Andrea Ling

Andrea is an architect, artist, and researcher working at the intersection of design, fabrication, and biology. Her most recent work focuses on how the critical application of biologically and computationally mediated design processes can move society away from exploitative systems of production to regenerative ones. Through her Ginkgo Bioworks creative residency (2019) she explored how to design the decay of artifacts in order to access material circularity. The project, Design by Decay, Decay by Design was awarded the 2020 STARTS prize, as well as recognition from Fast Company, Forbes, and the Falling Walls Science in the Arts awards. Andrea is a founding partner of designGUILD, a Toronto-based art collective and a former project lead for Philip Beesley Architect where she worked on a series of international immersive kinetic installations and textiles for Iris van Herpen. She is also a former research assistant and designer for the Mediated Matter Group, at the MIT Media Lab, where her team won Dezeen’s 2019 project of the year with the research project Aguahoja I, exhibited at the MoMA in 2020. She is currently an A&T fellow at ETH Zurich.

Iris Aquilina Anderson

Iris has 40 years of policy, business and research experience specialising in the bioeconomy, agriculture, energy and sustainability issues. Her various roles have included Head of Energy Innovation and Head of Renewable Materials. She is an evaluator for Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) and Horizon 2020 and the First Ambassador of Bio-Based and Biodegradable Industries Association (BBIA), a trade association promoting the bioeconomy in the UK. Iris has expertise in diversity and inclusion, setting up staff networks and helping to build and lead cross Whitehall diversity networks and help staff development through mentoring and coaching. Her commitment and ability to diversity were recognised in 2015 when she was awarded the British Empire Medal for her work. Iris is also the leader of Bioladies Network, which offers an opportunity to network, share knowledge and experience, and stay on top of the latest developments. It facilitates personal development and provides mentoring. Through sharing views, the members of the network gain a holistic view across all sectors of the bioeconomy to bring about the transfer of knowledge and spotting of opportunities.

Blanca Perez-Sepulveda

Blanca is a Post-Doctoral Research associate based at the University of Liverpool in the Jay Hinton Laboratory. Blanca received her B.Sc and M.Sc (Mres) from the University of Chile and then moved to the UK to complete her PhD at the University of Warwick, studying the molecular mechanisms of phage resistance of Synechococcus, receiving the Best PhD thesis award in 2016 for her PhD. Now based in Liverpool, her research focuses on the virulence properties of Salmonella Enteritidis by exploring the molecular mechanisms and environmental reservoirs of invasive S. Enteritidis and its phages, which cause blood stream infections throughout sub-Saharan Africa. She utilises a variety of skills to understand these mechanisms such as phenotypic characterisation, comparative genomics and transcriptomics. Blanca is also a leading member of researchers involved in the 10000 Salmonella Genome project, an international collaborative project, to date sequencing over 10000 Salmonella isolates from low- and- middle income countries, to help understand the transmission and virulence of invasive non-typhoidal salmonella.

Dr Lucy Harper

Chief Executive, Applied Microbiology International

After completing a BSc in Medical Biochemistry at Birmingham University, Lucy worked in hospital laboratories and university departments across the West Midlands. In 2003 she completed a PhD titled: Renal Dopamine and Salt-Sensitive Hypertension and continued her research career, completing several postdoc projects. During this time, she was offered the honorary editorship of Microbiologist magazine and when her postdoc contract ended, she took the position of Communications Officer for Med-Vet-Net, the EU FP6 project on zoonotic disease. Lucy began working for SfAM in June 2006 and in 2010 was awarded an MBA with distinction. Lucy was appointed as Chief Executive of AMI in November 2014.

: @lucyharper