IBMS Congress 2025

Dr Amanda Heslegrave

Principal Research Fellow, University College London

Dr Heslegrave is a Principal Research Fellow at the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) at University College London (UCL). She trained in biochemistry and assay development and has managed the fluid biomarker laboratory at UCL for 12 years. In 2021 she and Prof Henrik Zetterberg set up the UKDRI Biomarker Factory to accelerate neurodegenerative disease research, providing the facilities and expertise to measure key biomarkers in neurodegenerative diseases. She has been involved in collaborations investigating biomarkers in many diseases including AD.

Amanda's interests include super sensitive assay techniques and how these will be useful in screening for diseases, drug efficacy and the differentiation of disease.

Dr Lorna Jones

Higher Toxicologist, UK Health Security Agency

Lorna Jones has a keen interest in science and public health and how they link to identify hazards and their implications with risk to the public. She started this journey by completing a BSc in Biomedical Science at Bangor University in 2015 while taking a year out at Ysbyty Gwynedd to complete IBMS registration portfolio. After, she was employed by Ysbyty Gwynedd in Biochemistry Department and then joined the Biochemistry Department at Royal Derby Hospital in 2016. During this time, she completed her Specialised IBMS Biochemistry portfolio in 2019 and then became a Specialist Biomedical Scientist.

From 2023 Lorna was employed as a Higher Toxicologist in Toxicology department in Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards at UK Health Security Agency.  In early 2025 she completed a funded PhD investigating the potential toxicity associated with microplastics and human like gastrointestinal exposure in conjunction with UK Health Security Agency and Imperial College London.

Dr Agata Sobczyńska- Malefora

Consultant Clinical Scientist, Synnovis, St Thomas’ Hospital

Dr Agata Sobczyńska-Malefora is a Consultant Clinical Scientist at The Nutristasis Unit, Synnovis, London, and an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at King’s College London. The Unit’s collaborative work with national and international institutions investigating B vitamin markers in patients with cardiovascular disease, dementia, diabetes, and Crohn’s disease inspired her interests in the direction of homocysteine, folate (vitamin B9), and vitamin B12 metabolism, which she has been pursuing for over 25 years.  Her current research focuses on the evaluation of factors e.g. pregnancy, ethnicity, age and sex, which influence markers for folate and vitamin B12 status assessment. She has delivered over 50 conference presentations and authored over 30 publications in peer-reviewed journals, showcasing the Unit’s world-leading work in diagnostic nutrition. She is ranked in the top ten of world experts in Vitamin B12 deficiency and the top twenty in Vitamin B deficiency on Expertscape (https://expertscape.com/).

Dr Charlotte Hall PhD FRCPath

Consultant Embryologist, HCA Healthcare UK

Dr Charlotte Hall is the Consultant Embryologist for Lister Fertility at The Portland Hospital, working in the field of reproductive science for over 25 years (both research and clinical).  She gained her BSc in Zoology at UCL, a PhD in Reproductive Cryobiology at The Royal Veterinary College and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists.

Charlotte has been involved in the set up and delivery of 2 new laboratories over the past 5 years and continues to provide clinical support and training within her team. She has worked additionally as the Quality Manager and sits as scientific lead for regulatory compliance.

Charlotte has retained research links by forming collaborations to further research in embryonic stem cells and has been involved with provision of training and assessment for the Scientist Training Programme (STP) since 2015.

Professor Tim James

Head Biomedical Scientist, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Tim is laboratory manager and head biomedical scientist in Clinical Biochemistry at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, a post he has held for the last 20 years. Within this role he manages three laboratory sites including a large teaching hospital service. Working with clinical departments to better understand testing and to ensure optimal utilisation are key aims of the service. He has worked with many clinical teams to evaluate current testing and where possible introduce new testing and change where there are clear benefits for patients.

In 2018, Oxford introduced testing for angiogenic markers into routine practice following an outcome-based study of benefit – the INSPIRE study. He has on-going collaboration with the Oxford Obstetric team which has led to a series of publications encompassing diagnosis of pre-eclampsia, developing pregnancy specific reference intervals and identifying newer markers of obstetric disease.

