degree from the University of Nottingham and Post-graduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy Practice from the University of Central Lancashire.

Danny Harrison

Innovation Manager, WMG University of Warwick

Danny is an Innovation Manager at WMG, University of Warwick, where he specialises in micromobility supply chains. He is a passionate advocate for innovation and has a proven track record of helping businesses to succeed.

In his current role at WMG, Danny leads a team of experts who are working to develop new and innovative solutions for supply chains. He is also responsible for managing a number of research projects and initiatives, and he works closely with industry partners to help them to implement new technologies and processes.

Olivia Simpson

CEO & Founder, SymbioTex

Olivia is the founder of SymbioTex, an innovative company pioneering sustainable solutions to tackle single-use plastics in healthcare. While on placement in the NHS, Olivia witnessed first-hand the vast amount of medical plastic waste generated, with over 60 million inhalers distributed in the UK each year and only 0.5% ever being recycled.

SymbioTex has developed a patented technology which it aims to license to manufacturers, enabling them to switch to a sustainable raw material which can be injection moulded to create compostable medical devices. They are initially targeting products like gallipots, sharp bin lids and cosmetic pots. Rather than using plastics, SymbioTex’s material is made from renewable seaweed that sequesters carbon as it grows. Unlike bioplastics, their material is home compostable, creates no harmful by-products when disposed of and does not compete with land used for food crops.

Olivia’s innovative solution has already achieved significant success, winning the Version & Unloc Young Entrepreneur Challenge 2023 and wining the London Tech Week Elevating Founders competition, and Innovate UK funding. SymbioTex and its founder Olivia Simpson have been selected as finalists in the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2023. SymbioTex has also established partnerships with organizations including NHS Trusts, Medilink, 2M, Ishga, Ocean Healthcare, Coveris, Haughton Design and Vernacare.

Shehzad Chaudhary,

Midlands Director for International Trade & Investment, Department for Business & Trade

The UK Government’s Department for Business & Trade (DBT) English Regions works to increase the number of UK exporters and support the UK to attract inward investment. They directly support businesses to export and match high profile investment opportunities with foreign investors.

As International Trade & Investment Director (SCS1) for the Midlands, Shehzad leads the delivery of these export support services to businesses across the Midlands using a network of International Trade Advisors (ITAs) as well as leading the DBT Midlands Investment Hub, which is a focal point for Foreign Direct Investment in the Midlands.

With a career spanning over 25+ years in the public and private sector where he has successfully led and managed large, national teams for major digital organisations and UK Government departments; delivering key strategy, policy, change and transformation to help and support businesses of all sizes and complexity. Successfully delivering policy, building advocacy and influencing notable business boards, forums and international stakeholders. Alongside building critical business capability to meet the needs of now and the future. His roles have been high profile and demanding in the best sense possible, where his passion for building teams and meaningful partnerships has been stimulating for growth and prosperity.

Having lived and worked in the Midlands for the majority of his life, it means a great deal for Shehzad to represent the best of the Midlands and help showcase that to the rest of the world.
Shehzad is a firm believer in the value of collaboration, partnering and inclusivity to help drive the Midlands to exceed our export and investment ambitions and ensure we work toward our ‘race to a trillion’ worth of exports by 2030.

Joanne Bekis

Partner and Relationship Manager, Medilink Midlands

Jo has worked on government funded initiatives for over 25 years leading on skills, the changing landscape of education and apprenticeships and over the last 7 years working in business support and growth through ERDF programmes with a focus on upscaling, innovation and job creation, often seen as a sector expert and valued thought leader at round table talks with government leads.

Working with many stakeholder organisations across the business support eco system is second nature. Jo also has a wealth of knowledge in change management and transformational change, working at as a tier 1 subcontract and then employed within the built environment consultancy.

