Epilepsy Society

Board Trustee

LifeArc

Accountable for setting LifeArc’s portfolio strategy in line with charitable objectives and delivering the portfolio through effective project leadership and management. Develop and lead the Translational Challenges as a core element of strategy; these programmes accelerate healthcare innovation by transforming promising life science ideas into life-changing medical breakthroughs for patients. They consider the entire patient pathway – from diagnosis through to treatment and lifestyle support in complex areas of healthcare need. LifeArc provides translational insight, spanning our core offerings of science, funding and advice and connect these collective strengths and resources with the expertise, capabilities and funding of other life sciences partners to catalyse the translation of innovation.

Chief Project and Portfolio Officer

Accountable for LifeArc’s Translational Challenges to accelerate healthcare innovation by transforming promising life science ideas into life-changing medical breakthroughs for patients.

Head of Translational Challenges

Accountable for ensuring effective governance, processes, systems and resource are applied across the entire company including our scientific research programmes, IT improvements, strategic and infrastructure, together with those utilising LifeArc’s offerings of advice and funds.
Developing and implementing strategy, translating LifeArc’s strategic ambitions into well-crafted and achievable operational plans, managing the portfolios, ensuring focus on the highest-level company priorities. Leading major change initiatives to support integration of emerging technologies and adapting operating model design for delivery and agility.

Head of Corporate and Portfolio Project Management

Accountable for building and maintaining productive collaborative relationships with major research partners. Managing the Tech Transfer of antibody technology platforms into LifeArc (transgenic mice, B cell sorting and screening, and in silico bioinformatics for candidate selection) ensuring all facilities, equipment and resources in place to optimise use for therapeutic discovery.

Consultant, Alliance Manager

KQ Labs

Accelerator programme run by the Francis Crick Institute, supporting innovative early-stage data-driven health start-ups to validate their ideas and put their exciting companies on the path to receive further investment.

Governance Board Member

PIPMG

The aim of PIPMG is to support development of the Project Management profession in the global pharmaceutical, biotech and associated industries by:
1. Encouraging recognition of the key role of project management in the industry
2. Enabling learning and sharing of best practices in portfolio, programme and project management
3. Providing Training, Coaching and Continual Professional Development
4. Providing a forum for communication and information exchange between members
5. Introduction, participation in and support of initiatives intended to improve the practice of project management internationally

Executive Committee Member

BTG plc

Global Head of Immuno-Oncology 
Accountable for the strategic direction and commercial success of our Immuno-Oncology platform, managing collaborative partnerships with global pharmaceutical companies, leading research institutions and societies. 
Lead a broad portfolio of pre-clinical and clinical research projects investigating the ability of our interventional oncology therapies (selective internal radiation, ablation solutions, embolics) to drive immune responses, both alone and in combination with immunotherapeutics (check point inhibitors, next generation immunotherapies).

VP Immuno-Oncology

Head of Global Project Management organisation  
Managed R&D governance process, annual portfolio review, and business analytics to track and improve performance, prioritising budget and resource on a risk-balanced pipeline of R&D projects that maximise business value.

VP Project Management

Head of Global Project Management organisation 
Line management of a global team (US, EU, APAC), set project management vision and strategy, ensuring effective project management resource, processes and systems applied across the business, with high standards for delivery.

Group Manager of Project Management

Clinical lead of multiple out-sourced clinical trials with small molecules, peptides, biologics and medical devices (spanning Phase I, II, III and IV).

Clinical Development Executive

Merck

Directed exploratory neuroscience research project teams, selecting multiple candidates for clinical development using pre-clinical models.

Research Manager

Directed learning and memory disorder program, heading GABA α5 inverse agonist pre-clinical research project for the treatment of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.

Project Director

Headed an exploratory research team of technical personnel running electrophysiological assays for Neuroscience disorders (CHO cell lines, Xenopus oocytes, mouse brain slices) for structure-activity relationship assessment of novel small molecules and drug candidate prioritisation.

