IBMS Congress 2025

Dr Sue Jones PFHEA, FIBMS, MRSB

Executive Head of Education, IBMS

Dr Sue Jones joined the IBMS in June 2022 following 20 years in higher education where she developed and led several IBMS Accredited BSc Biomedical Science programmes. Sue has extensive experience of effectively supporting students in their studies, when undertaking placements and commencing their careers following graduation.

Sue has won several prestigious awards for her innovative, inclusive and successful pedagogical approaches that have achieved exceptional student outcomes. These include the RSB HE-Bioscience Teacher of the Year (2020), Principal Fellowship of Advance-HE (PFHEA, 2021), Advance-HE CATE award (2022) and National Teaching Fellowship (2023).

Sue has brought her extensive experience and expertise in education to the role at the IBMS where she leads all aspects of pre-registration education and training for students, trainees and apprentices. Sue’s areas of responsibility include the Certificate of Achievement (for support workers); Certificate of Competence (IBMS degree accreditation events (BSc, MSc and Level 6 degree apprenticeships) plus the IBMS Registration Training Portfolio); non-accredited degree assessment; IBMS Laboratory Training Approval; the Specialist Diploma.

Sue’s current priority projects are focussed on updating, streamlining and digitising the education and training offers of the Institute. She continues to facilitate interactions and communities of practice by mentoring others and developing pedagogical approaches in higher education through her continued joint leadership of the national Biosciences Educators’ Network.

: @sjones120

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Donna Torrance

Head of Learning and Development, IBMS

Donna started her career as a biomedical scientist in blood sciences at Crawley Hospital before taking a senior position in biochemistry at University College Hospitals London. 

Donna spent 10 years as training manager in blood sciences at North West London Pathology and was a member of the IBMS Chemistry Specialist Advisory Panel for 5 years before then joining the IBMS as Head of Learning and Development in March 2022.

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Dr Jim Taylor SFHEA, FIBMS, MRSB CSciTeach

Head of Digital Education, IBMS

Jim joined the IBMS in January 2023 after a successful 20-year career in further and higher education. He has taught on a range of bioscience qualifications from GCSE to Masters level, and most recently led an IBMS Accredited BSc Biomedical Science programme.

Jim has extensive experience of digital education and digital pedagogy, working across the professional life science sector developing and delivering digital learning solutions for students in practice, and for pre-registration professionals seeking state registration. In his current role, Jim will lead all aspects of digital education for the IBMS.

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Jacqueline Wales FIBMS

Head of Clinical Laboratories, Golden Jubilee University National Hospital, Clydebank

Jacqueline Wales has been a registered Biomedical Scientist for almost 40years, commencing training in the south coast of England at Eastbourne District General Hospital after she returned to NHS Scotland where she became heavily involved in education and training within laboratory medicine with strong connections with HEIs and the introduction of the integrated degree route to registration in Scotland.

Jacqueline is the current multi-disciplinary Head of Laboratories at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital which in partnership with NHS Education for Scotland is supporting the transformation and sustainability of the health and social care workforce through the development and delivery of new accelerated learning and development offerings for key roles by the NHS Scotland Academy. As the Healthcare Science Lead for the board, Jacqueline submitted a proposal to the Academy seeking approval and support in the development of an accelerated programme for pre registered Biomedical Scientists.

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Laura Brammer FIBMS

Higher Specialist Biomedical Scientist, Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust

Laura is a Higher Specialist Biomedical Scientist in Clinical Microbiology at Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham and has been working in the department since 2012. She is currently based in the Virology, Serology and Molecular department, with particular focus on Molecular testing. She is a training officer and active member of the training team since 2021, mentoring colleagues undertaking apprenticeships, IBMS Registration portfolios, and Specialist portfolios in Medical Microbiology, and Virology.

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Catherine Lorenzen

Chief Biomedical Scientist Blood Transfusion, East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

Catherine has worked as a Biomedical Scientist for almost 40 years and is currently employed by East Kent Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as a Chief Biomedical Scientist in Blood Transfusion and has a recent secondment as Pathology Network Education & Training Co Ordinator for South East 8 network. In the Trust she is responsible for ensuring that there is a multi-disciplinary team of BMSs on her sites who are able to cover out-of-hours in the laboratories as lone-workers. She is on the Steering Committee for BTLP NEQAS and also on the IBMS SAP for Blood Transfusion as well as being an honorary lecturer at Kent University on the BSc course in Biomedical Science.

