News

New appointment at the Biomedical Research Centre

Manchester Biomedical Research Centre has appointed Dr. Penny Johnson to new role of industry liaison manager to boost health sector links with industry.

Dr Johnson joins the Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) from Intercytex Ltd where she was previously Director of Research, UK. Established in April 2008 with £35 million of funding, the BRC is a partnership between the Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Manchester. It is one of 12 major centres of medical research excellence across the UK funded by the National Institute for health Research (NIHR), and specialises in genetics and developmental medicine.

The BRC aims to translate developments in biomedical research from the laboratory to the Trust's five hospitals, where new treatments and technologies can benefit patients from Greater Manchester and beyond. Its work is also funded by the North West Regional Development Agency.

At the BRC Dr. Johnson will assist in translating research findings into the clinical arena and ultimately help to establish commercial partnerships with bio/pharma and healthcare companies to make new treatments, drugs and diagonostic technologies more widely available.

According to Dr Johnson she is "really looking froward to the challenge of this new role. With expereince of how science operates within a commercial envrionment, I'm keen to help BRC scientists and clinicians complete the transition of their work from the lab to the patient's bedside as quickly and effectively as possible."

"The North West is home to a major cluster of bio/pharma and healthcare businesses, many of them spun out of our excellent universities and research organisations. My role is to develop new partnerships between the NHS, academic institutions and the companies who can turn groundbreaking research into new treatments for patients."