Team Leader

Conducted exploratory research, characterising the pharmacology of tachykinin receptors in the brain (nucleus tractus solitarius, dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, amygdala, entorhinal cortex).

Senior Research Biologist

Karen Skinner is Chief Project & Portfolio Officer at the medical research organisation, LifeArc with accountability for their portfolio of Translational Challenges. These ambitious programmes focus primarily on Rare Disease (including ultra-rare diseases, MND and rare dementias, rare respiratory conditions and childhood cancer), and Global Health. In addition to her role at LifeArc, Karen is a Board Trustee of the Epilepsy Society and member of PIPMG Executive team. 

She has over 30 years of experience within the life sciences industry, having held numerous leadership roles in blue chip big pharma, specialty pharma, biotech and nonprofit organisations. 
She is passionate about biomedical science and technology, applying that knowledge to create innovative products that make a real difference for patients. She believes that collaboration is the key to accelerate the progress of scientific discoveries to create medical breakthroughs that transform the lives of those living with disease. 

Life Sciences | Director | Transformational Leader | Portfolio Management | Keynote Speaker

Karen Skinner

Strategic Evaluation & Impact Lead

King's College London

At King's my main focus was around embedding, optimising, evaluating and communicating the impact of our research programmes. My team and I won the prestigious ‘Service to King’s’ award at the 2021 King’s Research Support Awards for enhancing the impact culture at King’s and leading on the development of REF impact case studies (linked to c. £100 million in quality related research funding). I also won an award for exceptional performance under the 2021 King’s College London Recognition Scheme. 

Below, are some of the highlights of my work:
• Worked with faculty/departmental leads to identify all potentially impactful research projects. Initially, engagement with impact was low in my departments/faculties so we focused on ensuring that impact was championed at departmental/faculty levels, that there was appropriate provision of support in terms of time and resources for researchers to embed and develop impact, and that general impact literacy levels were raised;

• Key issue with many of the identified projects was the lack of impact evaluation/evidence (and a lack of skills within the departments to conduct this). I developed and led on a plan for all identified high impact projects to ensure in-depth/robust evaluation and gathering of evidence of key impacts were carried out in the most cost-effective manner possible;

• For many, there were also issues around the sensitive commercial data that needed to be gathered to develop these projects into impact case studies (ICS) for REF2021. I worked to remove such blockers, including supporting negotiations with key partners;

• Developed guidance/resources and ran webinars and one-to-one surgeries for researchers around impact evaluation/evidence gathering, developing impact narratives, etc.;

• I regularly organised workshops to peer review ICS drafts and provide feedback to all ICS authors. I followed these up with one-to-one sessions to work on the re-drafting or gathering further evidence.

Research Impact Lead

Vertigo Ventures

At Vertigo Ventures, I led on all official external communication, digital content creation, and, managed the company's brand presence and social media platforms. I also provided training and consultancy services to client universities on various impact related topics. Below are some of the highlights of my work.

Training & Mentoring on Impact:
• Trained hundreds of academics (from a wide range of disciplines) and professional staff from U.K. universities through workshops for impact planning & mapping, developing 4* impact case studies (ICS), evidencing impact, demo & training on Vertigo Venture's impact software, ICS reviews and one-to-ones;
• Achieved an average rating of 9 out of 10 for all trainings delivered;
• Provided consultancy to various universities around developing impact strategies and programmes of support for impact;
• Helped identify and develop content for new training courses and e-learning modules;
• Provided regular mentoring on impact for new staff.

Marketing & Communications:
• Developed and managed a comprehensive thought leadership campaign e.g. through creating weekly impact newsletters, blog posts and press releases, running monthly webinars on specialist impact topics, developing and engaging an international impact network;
• Led the creation of presentations/workshop materials for high profile conferences such as Open Forum REF impact event (UK), EARMA (Brussels), NCURA (US), Times Higher Education summits (global) etc.;
• Increased by more than 200% the annual figures for webinar attendance and social media following;
• Led and managed agencies in a major re-branding for the company's 10th anniversary along with its roll out across various platforms;
• Ran impact 'coffee mornings' and support webinars for software clients on how to maximise its use in planning for impact and the development of impact case studies.