Timothy Woolley

Chief Scientific Officer, Inuvi

Tim trained as a biomedical scientist at the Institute of Pathology and Tropical Medicine, RAF Halton; completing his BSc and MSc while serving at the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar.

After leaving the forces Tim has worked primarily in the private sector, co-founding Inuvi Diagnostics in 2018. Based in Gloucestershire Inuvi was the first laboratory in the UK to gain ISO 15189 including flexible scope for capillary blood testing.

Dr Sally Benton FRCPath

Consultant Clinical Biochemist and Director Bowel Cancer Screening Southern Hub, Berkshire and Surry Pathology Services

Sally Benton is Consultant Clinical Scientist in Biochemistry and Clinical Lead for Clinical and Specialist Biochemistry Services at Berkshire and Surrey Pathology Services. She is also Director of the Bowel Cancer Screening South England Hub at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford.  Previously Sally was Consultant Biochemist at Barts Heath NHS Trust and trained and worked at hospitals in Liverpool and Manchester between 2000 and 2008.

Sally has been working in Guildford since 2014. Her job is split between routine and specialist biochemistry services and the Bowel Cancer screening Hub.  At the Bowel Cancer Hub she leads a team of research scientists who carry out research to further understand analytical aspects and clinical applications of the faecal immunochemical test for haemoglobin (FIT) and other biomarkers supporting early diagnosis of colorectal cancer.  Sally and her team publish frequently in the field of FIT and early diagnosis of colorectal cancer, Sally was on the BSG/ ACP guideline group representing biochemistry.  She co-chairs the World Endoscopy Organisation expert working group on FIT for Screening and is Chair of an International Federation of Clinical Chemistry working group to standardise and harmonise FIT testing.

Sally has a long standing interest in LCMS use in clinical biochemistry and this continues in BSPS with a recently established LCMS laboratory that is co-located with ICP-MS equipment and the trace elements service.

Professor Timothy McDonald

Clinical Director, Pathology Services, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Professor Timothy McDonald is a Consultant Clinical Biochemist and Clinical Director of Pathology at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and an NIHR Senior Investigator in the Exeter BRC and Theme lead for Diagnostics and Biomarkers within the newly formed Exeter NIHR Health Tech Research Centre.

His research focuses on the use of biochemical and immunological tests to improve classification and treatment of patients with diabetes. He has published over 150 peer reviewed papers and is Chief Investigator or PI on several major NIHR, MRC and EU projects. Tim’s research has been recognised by multiple national awards including the HSJ Acute Service Innovation 2022, NHS England Excellence in Improving Outcomes for Patients award 2019, the Association of Clinical Biochemist Professor prize 2016 and the Department of Health, Young Healthcare Scientist of the Year 2012.

Dr Manisha Sharma

Consultant Chemical Pathologist, Barts Health NHS Trust

Dr Manisha Sharma is a consultant chemical pathologist, supporting  one of the largest bariatric surgery unit in the UK, with a big cohort of most complex bariatric surgery patient including duodenal switch, biliary pancreatic diversion, Single anastomosis gastric bypass in addition to standard Roux Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy surgeries.

Dr Sharma provides individualised clinical assessment and management advise for complex biochemical and metabolic derangements which are bariatric surgery and patient specific and supports the bariatric MDT and other clinical teams involved in patient management. 

Dr Sharma is also a coauthor for national BOMSS -British obesity and Metabolic surgery society guidelines which are followed in the UK and worldwide and also part of NICE quality statement. She has been member of Obesity Subgroup in Clinical reference Group, NHS England and has been working closely with Bariatric surgery patients for more than 17 years now. She has recently contributed to relevant clinical biochemistry chapter in  Handbook of Bariatric Nutrition, Springer publication, 2025.

