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

Acorns Children's Hospice

Executive Director of Income Generation

Baron Davenport's Charity

Overseeing an investment portfolio of almost £40m and distributing around £1m in grants annually across the West Midlands.

Board Member

University of Birmingham

I acted as a knowledge broker and connector across the University and for the alumni community to drive a culture of philanthropy, cross-sector collaboration and support partnerships across a local civic and global strategy.

UoB is at the heart of an ever growing and evolving second city and through the £600m campaign Birmingham in Action we hoped to demonstrate the impact Birmingham is making to the world. Through supporting bright minds of the future, finding solutions to global health challenges, driving innovation, saving our environment and pushing for a fairer world, the academic community is at the heart of tackling some of the world's biggest challenges and the role of me and my team was to facilitate connections that made some of this work possible. The office raised over £70m for charitable focused work during my time there.

Associate Director (Development and Alumni Relations)

Shelter UK

Led strategic engagement with businesses around homelessness and housing policy and oversaw all VIP stakeholder events and engagement.

Head of New Partnerships & High Value Events

Head of Philanthropy

Focus Birmingham

Trustee

Penal Reform International

Income generation, communications and project development lead with a focus on human rights and criminal justice reform, in Central Asia, East Africa, MENA and the Caucasus.

Head Of Development

Birmingham St Mary's Hospice

Bids & Trusts Manager

Amey

Key account management of senior stakeholders at MOJ.
Sitting on contract mobilisation board for the TFM Prison Estates contract.
Development of communications collateral and training materials for all staff TUPE transferring.
Design and implementation of a 'welcome' roadshow
Managing the rebrand of uniforms, materials and offices over 30 sites.
Development of a communications and engagement strategy and calendar of events.
Responsible for data collection and drafting monthly contractual reporting documents sent directly to the client.
Bid writing and winning work worth circa £3m.

Communications Lead

Leading on the rebrand project after a merger with Enterprise.
Managing the library and content of corporate collateral including production of the annual report.
Development of the concept and content for a graduate recruitment campaign.
Bid writing.

Corporate Communications Officer

Key account management of major stakeholder relationships for the company within Birmingham. Acting as a point of contact for elected members, MP’s and local community groups with the aim to build relationships in line with our customer service KPIs. My main objective was improving the corporate profile and brand image across the division, as well as complaint and media relationship management. This was a technical role overseeing a budget and involved basic civil engineering training. I was also responsible for identifying new business development and bid opportunities for the Local Government Division.

I was safety inspection trained through IMTAC, a NRSWA Supervisor and hold a Diploma in Highway Maintenance and Management.

Stakeholder Manager 

Aspire4u Event Management Company

Non-Executive Director

Central Networks

Customer Liasion Officer 

I am a knowledge broker and relationship builder and it is at the heart of everything I do, whether that is through the teams I build, the vast organisations I have worked for, the varied communications strategies I have developed, the complex partnerships I have nurtured or one of the wonderful philanthropic relationships I have been lucky enough to bring to life. I believe in connecting the dots to make change and positive impact happen. 

Beyond my day job, I am a Trustee of grantmaker Baron Davenport’s Charity, giving around £1m in grants each year across the West Midlands and I have held several other governance roles in the past.

As a proud Brummie, I like to do all I can to give back to the city that has given me so much opportunity and I have been lucky enough to represent it on a global stage. I am always willing to be a champion and advocate for all Birmingham has to offer.

I am open to taking on a strategic Non-Executive Director role to go alongside the day job. I would love to bring some ESG expertise to a corporate environment.

taplio

The Battle

Karen Skinner

Victoria Smith

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