Professor Barnes is a translational pharmacologist and has been a member of the University of Birmingham Medical School Faculty since 1990. He is also a founder member of the Neurotrauma Research Group within the NIHR Surgical Reconstruction and Microbiology Research Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, one of the largest referral hospitals in Europe. His research spans from human cellular and molecular pharmacological mechanisms to assessing drug efficacy in clinical trial and has generated an extensive list of over 150 research papers. Professor Barnes is Chairman of the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology Nomenclature Committee for Serotonin Receptors, a Councilor of the International Society for Serotonin Research and a Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society.

Adrian is Reader in Cancer Biology at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), having spent 10 years building a research group following his award of an Animal Free Research UK lectureship in 2016.  At QMUL, Adrian directs the Barts Centre for Squamous Cancer and is a member of the Centre for Predictive in vitro Models. His research interest is in cancer stem cells and how they are responsible for tumour metastasis and therapeutic resistance in oral cancer. He is particularly interested in how human cancers can be modelled using a combination of in vitro experimental systems and human tissue analysis.

Ana-Maria Cujba is a senior postdoctoral fellow in Professor Sarah Teichmann’s laboratory at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, supported by the Novo Nordisk NovoSTAR Fellowship. Her research combines bioinformatics, single-cell genomics, and spatial transcriptomics to study vascular and immune systems and their interface in cardiovascular disease. Within the Human Cell Atlas, she has contributed to large-scale, single-cell characterisation of vascular populations across human tissues and blood immune cells. She aims to further leverage these atlases to improve the physiological relevance of in-vitro disease models. She previously completed a PhD at King’s College London investigating monogenic diabetes using stem cells and pancreatic organoids.

Following a PhD at Queen Mary University of London on osteoblast responses to bioactive composites, Professor Dalby moved to Glasgow to study cell-nanoscale interactions. Awarded a BBSRC David Phillips Fellowship in 2003, he later became Professor of Cell Engineering at the University of Glasgow. Matthew is co-Director of the Centre for the Cellular Microenvironment and leads major EPSRC initiatives, including StemNiche and the MAINSTREAM Hub. His research spans stem cell engineering, nanovibrational technologies, and translational work, including veterinary trials and emerging clinical applications. Prof Dalby also directs the EPSRC-SFI lifETIME CDT. His current focus is stem cell ageing and human-relevant models for blood cancer.

Alejandro Frangi is the Bicentenary Turing Chair in Computational Medicine at the University of Manchester and Executive Director of the UK Centre of Excellence on In Silico Regulatory Science and Innovation (UK CEiRSI). He pioneers virtual patients, digital twins and in silico trials — computer-based methods that test medical devices and treatments on human-derived models rather than animals. A Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the IEEE, he advises regulators worldwide on accepting simulation as credible evidence. He co-founded the MedTech spin-outs adsilico and Oculomex Health, translating human-specific computational science into clinical practice.

John is a tumour immunologist who has morphed into someone who spends most of his time developing lab-on-a-chip technology for personalised medicine against solid tumours. His interdisciplinary Biomicrofluidics group in Hull, comprising clinicians, chemists and engineers, has been pioneering the development and adoption of bespoke microfluidic devices for almost 20 years. The group designs and fabricate devices from a range of materials depending on the desired end-use, with a move to using 3D printed devices in biocompatible polymers as this facilitates faster scale-up. The group has extensive experience of maintaining different tumour types, these include: glioblastoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, thyroid, renal and colorectal tissue.

Lorna is Professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Exeter College of Medicine and Health. She leads the RNA-mediated disease mechanisms group, and is a Co-Founder, director and Chief Scientific Officer for SENISCA, a senotherapeutics spin out company built on research form the Harries team. Lorna has interests in omics approaches to the study of human ageing and age-related disease processes in man, and her work ranges from ‘big data’ analyses to detailed individual molecular analysis of particular genes.

Dr Owen Kavanagh is a Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Science at York St John University. He is a founding member of the Coalition to Illuminate and Address Animal Methods Bias (COLAAB). Animal Methods Bias is when research is unfairly evaluated because it does not include animal-based experiments and it is barrier to adoption of nonanimal research. In this talk he will provide an update on the COLAAB strategies for addressing animal methods bias in scientific publishing and funding.

In 2017, Lisa joined GSK preclinical R&D as a Scientific Leader to head up the advanced cellular model platform group to support lead drug discovery programs. In 2018, her team moved to help establish the Functional Genomics department. Currently, she serves as Head of Translational Cell Models within Target Discovery and leads The Stem Cell & Complex In Vitro Models Centre for Excellence at GSK. She leads a team of ~40 scientists, focussing on the application of iPSC-derived cell types & complex human in vitro systems incl. organ on a chip & organoids for use in CRISPR screening for target identification/validation & preclinical research across GSK priority therapeutic areas. She recently joined the board of ELRIG & chairs the Innovation Group.

Prior to joining GSK, Lisa was a Royal Society of Edinburgh/BBSRC Entrepreneur Fellow at The University of Manchester & co-founded StrataStem Ltd, an innovative spin-out biotech company, utilizing stem cell technology to identify stratification opportunities for Alzheimer’s disease where she continues to serve as a director.

Cátia is a Lecturer in Pharmaceutical and Health Technologies at Cardiff University, working at the interface of neuroscience, cancer biology, and immunology. She develops patient-derived, human-specific models, including induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based systems, to investigate glioblastoma biology and tumour-immune interactions. Her work combines advanced 3D in vitro models with live-cell imaging and high-content analysis to capture dynamic cell-cell interactions and communication in human disease. By advancing physiologically relevant human model systems, her research aims to improve translational drug discovery and reduce reliance on animal models, with broader applications in brain tumours, neuro-inflammatory diseases, and kidney disease.