The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, a U.K. organization dedicated to the growth of the U.K. cell and gene therapy industry by bridging the gap between scientific research and commercialization, has announced the appointment of three new non-executive directors to its board. 

The new appointments are:

•             Professor Fiona Watt
•             Dr. Susan Foden
•             Dr. Steven Chatfield 

Prof Fiona Watt has spent 20 years at the CRUK London Research Institute and helped to establish the CRUK Cambridge Research Institute and the Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research in Cambridge. In 2012 she moved to King’s College London, where she leads the Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine. She is internationally recognized for her work on epidermal stem cells and their interactions and leads the UK Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Initiative. 

Dr. Susan Foden has over 15 years’ experience as a non-executive director in life science companies in the biotechnology and healthcare field. She currently holds a number of non-executive positions including British Technology Group, Vectura, Evgen Pharma and BerGenBio. Susan has a background in science, corporate and academic partnerships and venture capital. Previous roles include CEO of Cancer Research Campaign Technology (now Cancer Research Technology) and investor director with Merlin Biosciences. 

Dr. Steven Chatfield brings more than 35 years’ experience in the field of research and development within the biopharmaceutical industry. His previous roles include executive positions at the Health Protection Agency, Emergent BioSolutions, Microscience, Medeva, Evans Medical and Wellcome Biotechnology with a focus on developing novel vaccines and immunotherapy products. 

Together they bring a wealth of experience from academia, and industry to the board. They join Nick Higgins, Professors Marc Turner and Michael Whitaker, and Executive Directors Matthew Durdy (chief business officer), Dr. Stephen Ward (chief operating officer), Professor Johan Hyllner (chief scientific officer), Dr. Natalie Mount (chief clinical officer), Chairman Dr. John Brown CBE, FRSE and CEO Keith Thompson.