Professor Jo Slater-Jefferies

National Biofilms Innovation Centre

Professor Jo Slater-Jefferies is the CEO of the National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC), leading a cutting-edge Innovation and Knowledge Centre to facilitate solutions in areas like antimicrobial resistance, environmental sustainability, and water security. NBIC has expanded its global research network, partnering with over 300 industry and academic institutions to drive innovation in biofilm science. NBIC’s initiatives tackle global challenges through interdisciplinary collaboration and pioneering research. Jo also serves as a Director and Trustee of the Asthma, Allergy, and Inflammation Research charity and has led major research initiatives, including EpiGen. With a PhD, MBA, and Chartered Manager status, Jo was recently appointed as a Professorial Fellow at the University of Southampton, where she continues to influence the future of science and enterprise.

Sarah McKenna

Oxford University Press

Sarah has worked in academic publishing for nine years, with experience in both marketing and editorial roles. She received an undergraduate degree in English and French from University of Exeter, and an MA in English literature from the University of Leeds, after which she began working in the journals department at Oxford University Press. Now a Senior Publisher, she is responsible for managing a portfolio of science journals, working collaboratively with society partners to manage their journals both strategically and operationally. Sarah is also co-chair of the Society for Scholarly Publishing Community Engagement Committee, responsible for coordinating various regional and topical groups across scholarly publishing.

Dr Ilectra Adam

King's College London

Dr Ilectra Adam completed her undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the University of Kent, earning a BSc in Biochemistry with Cell and Molecular Biology, followed by an MSc in Molecular Biology. She continued at Kent for a PhD (BBSRC-funded) investigating the protein disaggregase Hsp104 and a potential mammalian orthologue, TorsinA, in yeast. After completing several postdoctoral projects at Kent, she moved to the University of Southampton for a BBSRC-funded postdoctoral research fellowship in plant biology. During this time, she was active as a postdoctoral representative and a member of the Concordat Steering Group, helping organise the Early Career Researcher and Teaching Fellow Conference in 2017. Following a shift in career focus, she moved into research & innovation support, initially securing a maternity cover role as a Contract Coordinator, which soon became a permanent position. After a year, she advanced to the role of Major Contract Officer, where she worked for 2.5 years. She later joined King’s College London as a Senior Contracts Associate in External and Commercial Partnerships, a role she continues to enjoy.

Professor Yin Chen

University of Birmingham

Professor Yin Chen is currently based at the University of Birmingham's School of Biosciences, where he leads research on the ecophysiology of microbes, especially focusing on how they adapt to nutrient stress and climate change. He completed both his undergraduate and master's degrees at Tsinghua University between 1998 and 2005, and earned his PhD from the University of Warwick in 2008. After completing his PhD, he undertook a two-year postdoctoral fellowship, then received a NERC independent fellowship concentrating on one-carbon metabolism by marine microbes. His research has expanded to study microbial adaptation across different ecosystems, including oceans and human respiratory and digestive systems.

Professor Chen's work integrates various omics techniques to discover new microbial metabolisms. His contributions to the field have been recognized with significant awards, including an ERC consolidator grant in 2016 and an ERC advanced grant in 2023. He also served as a senior editor for the journal Microbiome from 2016 to 2020 and is currently on the editorial board of the ISME Journal.