MicrobesNG - MicrobesNG Team

Technical Team

Jennie Law: Head of Operations; Jennie joined MicrobesNG with 15 years industry experience in Human Resources, L+D and Customer Management. She took up her role as MicrobesNG Facility Manager in September 2015, where she has set herself at the heart of customer service. She helped organise the commercial aspects of the Genome Science Conference and strives to deliver an outstanding "customer experience". Jennie is always happy to discuss the products and services on offer through MicrobesNG!

Pablo Fuentes Utrilla: Head of Laboratory Operations; My research interest is on the use of new sequencing technologies as both diagnostic and research tools. I started my career with my PhD in Population Genetics, followed by a job in Phylogenetics and Phylogeography. I got quickly interested in the potential of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS), and I have been working in this exciting field since 2010. After a Postdoc in which I developed NGS markers for genotyping by sequencing, I worked as Senior NGS Sequencing Technician in Edinburgh before joining MicrobesNG.

Mark Kennedy: Head of Software; Mark is an experienced technical leader having spent 20 years heading up the technology and design group at Gamer Network, and more recently on the systems team at the open source software consultancy Collabora. At MicrobesNG, Mark's remit is to maintain and improve the infrastructure and data intensive processes underpinning our commitment to accuracy and customer experience.

Fabien Cottier: Senior Scientist & Laboratory Manager; Fabien is a molecular biologist with extensive experience in DNA and RNA extraction from microorganisms. He obtained his PhD from the University of Duesseldorf on the identification of environmental sensors in Candida albicans. He went on to specialise in microbial genetics, gene expression and microbiota sequencing through several postdocs in the United Kingdom and Singapore. We were delighted to welcome him to the MicrobesNG Team in February 2020.

Álvaro Aguilar Vega: Technician/Microbiologist; After working as an Official Veterinarian, Alvaro decided to pursue a career in microbiology and completed a MSc in Medical Microbiology at the University of Manchester, where he developed his interest in Next Generation Sequencing. Alvaro has been part of the laboratory team in MicrobesNG since 2017, helping with the sample reception and storage, DNA extraction and library preparation among other tasks in the laboratory.

Charlotte Thompson: Laboratory Technician; Charlotte has joined MicrobesNG after graduating with a BSc in Biochemistry. During her degree she completed a placement year in a research laboratory where she developed an interest for microbiology, molecular biology and Next Generation Sequencing.

Vasiliki Kafourou: Senior CX Coordinator; Vasiliki had worked on different multidisciplinary projects as a postgraduate researcher, including food science, microbiology and chemical engineering before she originally joined MicrobesNG for a placement project in 2018. We were over the moon when she was able to become a permanent fixture in the team in January 2020!

Andrew Holmes: Bioinformatician; Andrew completed his PhD at the University of Liverpool, where he developed his interest in the applications of Next Generation Sequencing. His PhD focused on bioinformatic analyses of transcriptomic data for ageing and metabolism research. Afterwards, he worked as a data manager at a major birth cohort study, where he managed legacy data for millions of laboratory samples through data cleaning and migration to new systems. We are so pleased he joined the MicrobesNG Team in February 2020 to help drive our Bioinformatics services forward!

Steven Dunn: R&D Bioinformatician; After gaining a PhD in microbial genomics, Steven worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham for four and a half years, where he worked on a number of high-profile genomics focussed projects. Steven is passionate about the democratisation of bioinformatics and enjoys helping people realise their research goals.

Helen McNeil: Business Development Executive; Helen did her PhD at the University of Birmingham, looking at the diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in the Midlands. She went on to research antibiotic resistance in Salmonella, where she began to explore Next Generation Sequencing. After working as a lab manager for 2 institutes in the medical school at UOB, Helen joined MicrobesNG in June 2022. She will be responsible for key account management and business development and is really looking forward to combining her love of learning and science with a desire to facilitate new research and help people translate ideas into results.

Ayodeji Lawal: Service Coordinator (Finance); Ayodeji is a process improvement advocate with an academic background in Biochemistry and over 8 years experience in process operations and customer relationship management (CRM). In applying LEAN and ITIL principles, he is focused on improving efficiency, reducing waste and ensuring customer satisfaction at every touch point.

Prof Nick Loman: Chief Scientific Officer; Nick is Professor of Microbial Genomics and Bioinformatics at the University of Birmingham, and Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute. His research interests include the use microbial genomics and metagenomics for detection and surveillance of infectious diseases.

Rupert Loman: Director; Rupert is an investor and advisor to online media and technology businesses. Following 18 years as CEO of Gamer Network - a leading global online games media and events company he founded and ultimately sold to ReedPop - Rupert is now focused on helping businesses, founders and their teams grow to reach their full potential.