Bionow BioIgnite

Linda is Associate Vice President of Biologics Development, Manufacturing and Control at Pharmaron’s Centre of Excellence for Biologics based in Liverpool, UK.  A Chemist by training and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Linda has worked in the Pharma and Biotech industry for 25+ years, leading the CMC development of small molecule drugs initially and for last 15+ years the development of innovative biological drugs and gene therapies. 

In her current role, Linda and her team support the development of new drugs for customers.  She is also responsible for Pharmaron Biologics’ innovation eco-system of internal projects, partnerships and collaborations to develop and enhance Pharmaron’s services to meet the needs of customers today and in the future.

Linda is passionate about developing people aswell as products!  She supports a range of programs for professional career development internally and in the industry sector in the UK, including as a founder member of the Advanced Therapies Apprenticeship Community and the Bionow BTEC Mentorship at Liverpool University Technical College.

Since his appointment in 2017 he has established the Northern Powerhouse Partnership as the business led organisation which convenes the North together. From making the case for significant investment in key transport priorities and further devolution deals for the North, to challenging for a better deal for the most disadvantaged from the education system, his team are focused on how government, business and partners can drive the North’s ambitions. Before joining the Partnership, he worked in senior research and policy roles in policing and financial services, and as a former senior local government figure in Newcastle upon Tyne remains a commentator on regional and wider industrial policy.

Since 2020 he has also served as a member of the Royal Society Science, Industry and Translation Committee and is a board member of Future Humber

Dean Cook is Executive Director for Place and Global at Innovate UK. As part of the senior leadership team, Dean has responsibility for working across Innovate UK to embed ‘place’ and ‘global’ more widely across Innovate UK’s activities.

With over 30 years’ experience in research commercialisation, Dean joined Innovate UK in 2014.

He was formerly at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Food and Environment Research Agency in York. This is where his early career was as an applied biologist working with industry to reduce pesticide use in farming.

He then moved into various roles within the agency’s commercial and science management teams.

Dean is a fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and an MBA graduate of the University of Warwick. Originally from the south of England, Dean has lived in York for almost 30 years and has represented Innovate UK on a number of economic boards across the north of England.

Dean has a strong interest in innovation clusters and brings a business perspective to collaborative activities with other UK Research and Innovation councils.