Workshops

Dr. Catherine Prescott

Catherine has over 20 years’ experience spanning research, management, and business in the life sciences and venture capital sectors. She trained as a scientist and has worked in academia, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, and as a venture capitalist. As Founder Director of Biolatris Ltd in Cambridge, she provides consultancy to clients in the stem cell and regenerative medicine sectors, supporting innovation from technical due diligence to market analysis and business development. Catherine has served as chair of the UK National Stem Cell Network Advisory committee and Director of the East of England Stem Cell Network, and is a Visiting Professor at King’s College London. She is widely recognized for her leadership in translating scientific discoveries into commercial ventures and for her advisory roles across academia and industry.

Dr. Will McEwan

Will has built his career at the intersection of immunology and neurodegeneration, and is currently a Group Leader at the UK Dementia Research Institute at Cambridge. He trained as a viral immunologist and co-discovered the antibody receptor TRIM21 during his postdoctoral work at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. His research focuses on harnessing the cell’s intrinsic immune pathways to clear protein aggregates such as tau, which are implicated in neurodegenerative diseases. Most recently, Will co-founded TRIMTECH Therapeutics, a Cambridge-based biotech developing targeted protein degradation therapies for neurodegenerative and inflammatory disorders. In March 2025, TRIMTECH raised $31 million in seed funding to advance its pipeline of aggregate-selective degrader molecules, based on the TRIM21 mechanism, toward clinical applications. Will’s work bridges fundamental science and translational medicine, with a focus on developing new therapeutic strategies for conditions with limited treatment options.

Dr. Chris Tate FRS

Chris has worked throughout his career on integral membrane proteins, including red blood cell antigens, transporters and GPCRs, and he is now a Programme Leader at the LMB in Cambridge. His group has determined many different GPCR structures by both X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM to study ligand specificity, efficacy and coupling to G proteins and b -arrestin. Most recently his lab published the first structure of a fungal receptor, an obligate dimer that couples to two G proteins simultaneously, and showed its unique activation mechanism compared to other GPCR classes. His group has also developed new tools and methods to facilitate the structure determination of GPCRs, such as mini-G proteins and conformational thermostabilisation. In 2007, Chris was a co-founder of the GPCR drug discovery company Heptares Therapeutics (now Nxera Pharma UK Ltd), based on his work on conformational thermostabilisation, which employs ~170 scientists based at Granta Park, Cambridge, and has many potential new drugs in clinical trials. He was elected a member of EMBO in 2020 and a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2021.

Dr Joy Bianchi

Dr. Joy Bianchi is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Policy & Advocacy Officer with over a decade of experience in research, committed to advancing inclusive and supportive environments in science. She earned her PhD in cancer biology from Institut Pasteur and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at NYU Grossman School of Medicine (NYUGSOM), where she co-founded the Postdoctoral Council and led key career development and community-building initiatives. She also started the first Science Policy & Diplomacy group of NYUGSOM and served as its Science Diplomacy Chair. In 2023, she became a Science Diplomacy Fellow with the National Science Policy Network and studied the French scientific diaspora in the United States (US) with EURAXESS North America, publishing policy recommendations for the US, France, and the European Unon. At Institut Pasteur, Dr. Bianchi now coordinates institutional DEI policies and advocacy initiatives and provides personalized career support to researchers at all stages. Her international experience and leadership in advocacy reflect a deep commitment to equity, global engagement, and systemic change in science. 

Mariana Mesel-Lemoine

Mariana Mesel-Lemoine is the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Institut Pasteur. A scientist by training, she holds a PhD in immunology and began her career at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil before continuing her scientific path in France. Her journey is rooted in values shaped by her parents’ resistance during Brazil’s military dictatorship, principles of justice, equality, and individual dignity. These convictions have guided her commitment to creating institutional environments where everyone can grow, be heard, and fully contribute. In 2014, she created CARE, a pioneering career development service designed to support scientists throughout their professional journey. CARE tackles critical challenges in the research ecosystem, including career uncertainty, systemic barriers to advancement, lack of academic mentorship, and the disproportionate attrition of women and minorities from research careers. It empowers individuals to explore diverse, meaningful career paths aligned with both their goals and values. Her cross-functional approach led to major institutional milestones, such as the HRS4R award in 2021 and the Institut Pasteur’s Gender Equality Plan in 2022. These achievements paved the way for the creation of the DEI Department in 2024, a historic first in France’s research landscape. Today, Mariana leads a broad cultural and organizational transformation. By aligning career development, inclusive leadership, and equity-driven policies, she champions a vision of scientific excellence that values diversity of paths, perspectives, and contributions. Her mission is to build an ecosystem where every voice counts, where difference is a source of strength, and where the full richness of the Pasteurian community drives the future of science and society.