Impact & Communication Manager

Goldsmiths, University of London

• Managed pre-award processes and helped academics from across the institution develop over £20 million worth of grants applications, with strong impact and knowledge exchange elements, including for H2020, RCUK, GCRF, Erasmus+, etc.;

• The first point of contact for all impact related issues/questions within the University. Regularly advised academics from a range of disciplines on impact related questions (e.g. Impact Case study authors for impact delivery or collecting evidence), and, also supported the development of impact sections in grant applications (e.g. impact summary/pathways to impact in RCUK bids), through providing resources/guidance, sharing best practices, or, reviewing/critiquing drafts etc.;
• Developed an 'Impact section' for the University’s intranet site containing key guidance, templates and toolkits to help with the planning, delivery, evaluation/evidencing and communication of research impact;

• Developed an institutional level Research impact strategy and action plan, in conjunction with senior academics;
• Co-chaired Goldsmiths’ Impact Strategy Group meetings (quarterly) along with the University’s Academic Impact Lead;
• Designed the framework for and managed the University’s internal Research Impact funds (administered bi-annually);
• Collaborated with Director of Research and the Academic Impact Lead (among other members of the Impact Strategy Group) for REF planning and institutional level strategic discussions (eg. response to Stern review);
• Held consultations and provided support and guidance for departmental Impact Leads (e.g. in putting together a departmental impact strategy, supporting/refining potential Impact Case Studies, or, delivering an impact workshop);
• Designed the framework for the collection and assessment of potential Impact Case Studies from around the University, and, worked with Director of Research and School Impact Champions to assess all submissions and develop a long term support plan.

Knowledge Exchange & Impact Officer

Open Knowledge Foundation

Supported Open Knowledge Foundation's (OKF) communication and fundraising strategies, through researching, evaluating, and communicating the successes, learnings and impacts of OKF's key projects/programmes. 

Also oversaw evaluation processes, provided consultation and training, and designed various tools and systems to support OKF's staff and community members worldwide to embed impact thinking into all project planning, delivery, and communication processes.


Highlights:
• Produced several Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) guides, toolkits and templates to help embed impact thinking into project planning and delivery processes, and encourage a learning culture, across the organisation.

• Conceptualised and ran an online workshop for staff introducing key concepts and tools in impact assessment for project planning, monitoring and evaluation. 

• Supported internal communications through regularly collating organisational successes, and producing monthly 'Success Digest' newsletters.

• Designed and managed the evaluation of the 2014 OKFestival (largest global open knowledge event), which was held in Berlin over 3 days, and saw more than a thousand attendees. 
Across 5 focus groups, almost 50 participants were interviewed for the evaluation. An in-depth 50 page evaluation report was produced, and disseminated for learning among both staff and key stakeholders/funders. 

• Designed and managed all processes for a full scale evaluation of the School of Data's Fellowship programme. 
Works included producing a programme logframe; building capacity through running skillshares for the global School of Data network (to introduce basic M&E/impact communication concepts and skills); producing various tools to help capture the outcomes of the data trainings run by the network; and designing/conducting in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and the Fellows themselves. Learnings and success stories were disseminated widely.

Impact Evaluation & Communication Manager

Open Knowledge Impact Case Studies
• Planned a set of impact case studies to demonstrate the impact of Open Knowledge Foundation’s main activities/projects, for both communication and fundraising purposes. 
• Interviewed over 30 Open Knowledge Foundation team members, trainers, partners, community members, and workshop participants. 
• Produced 7 in-depth impact case studies from the interviews. These were used in various ways throughout the organisation eg. annual reports, blog posts, funding proposals, website's impact section, etc.


Partnership for Open Data - Impact Stories Competition
• Planned and coordinated an impact stories competition for the Partnership for Open Data, on behalf of Open Knowledge Foundation, and in conjunction with The World Bank and the Open Data Institute (ODI). 
• Established and maintained social media channels for POD. Developed a communications plan, and produced/published a variety of online marketing materials for the competition.  
• Created detailed judging criteria that was finalised in discussion with The World Bank and ODI, and later published as part of the competition. Helped to judge the competition and announce winners. 
• Conducted interviews and wrote up the winning story as part of the Open Data Handbook's 'Value Stories'​.


