Facilitating the translational development of novel cancer therapeutics from preclinical studies through to commercialisation:- Partnering opportunities- Network/collaboration building (industry, academic, CRO, NHS, KOLs)- Translational drug development strategy- Commercialisation strategy• De-risk innovations to secure next stage grants (e.g. MRC DPFS) or industry collaborations (including innovate UK funding) - or investment for spin out company formation;• Up-skill academics engaging with impact and commercialisation;• Deepen and expand external partnerships (facilitation of collaboration) with industry and investors• Develop and progress pipeline of opportunities.• Continuation of Drug Development manager role – Translating novel therapeutics from concept through to clinical trials. • Establishment, management and commercialisation of Patient-Derived Xenograft in vivo modelling platform. • Initiation and management of an All Wales Industry forum bringing together industry partners in the life science sector to increase collaboration across the country• Regular liaising with Welsh government for Research strategy development in Wales• Liaison and point of contact for all Wales translational research centres

Facilitating development of novel compounds from laboratory to clinic within Wales Cancer Research centre. Drug development:Management of preclinical drug development program of novel anti-metastatic small molecule inhibitors. Design, initiation, monitoring and reporting preclinical studies required for regulatory submission (CTA/IND) including safety/pharmacology/toxicology/pharmacokinetics. Clinical trial protocol and clinical strategy development. Liaising across KOLs (Researchers and clinicians), CRO's, Lawyers, Pharma partners and Industry professionals to ensure development progress.Analysis and presentation of preclinical data, clinical strategy, clinical trial design and commercial rationale at industry board meetingsDevelopment of preclinical model systems for drug efficacy and safety studiesScientific chair of breast multidisciplinary research group for leading Wales Cancer Bank activity in the breast cancer fieldDevelopment and writing of Target Product Profile (TPP), Clinical Development Plan (CDP), Biomarker strategy and data Dossiers.RFPs for preclinical and clinical trial CRO collaborations.Project management - developing timelines for activities and ensuring milestones are met on schedule.Teaching (Lectures):PRMY: MSc Cellular and Molecular biology of Cancer - "Cancer Stem Cells" moduleMEDIC: "Trends in Drug Discovery" moduleSupervision of 1 PhD student, 2 x MRes students and 5 x BSc FYP students

Aim: Identification and development of an anti-cancer stem cell agent in pre-clinical models of endocrine-resistant breast cancerThis work has identified a potential novel therapy for treatment of patients with endocrine-resistant breast cancer. To study this treatment in pre-clinical models a clinical pipeline of biopsy and surgical tissue samples collected from patients was initiated at the Cardiff and the Vale Breast Centre. Recruitment to the CUbbs trial began just 4 months following the beginning of this project and is still ongoing. Using tissue collected from the CUbbs trial together with patient derived xenografts and in vitro models, a potential new therapy for this cohort of patients, where therapeutic options are limited, was identified (Published Clinical Cancer Research 2018).o Design and implementation of NISCHR CRC trial “CUbbs” including protocol writing and project management. o Liaise between KOL’s involved in the trialo Daily management of trial ensuring the outlined protocol is followed accordingly. o Data generation and presentation at local and international conferences.o Presentation of data at management meetings, local and international conferences.o Advise on and implement protocol amendmentso Manage collaborative projects with academic thought leaders

"The role of c-FLIP as a breast cancer stem cell therapeutic” Supervisor: Dr. Richard Clarkson Aim: To determine the effect of altering c-FLIP expression on the sensitivity of breast cancer cells to TRAIL treatment using in vitro and in vivo analyses.Using a range of human breast cancer cell lines, representing different subtypes of disease, c-FLIP expression was altered by the use of siRNA technology to investigate its role in TRAIL resistance. The effect of c-FLIP suppression in combination with TRAIL on different subsets of cells found within a tumour was assessed and in vivo tumour transplantation studies were then carried out to confirm in vitro findings. Additionally the efficacy of TRAIL treatment on drug-resistant breast cancer cell lines was also investigated in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore alternative delivery methods of TRAIL were attempted by stimulating specific immune cells to deliver TRAIL to tumours. For longer term in vitro and in vivo (human primary and cell line) tumour regression studies a bi-cistronic, doxycycline conditional vector was produced and packaged into lentivirus for transfection.Transferable skills acquired:- Project management- Data accumulation, interpretation and presentation to a variety of different outlets- Networking and development of collaborations with academic and clinical experts- Review of scientific literature- Creative problem solving- Time management and organisationThis work was presented at many national conferences and international conferences including Gordon Research Conference "Mammary Gland Biology" (Italy, 2010) and Keystone Symposia "Stem cells, Cancer and Metastasis" (USA 2011)Important collaborations with academic and clinical leaders were formed during this work including University Hospital of Wales, Velindre Hospital Wales, Paterson Institute (Manchester University), McGill University (Montreal), Institute of Molecular Genetics (Prague) and MRC Toxicology Unit Leicester

o Work across a diverse range of fields including epigenetics, immunology and oncology to produce reproducible data for each study.o Optimise and perform a wide array of molecular biology techniques in the pre-clinical setting.o Data generation and presentation at local and international conferences

Professional ice hockey player• Highest level of professional hockey in UK• Work within a team and manage time efficiently• Public appearances and regular media interviews• Work within the community• Maintain important relationships with large company sponsors

*Secondment*Business Development of new projects entering in to the CRT (cancer therapeutics) development portfolio:- CTOA negotiations- Project Review- Horizon Scanning- Asset Evaluation- Business Strategy Development - Competition Analysis/Evaluation- Market Analysis- Partnerships