Professor Sudha Sundar MPhil, MRCOG

Professor of Gynaecological Cancer, University of Birmingham

Sudha Sundar is a gynaecological cancer surgeon and a clinical academic. Her research programme focusses on developing, validating and implementing new diagnostics for gynaecological cancer, cancer surgery and addressing inequalities in cancer outcomes. Sudha’s research has led to change of NICE guidance to recommend maximum cytoreduction surgery for ovarian cancer. She has recently completed her term as the President of the British Gynaecological Cancer Society (2019-2022), the first women gynaecological oncologist to be elected to this post.

She is National Ovarian Cancer audit surgical lead (2023 – to date) and is spearheading the innovative use of routinely collected data to drive outcomes for women with ovarian cancer.

She has co-chaired the International Gynaecological cancer society conference Scientific program committee in 2024 and is on the International advisory board of Lancet Oncology (2025-)

Victoria Moyse

Training & Organisational Development Manager , HCA Healthcare

Vikki is currently Training and Organisational Development Manager for HCA Healthcare UK Laboratories.

She has experience of managing laboratories and laboratory training in a variety of service settings, ISO 15189 compliance with regard to training and competence, and successfully implementing programs to support professional qualifications for laboratory staff.

Vikki is involved in delivering university-led training courses on how to successfully complete and support IBMS portfolios, and training for laboratory training officers.

She is passionate about laboratory management and training in biomedical science, and has recently undertaken a research project looking at post-registration training for biomedical scientists across the UK.

Martin McFadden

Diagnostic Programme Manager, South Tyneside and Sunderalnd NHS Foundation Trust

Martin McFadden is Senior Science Lead at NHS England, where he provides national leadership and strategic insight on workforce and scientific matters. A Chartered Scientist and Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS), Martin brings a wealth of experience across diagnostic services, quality management, and scientific education.

He currently serves as Strategic Advisor for GP Liaison Services Limited, supporting innovation in primary and secondary care integration. His previous roles include Diagnostic Programme Manager for the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System (NENC ICS), Blood Science Service Lead at South Tees NHS Foundation Trust, and Quality Development Manager at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Martin is actively involved with the IBMS, serving as a Panel Member for Clinical Biochemistry and Quality, and as a Module Facilitator for the Institute’s Certificate of Expert Practice in Quality Management. He is a former Deputy Chief Examiner for the Higher Specialist examination in Clinical Biochemistry and has contributed to the profession as a referee for the British Journal of Biomedical Science.

Lee Peters MSc CSci FIBMS

Blood Science Service Manager, Hywel Dda University Health Board

Lee has been a Biomedical scientist since 2004, working in both Biochemistry and POCT. His current role is the service manager in blood sciences in Hywel Dda University Health Board, managing the chemistry, haematology/BT and POCT service.

Lee is a chartered scientist and fellow of the IBMS. He is part of both the Clinical chemistry and POCT IBMS advisory panels and has been a portfolio verifier since 2010. His research focuses on Biomedical scientist education and POCT training and education.

Andrew Turner

Managing Director, GP Liaison Services Limited, UK

Andrew is the founder of GP Liaison Services, he has over 25 years experience supporting the NHS and Healthcare organisations improve systems workflows.  

Tracking NHS patient samples is often tricky - with disparate datasets and legacy routing tools.

Andrew has developed bespoke real-time routing solutions that integrate seamlessly into new and existing NHS dashboards to make insights into cost and turnaround times simple.

The solution has a track record of delivering net cost reductions and improved patient outcomes and has been deployed in several NHS Trusts.

His wider consulting services support NHS teams across a range of problems: from strategic options assessments to building best-in-class data intelligence practices.

Jessica Merrils

Senior Biomedical Scientist, The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust

No bio provided

Nathan Timbrell

Synnovis, St Thomas Hospital

No bio provided

Sheri Scott CSci FIBMS SFHEA

Principal Lecturer in Biomedical Science and IBMS Council Member, Nottingham Trent University

Sheri is a Principal Lecturer in Biomedical Science at Nottingham Trent University.

After a career covering 22 years working in Clinical Biochemistry in NHS laboratories, Sheri joined Nottingham Trent University in 2018, where she is a Principal Lecturer in Biomedical Science.