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Elizabeth Handley

Biomedical Scientist and Trainee Clinical Scientist , Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

Elizabeth has worked for 10 years at Nottingham University Hospitals. She has progressed from trainee Biomedical Scientist to Senior Biomedical Scientist, and is currently working through the IBMS Clinical Scientist Certificate Of Attainment Experiential Route.

She has extensive experience as a Biomedical Scientist in haematology and blood transfusion department in the busiest major trauma centre in the country, and is currently working in the Haematological Malignancy Diagnostics Nottingham team.

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Steven Terry

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

No bio provided

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Nicola Norman

Pathology Education & Training Manager, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

After initially completing the Blue Book, registering with the CPSM, and becoming an MLSO, Nicola has over 30 years’ experience as a Specialist Biomedical Scientist and Training Officer in Microbiology in North Cumbria.

Nicola recently moved to Northumbria Healthcare and her current role is Pathology Education and Training Manager. Since then, she has been on a steep learning curve exploring all the different routes into our profession and all the varied qualifications available in all the different pathology disciplines, including apprenticeships.

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Wendy Leversuch

Head of Learning & Development, Health Services Laboratories LLP

No bio provided

: @leversuch

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Phillipa Burns MSc, FIBMS, CSci, FRCPath

Consultant Clinical Scientist, York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Phillipa is a dual registered scientist, in medical microbiology. She is passionate about the development and education of Biomedical Scientists, including the pathways to clinical roles. She started her public health training in Cardiff in 2002, moving to Manchester to work for the HPA/PHE (now UKHSA) in 2007. In September 2018 she stepped back from laboratory management to undertake the HSST programme, moving across the Pennines to Hull.

She completed FRCPath in 2022, and began working as a Consultant in August 2023. Her clinical and research interests are varied, focusing at the moment on the clinical utility of next generation sequencing and NGS integration into diagnostic services. Her DClinSci focuses on SABSI in people who inject drugs, with a determination to translate the research into improved quality of life outcomes for vulnerable and marginalised groups.

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Catherine Lorenzen

Chief Biomedical Scientist Blood Transfusion, East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

Catherine has worked as a Biomedical Scientist for almost 40 years and is currently employed by East Kent Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as a Chief Biomedical Scientist in Blood Transfusion and has a recent secondment as Pathology Network Education & Training Co Ordinator for South East 8 network. In the Trust she is responsible for ensuring that there is a multi-disciplinary team of BMSs on her sites who are able to cover out-of-hours in the laboratories as lone-workers. She is on the Steering Committee for BTLP NEQAS and also on the IBMS SAP for Blood Transfusion as well as being an honorary lecturer at Kent University on the BSc course in Biomedical Science.

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Professor Sally Cutler

Professor in Medical Microbiology, University of East London

Having previously worked in hospital diagnostic laboratories both as a biomedical scientist and researcher, veterinary laboratories, Sally now holds an academic Professorship in Medical Microbiology within the School of Health, Sport and Bioscience at the University of East London where she has been based since 2007.

Her research interests started with spirochaetes with the opportunity to study Lyme borreliosis for a PhD at Charing Cross Hospital (now Imperial College, London). This was the start of her fascination with spirochaetes and zoonoses. Following her PhD, Sally's interests expanded to the relapsing fever spirochaetes where she was able to cultivate Borrelia recurrentis and Borrelia duttonii for the first time, which had been considered non-cultivable. She was awarded the Society for Applied Microbiology W. H. Pierce prize in recognition of this work.

Sally then worked on bacterial zoonoses, building a research interest in Brucella, Leptospira, Rickettsia and Coxiella. From here I moved to the University of East London. In this setting, she has been able to enthuse their biomedical science students about microbiology, hopefully drawing them into the fascinating world of microbiology. She teaches students at all academic levels and several post-graduate research students, giving her further opportunity to guide and mentor early career researchers. She has more than 125 peer-reviewed publications, seven book chapters and serve as an associate editor for Clinical Microbiology & Infection and Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases. Sally serves as an ad-hoc reviewer for more than 30 journals and grant reviewer for various UK-based and international organisations. She is a member of various microbiological societies and currently serves as an executive committee member for Applied Microbiology International and as Chair for the European Study Group for Veterinary Microbiology under the auspices of the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. She furthermore serves as Chair for the IBMS virology specialist advisory panel.

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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.

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Donna Torrance

Head of Learning and Development, IBMS

Donna started her career as a biomedical scientist in blood sciences at Crawley Hospital before taking a senior position in biochemistry at University College Hospitals London. 

Donna spent 10 years as training manager in blood sciences at North West London Pathology and was a member of the IBMS Chemistry Specialist Advisory Panel for 5 years before then joining the IBMS as Head of Learning and Development in March 2022.

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