Join Sir Mene N Pangalos, EVP & President BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, in conversation with Professor Tom Otis (Sainsbury Wellcome Centre) and Dr Anne Cooke (British Neuroscience Association).

This event will launch the BNA’s ‘Building Bridges Between: Industry and academia’ strategic drive and has been organised by the British Neuroscience Association and the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre. 

This event is free to attend, but registration is required.

Sir Mene will provide a pharmaceutical industry perspective on how to improve translation in neuroscience and take questions from attendees to help frame the conversation about improving collaboration between industry and academia.

The BNA’s ‘Building Bridges Between: Industry and academia’ initiative aims to foster collaboration between neuroscientists in industry and academia through events and networking opportunities. It links to the BNA’s core theme of ‘credibility in neuroscience.

Speakers

Dr Anne Cooke

Chief Executive,The British Neuroscience Association

Anne graduated in neurophysiology from the University of Cambridge and completed a doctorate studying the way nerve cells communicate, working at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular of Biology. She went on to work in membership organisations both in academia and the medical devices sector, before moving to her current position at the BNA.

 

Sir Mene Pangalos

Executive Vice-President, R&D BioPharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca

Sir Mene Pangalos PhD FRSB FMedSci Mene was appointed as Executive Vice-President, R&D BioPharmaceuticals in January 2019 and is responsible for BioPharmaceutical R&D from discovery through to late-stage development covering Cardiovascular, Renal, Metabolism, Respiratory, Inflammation, Autoimmune, Microbial Science and Neuroscience areas. Prior to this, he served as Executive Vice-President of AstraZeneca’s IMED Biotech Unit and Global Business Development. Since joining AstraZeneca in 2010, Mene has led the transformation of R&D productivity through the development and implementation of the “5R” framework resulting in a greater than four-fold increase in success rates compared to industry averages. In parallel, he has championed an open approach to working with academic and other external partners, changing the nature of academic-industry collaboration. Mene previously held senior R&D roles at Wyeth and GSK.

 

Professor Tom Otis

Professor of Neuroscience & Chief Scientific Officer, Sainsbury Wellcome Centre

Tom Otis, Ph.D. is Chief Scientific Officer at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour and holds a Professorship in Neuroscience at University College London. Tom received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biological Sciences in 1988 and his Ph.D. degree in Neuroscience in 1993 all from Stanford University. Prior to SWC/UCL, he led a team of 45 scientists conducting early-stage drug development in neurodevelopmental disorders and psychiatry at Hoffman La Roche Pharmaceutical Company. Before Roche he served as Chair of the Department of Neurobiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. His research has focused on cellular and circuit function of the cerebellum and hippocampus, as well as preclinical models of spinocerebellar ataxia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.