Anastassia Bolotkova is a cell therapy professional, who specialises in research and manufacturing personalised immunotherapy for melanoma patients.

Originally from Estonia, Anastassia moved to the UK to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in Molecular Biology and Translational Medicine at the University of Manchester. Being an open-minded person, has driven her to complete several international research projects in leading European institutes, specializing in cancer research.

When Anastassia came across the Business Development Associate position at the Innovation Forum, she did not hesitate to take up the role as she knew it would provide her with great development opportunities. She endeavoured to work hard in the role and achieved positive results! Her career has rapidly progressed and almost within a year she became a President of the Innovation Forum, Manchester. This move not only allowed her to support the Forum’s growth and become even more global, but also to better understand herself and do something she is passionate about!

More recently, she was promoted to join the central executive team as Global Head of Business Development

I am a PhD researcher in the Centre for Doctoral Training in Regenerative Medicine in the University of Manchester. My area of research is focussed on tissue engineering functional skeletal muscle through the development of biomaterial constructs. This aims to become a medium-to-high throughput platform to test stem cell therapies for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. I obtained my Masters in Physics (MPhys) degree in Durham University prior to moving to Manchester and therefore bring a quantitative and analytical mindset to my work. During this time I helped organise multiple student societies and undertook placements with companies in a variety of fields.

Alongside my PhD work, I have participated in multiple accelerator programmes (e.g. BiotechYES, TERMIS Business Plan Competition, ImagineIF) with fellow PhD students to both develop our entrepreneurial skills and gain valuable mentorship to take our ideas forward towards commercial reality. In June 2017, our team was successful in winning the Northern Consulting Case Competition. Having grown up on a farm in rural Wales, I have always been immersed in an entrepreneurial atmosphere and aimed to combine my love of science with entrepreneurship to develop innovative and impactful ideas. As well as my scientific and entrepreneurial interests, I am an avid martial artist and enjoy hiking.

My name is Liutauras Mazonas (Leo) and I am an undergraduate student at The University of Manchester. After finishing my high school back in Lithuania, I decided to study in the United Kingdom. I chose to study Information Technology Management for Business as I thought that these days it’s not enough to study one specific subject but rather a combination of many fields.

All my life, I’ve been trying to learn as much as I can, to challenge myself and use obtained knowledge to create something that would benefit everyone. As a child, it didn’t really matter for me exactly what I was doing, whether it was leading my own newspaper in middle school, being a part of our school’s student council or creating a student led start-up and providing leisure services to create the right environment for young children. As long as my work helped others – I felt proud and happy!

Here in the UK, I have already met many new people and joined different societies to continue my work towards improving myself and making our environment better. Currently, at the University, I hold a position of Marketing Secretary at ITMBS and as a Peer Mentor for new students. Being involved with Innovation Forum is a huge honour for me because here I can become part of something more, something that truly makes a difference!

With an extensive experience in business development, innovation, reseach and project management, marketing, communication, start-ups and STEM ecosystem development, Daniel is not only Global Head of Marketing and Communication in Innovation Forum, but also the founder of Innovation Forum Manchester, where he was President for several years.

Interested in entrepreneurship through leadership and innovation, Daniel has many years of experience working and leading international teams: he was Vice-chairman of the Young European Biotechnology Network, where he was also Chief Communication Officer and an Executive Board member. He has participated in the organisation of many scientific and outreach meetings in the UK, Germany and Spain. Overseeing more than 15 different branches in 7 different countries, in the Innovation Forum he has played key role in strategic development, innovation and talent management.

Daniel is also an experienced academic in the United Kingdom. With an extensive list of scientific publications, he is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Manchester Metropolitan University, where he investigates the effects of Ibrutinib, a Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor, on platelet and endothelial cells in the context of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. His research interests are inflammation, endothelial function, cardiovascular disease and leukaemia.

Recently co-opted to join the British Society for Cardiovascular Research Executive Committee , he is working in stablishing an online presence for the society and improving its branding.