Sheri was the IBMS HSD Chief Examiner 2020-2024 for the Clinical Chemistry discipline and she continues to support clinical laboratory training through her IBMS Clinical Chemistry Specialist advisory panel and Council roles. Sheri is an active fellow and council member of the Institute of Biomedical Science.

Gareth Davies

Deputy Director, WEQAS, Cardiff and Vale UHB

Gareth Davies is the Deputy Director, Principal Biochemist and Research and Development Manager at Weqas with over 15 years’ experience in Laboratory Medicine. Gareth is responsible for R&D and new programme development, and provides EQA interpretation, support and troubleshooting. He is a current member of the National Clinical Biochemistry Audit Group (NCBAG), the All Wales Clinical Biochemistry Audit Group (AWCBAG), and the ACB Pre-Analytical Phase Special Interest Group (ACB PA SIG).

Dr Rachel Marrington

Consultant EQA Scientist & Deputy Director, Birmingham Quality (UK NEQAS)

Dr Rachel is a Consultant Clinical Scientist and the Deputy Director of Birmingham Quality (UK NEQAS). Birmingham Quality is a department at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. Prior to working at Birmingham Quality she worked for 12 years as a Clinical Biochemist at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (now part of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust) working my way up to a Principal Clinical Scientist and gaining a lot of experience about the routine running of a laboratory! She gained her FRCPath in 2010.

Dr Rachel is the UK NEQAS Scheme Organiser for a number of EQA Schemes including the UK NEQAS for Serum Indices, UK NEQAS for Vitamin D and UK NEQAS for Antibiotics to name a few. Her main areas of interest lie with Pre- and Post-Analytical Quality, where she is on the EFLM HIL Task & Finish Group and the EFLM Working Group Post Analytical. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees for UK NEQAS and for EQALM, which is the European Association of EQA providers in Laboratory Medicine.

Susan Troup

Principal Clinical Scientist, South of Tyne & Wear Clinical Pathology Services

Susan is a Principal Clinical Scientist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead (part of South of Tyne and Wear Pathology Services). After 2 years working as an assistant forensic scientist, Susan undertook her initial training as a Clinical Scientist at Charing Cross Hospital in London. On competition she moved to Gateshead where she has worked as a Senior then Principal Clinical Scientist for the past 17 years.

Susan's key areas of interest include LCMS, IT, and training. She is actively involved with professional bodies and is a Regional Tutor for the Association for Laboratory Medicine, an examiner with the Royal College of Pathologists, and an Assessor for the UKNEQAS Interpretative Comments scheme.

Dr Amro Maarouf MRCP FRCPath

Specialist Registrar in Chemical Pathology and Metabolic Medicine , Black Country Pathology Services

Dr Amro Maarouf graduated from the University of Birmingham and works a specialist registrar in Chemical Pathology/Metabolic Medicine in the West Midlands. Prior to this, he was working as a general practitioner in a busy urban practice in Birmingham for several years. A gravitation towards abnormal biochemistry results in primary care, made re-training in clinical biochemistry an easy transition.

Dr Maarouf’s clinical interests include the management of lipids, diabetes, obesity and metabolic bone disorders. He is particularly interested in some of the rarer lipid diseases which may have a genetic basis.

Dr Lewis Couchman

Analytical Services International Ltd

No bio provided

Dr Joanne Rogers

Consultant Clinical Scientist, University Hospital Llandough

No bio provided

Dr Gwen Wark

Berkshire & Surrey Pathology Services

No bio provided

Dr Nigel Brown FIBMS, FRCPath, MRSC

Consultant Clinical Biochemist, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Nigel Brown is currently working on the bank to support his successor as she leads the regional toxicology service at Wansbeck General Hospital. He has worked as a biomedical scientist and clinical scientist in clinical biochemistry and toxicology and has wide experience in both the analytical techniques and the interpretation of the results for clinical and non-clinical staff. His PhD was in the area of neuroendocrinology, specifically in the control of eating and satiety.