The Team

Dr Carl Edwards – Director

Carl joined the Hub as Director in 2005 from his previous role as Innovation Executive with Imperial Innovations, with special responsibility for the Institute of Biomedical Engineering. Prior to that he worked at Cranfield University leading technology transfer activities out of the Royal Military College of Science. Carl has a background of research, completing PhD (Leicester) and Post-doctoral studies (Nottingham) in the field of blood coagulation, post-surgical thrombosis and non-biological ‘blood substitutes’. He gained commercial experience through working as a consultant with a large number of biotech, technology and pharma companies including GW Pharmaceuticals, Alizyme and Biofocus. Carl is also the current Chair of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland NHS Research Ethics Committee 1. » contact Carl

Dr Lisa Banks - Innovation Manager

Lisa Banks joined the innovation hub in 2007 following 5 years at a Nottingham biotechnology spin out company. In her role as a Project and IP Manager she was responsible for identifying and protecting the intellectual property assets of the company, negotiating research contracts and licence agreements in addition to her management of scientific projects. Lisa is a qualified pharmacist (trained at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead NHS Foundation Trust) and has both NHS hospital and community practice experience. She holds a PhD in Tissue Engineering from the University of Nottingham and a BSc (First class Hons) in Pharmacy from the University of Manchester. Lisa is a Prince2 qualified practitioner with a broad range of experience in medical device technology and both the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. » contact Lisa

Beth DeGraft-Johnson – Communications & Innovations Executive

Beth, a former member of the Institute of Legal Executives, has a paralegal as well as administrative background. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Administrative Management (iam), a member of the Institute of Professional Administrators (ipa) and has extensive administrative experience gained more latterly at The University of Nottingham where she managed the administration and co-ordination of the University’s patent portfolio. She also provided a high throughput IP prosecution and technology transfer support function, managing a small administrative team, assigning resources in relation to all aspects of IP prosecution from due diligence, to technology transfer and the commercialisation stages. Beth was involved in the establishment of the hub. She is currently responsible for the day to day office management, promotion of specific innovations and the hub’s overall communications strategy. She is the hub’s first point of contact for all initial enquiries. » contact Beth

Philip Hartley – Intellectual Property Manager

Philip Hartley has worked for the East Midlands NHS Innovation Hub since July 2002 as Intellectual Property Project Manager with responsibility for commercialisation of NHS innovations. He also leads on training in knowledge transfer and IP. Philip Hartley has worked with new technologies in the computer industry for more than twenty five years including more than fifteen years spent working abroad in Norway and The Netherlands. His career has spanned both technical and commercial roles. He has started up and run his own companies, specialising in electronic document management and web based application services. He has broad experience in the practical aspects of protecting and commercialising innovations. Philip Hartley has a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Warwick and a B.Sc. in Molecular Biology from the University of Glasgow. » contact Philip

Nicole Dash – Innovations & Operations Executive

Nicole joined the hub in August 2006, and is responsible for the management of the information kept within the hub, and how that is carried out, in terms of our database and systems, and SOP’s (standard operating procedures). She has recently returned from an 18 month secondment to the NHS National Innovation Centre. Her background includes 6 years at Imperial Innovations, and a BSc (Hons) in Archaeology from University College London, and she has a particular interest in our early ancestors. At Imperial, Nicole was responsible for running the office, managing administration, and dealing with HR issues. Nicole also manages our current i4i awareness programme. Nicole is a qualified PRINCE2 practitioner, and also holds a Certificate in Personnel Practice. » contact Nicole