Other works 
• Partnered with David Hollow of Jigsaw Consult on above projects, and was mentored on non-profit impact research, communicating impact, and other theoretical and practical aspects of impact assessment. 
• Interviewed Open Knowledge Foundation's Founder and CEO, Dr. Rufus Pollock, to record and present the organisation's history, as part of its 10th anniversary.
• Revamped the impact section of organisation's new website. 
• Deep researched funding sources for various projects.
• Contributed content for, and proofread/edited several funding and strategy documents.

Impact Stories Researcher & Writer

SB-SRBY Mission (India)

• Worked with various groups locally and internationally to publicise the organisation's charitable and fundraising events worldwide.
• Line managed the IT specialists in the creation and maintenance of a dynamic website, through the planning of its branding and features, and by working with them on design and layout.
• Developed a communications plan. Established and maintained the organisation’s social media presence, and also contributed content for their website by posting regular updates, writing/editing news articles and community success stories, and producing interactive multimedia packages in conjunction with other members. As chief editor of the website, coordinated the work of local groups in several countries, mainly via e-mail, Google docs, and Skype.
• In charge of liaising with similar organisations and building a network with media outlets. Wrote/edited the organisation’s official press releases.
• One of the leading project managers responsible for many local charitable campaigns aimed at providing people in impoverished areas of India with basic needs, e.g. fresh water, food, sanitation and education.
• Developed and maintained good relationships with key contacts and regular donors for the organisation's charitable activities worldwide.
• Travelled extensively for meetings and events held worldwide. Countries included Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, the UK and the US.

PR & Communications Manager

Hospital Telecommunications Systems Ltd.

• Main on location supervisor/contact person for the company’s Ashford Hospital branch.
• Introduced new customers to the new touch screen computers which also double as TVs, phones and information consoles.
• Assisted customers with general and technical enquires.
• Supervised the on location cleaning staff and IT specialist in the regular maintenance of the systems, and communicated any major technical difficulties to the IT department.

Customer Service Supervisor (Temporary contract)

Research Impact Lead at King's College London

With over 15 years of experience in the non-profit and academic sectors, I have an extensive background in impact planning, delivery, monitoring/evaluation, and reporting, along with stakeholder management and strategic communication. 

I specialise in working with research institutions, providing practical and strategic support for impact and knowledge exchange to academics, research professionals and senior management. I have deep knowledge of developing/delivering impact trainings, embedding impact planning and evaluation into research processes, and developing/implementing impact strategies for a range of organisations.

As Research Impact Lead at King’s College London, my main responsibility was around embedding, optimising, evaluating and communicating the impact of our research and knowledge exchange programmes. 

From 2019-21, I led on the development of King’s impact case study submission to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework's Main Panel B (REF’s physical sciences, informatics, engineering and mathematics panel). This majorly contributed to King's best ever impact ranking of 3rd among all multidisciplinary research institutions in the UK (and directly earned King's c. £100 million in quality related research funding). Post REF, in collaboration with my team and senior university leaders, we conducted an institution wide impact review and developed an action plan, in order to further strengthen the impact evaluation and learning culture across King’s.

Previously, I worked as the Impact & Communication Manager at Vertigo Ventures, the leading impact consultancy within the global academic sector. In my role, I provided training and consultancy services to client universities globally on various impact related topics, and, led on all external communications. 

At Goldsmiths College, University of London, I was the Knowledge Exchange and Impact Officer focusing on bid development, providing post-award support to academics for impact delivery and communication, and, developing/implementing institutional strategies in order to build an impact culture at Goldsmiths. 

I also worked for Open Knowledge Foundation - a pioneer and global leader in the field of open data - where my main focus was on impact evaluation and communication of key projects, and building organisational capacity around this through training and consultation.

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