Oxford University Innovation appoints Prof Liam Dolan as new board member.

Adam Stoten, Liam Dolan and Lindsay Pearson replace Nicola Blackwood and Giles Kerr.

Oxford University Innovation, the research commercialisation office of Oxford University, has appointed three new board members to replace the outgoing Nicola Blackwood and Giles Kerr.

Professor Liam Dolan, FRS is the Sherardian Professor of Botany at the University of Oxford. A graduate of University College Dublin, Liam went on to obtain his PhD on plant developmental genetics at the University of Pennsylvania.  He established his independent research group at the John Innes Centre, Norwich before moving to Oxford in 2009. He is Fellow of the Royal Society, founder and non–executive director at Oxford spinout MoA–Technology, a member of the board of trustees at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, New Phytologist Trust, and Magdalen College Oxford.  He is also a Plant Science Advisor to the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and an academic advisor to the Crito Project, a prisoner education programme.

Lindsay Pearson is the Director of Finance for the University of Oxford. Prior to joining the University in 2017, Lindsay spent twenty years in professional services and finance leadership as a Director in PwC’s corporate finance practice before going on to be a divisional Finance Director with British Telecom and Centrica. Lindsay is a Fellow Chartered Management Accountant (FCMA) and a graduate of New College, Oxford.

Dr Adam Stoten is the Chief Operating Officer of Oxford University Innovation. He has over fifteen years of experience in business development, new venture formation and product development, and has served as a director on the boards of Oxford spinouts EvOx Therapeutics and Vaccitech. He also led the creation of LAB282, the £13m drug discovery partnership between the University, Evotec and Oxford Sciences Innovation. Prior to re-joining OUI in 2013, Adam served as Deputy General Manager for the Oxford-Emergent Tuberculosis Consortium, which conducted the first ever efficacy study into a next generation vaccine for tuberculosis.

The three replace Nicola Blackwood, who has returned to the Houses of Parliament as a life peer in the House of Lords, and Giles Kerr, the outgoing Finance Director of Oxford University.

Matt Perkins, Chief Executive Officer at Oxford University Innovation, said:

“These three appointments will bring an incredible wealth of knowledge and expertise to OUI’s already formidable board line up. Liam’s extensive background in research as well as his experience with spinout formation make him an ideal candidate while Lindsay’s financial heavyweight resume will be a welcome addition. With regards to Adam, there are few with a better understanding of how university innovation works, and his contributions to the overarching strategy of OUI at board level will prove invaluable.”

Source of original article.