Having also worked on 4 separate occasions within Membership, Jo has a fantastic understanding of how to deliver a sustainable service model to support members and their growth. Working as part of Medilink Midlands, Jo combines her knowledge in business support, membership, funded programmes and the innovative medtech and life sciences sector.

Adam Townsend

Founder, VUIT

A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt with significant commercial and project management skills and experience Adam has spent the last 9 years focussing on becoming a subject matter expert in delivering change in health system settings. Adam’s in depth knowledge of Unipart Way, Toyota Production System (Lean) & Theory of Constraints underpins his approach to delivery of project management and continuous improvement. Good data is the single most important factor in improvement and the understanding gained from Adam’s career so far enables VUIT to create pertinent and powerful visuals which speak to the professionals using it.​

Elspeth Bailey

Senior Policy Advisor, Office for Life Sciences

Elspeth is a Senior Policy Advisor in the Innovation and Growth team at the Office for Life Sciences, where she has responsibility for MedTech and Access. Previously she has led on the OLS Net Zero work, the UK Batch Testing Review and EU Exit regulatory policy.

Elspeth has had a varied career, before entering the civil service she worked in apprenticeships and taught English in China. Elspeth has held a number of policy roles across the Civil service, including Aerospace policy during the EU Exit negotiations.

Derek Sear

Business Engagement Manager, University of Birmingham

As Business Engagement Manager for the WMHTIA, Derek fosters relationships between the programme consortium and pioneering Health Tech businesses – helping boost innovation across the region. Having previously led the University of Birmingham’s DemandHub project, he has a wealth of experience supporting SMEs in navigating the complexities of the sector and bringing new technologies to the market.

Ben Roberts

Innovation Adviser, Medilink Midlands

Ben joined Medilink in 2022 as an Innovation Adviser in the West Midlands, after graduating with a PhD in Biomedical Research at the University of Warwick. Ben is utilising his knowledge currently in delivering activity under the West Midlands AHSN industry gateway. With a particular focus on sustainability, he aims to support SMEs in the health and life science sector on their journey to Net Zero.

Victoria Patel

Innovation Adviser, Medilink Midlands

Victoria joined Medilink in March 2019. She brings extensive experience with ERDF funded projects from her previous roles, delivering business and funding support to Leicestershire businesses at the Growth Hub and LLEP.

Victoria has a BA from Leicester University and also has hands-on experience of growing a successful, innovative business.

Dr Helen Compton

Stakeholder Engagement Manager, NIHR Coordinating Centre

Helen joined the NIHR in 2016 to lead on stakeholder engagement activity with the charity and medtech communities and provide leadership and delivery for a number of high profile strategic and operational projects across NIHR. Helen has led business/ governance changes at the science-policy interface with > 9 years research programmes commissioning experience. She developed applied research programmes from end to end to address pressing government and industry needs and has extensive experience working across government departments.

Helen has developed the evidence supporting a number of national strategies and presented evidence-based findings at all organisational levels and internationally through the OECD. Helen is an innovation advisory board member to CW Innovation, the partnership between Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust and the Trust’s charity, CW+. CW Innovation aims to develop the Trust into a leading real world environment test bed for digital and med tech innovation through partnership with others.

Andrew Shortt

Senior Innovation and Growth Specialist, Innovate UK EDGE

Andrew, who joined the Midlands Innovate UK EDGE team in January 2023, holds a 1st class chemistry degree and an MSc pharmacology with distinction. He brings extensive experience in working with start-ups and SMEs across various industries, including HealthTech, Biotech, Medtech, Deep tech, life sciences, med devices, and pharma.

With a well-established network in the West Midlands region, Andrew has strong connections to key innovation and business support organisations such as University of Birmingham Enterprise, Aston Technology Transfer, Warwick Innovation District, Precision Health Technologies Accelerator, Medilink, BCU STEAMhouse, and WMAHSN. Leveraging his medical and scientific background, Andrew also leads the HALSEC Huddle networking group, catering specifically to founders, innovators, and stakeholders in the health and life sciences sector. This group fosters collaboration within the scientific ecosystem of the region.

As a Senior Innovation and Growth Specialist, Andrew provides valuable guidance to businesses, helping them navigate areas such as IP protection, funding and finance access, market expansion, talent acquisition and retention, client relationship building, and business generation. His expertise spans a range of specialisms, including business planning for med tech start-ups and SMEs, route to market strategies, IP advice and business review, talent attraction and retention strategies, employment law, business development and sales strategies, innovation strategies, investment readiness, and networking and collaboration.

Specialising in sectors such as Med Tech, Health Tech, Biotech, Med Devices, Diagnostics, and Healthcare, Andrew offers comprehensive support and identifies opportunities for growth and success for businesses in these fields.

Prof Dean Fathers DL

Chair of the Midlands Engine Health Care and Life Science Board

Dean has held numerous Board appointments across the private, public and third sectors for three decades and developed an international career with experience working on Boards in the UK, Europe, Australasia and North America.

Currently Chair of the Midlands Engine Health Care and Life Science Board, Dean is also Independent Chair of Quality Safety and Risk at Voyage Care, a Non-Executive Director on the Board of the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman (where he chairs the Quality Committee) and a Non-Executive Director for the Academy of Health Care Science (where he is Chair of the Life Science Industry Steering Group). He is also an investor or advisor to digital health organisations ATPMS, Blum Health, Cerina, NeedleSmart, Oxehealth, PDMS, Sekoia and Tuli Health and chairs the Midlands Medilink Digital Health Special Interest Group.

An Honorary Professor of Healthcare Leadership at the University of Nottingham’s Business School and Professor of Resilience at the University of Lincoln, Dean has specialised since 1995 in delivering Board and Executive Development programmes and also provides independent governance reviews. Formerly Chair of separate Acute, Community, Mental Health and Primary Care NHS Trusts, Dean has also held board roles with the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network, NHS Leadership Academy and NHS Providers. Dean has held numerous Board roles with health related third sector organisations too and is currently a Trustee of charities Portland College and Care After Combat.

Dr Jiawei Li

Co-Founder & CEO, Tuli Health

With a PhD in Medicine from University College London and a rich background as a Postdoctoral Researcher at UCL until October 2020, Dr. Jiawei Li is driving a revolution in accessible healthcare.

Under her guidance, Tuli Health is a platform dedicated to providing trusted medical resources for all. From health checks to weight loss programs, Tuli collaborates with community pharmacies, making crucial services like blood testing accessible on every high street, redefining healthcare accessibility for communities everywhere. Backed by Y Combinator and based in London, Tuli is CQC regulated and UKAS accredited, while their test kits are also CE marked.

David Campbell

Director, SureScreen Diagnostics

David has over 10 years’ experience running SureScreen Diagnostics, a company that specialises in the manufacturing and distribution of point of care, early detection, diagnostics products, including lateral flow tests.

SureScreen export to over 60 countries across the world and are a key supplier to the NHS. The business has seen significant growth in recent years and has been awarded 2 King’s Awards for Innovation and International Trade.

Prof Martin Levermore MBE DL

Chairman, Medilink Midlands

Martin is Vice Chair for Nehemiah United Churches Housing Association (UCHA), CEO of Medical Devices Technology International Ltd (MDTi) and Chair of Medilink Midlands. He is also a Trustee of New Roots Charity and a Director of the Birmingham Commonwealth Association (BCA) as well as Executive Committee Member of the Greater Birmingham Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce. Martin is a Senior Associate of Royal Society of Medicine, a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Martin has been published widely in several academic journals and hold appointments with Birmingham City University (BCU) as Visiting Professor for Health, Education and Life Science and Honorary Consultant for Health Innovations with the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

Most recently, in December 2021, Martin was appointed a Non Executive Director to the Royal Wolverhampton Hospital Trust.