Blog

In recent weeks I have been seeing an increasing reference to the application of quantum dots in medical devices articles which left me to wonder; what on earth is a quantum dot??? A quantum dot is a very tiny (1 – 20 nanometers in size) semiconductor particle, that due to its very size takes on different properties than its larger counterpart. The characteristics alter rega...

At first thought, it may seem a little far-fetched to think that choosing a recruitment partner can mean life or death for your patients. Delve deeper however, and it doesn’t take long to realise just how much of a ripple effect the often polar-opposite methodologies used by recruiters can really mean just that…. If we were to split recruiters into 2 categories (outside of j...

Our world has been thrown into quite a turmoil this week with all this uncertainty about Brexit. I feel compelled to write this article not to talk about Brexit itself (as I am in no way qualified to do so) but to talk about its impact on our general day-to-day lives; and how we as individuals and as groups can find ways to navigate the uncertainty. I invite you to join the ...

In order for usability testing to be useful it needs to be as realistic to the real-world scenario as possible. Who will utilise the product and what will be happening around them when they do? I remember well the rush of adrenaline and increased heart rate that comes hand in hand with an emergency and the effect this has on the body. Medical devices are often used in a high...

I wrote recently about the skills you need to have a successful career in Validation, looking beyond simply having strong technical knowledge. I explored what differentiates a great Validation Lead from a good one (read here if you haven’t yet: What skills do you need to work in Validation?). Building on this, I have now had the privilege to gain additional insight from a QA...

The NHS published its much anticipated Long Term Plan today, Monday 7th January 2019. "The NHS will be the first health service in the world to offer whole genome sequencing for children with cancer and young people who have a rare genetic disorder, in addition to adults suffering from certain rare conditions or specific cancers." We still have many hurdles to jump over befo...

Before any product or service can begin its design life one fundamental question needs to be addressed; “Who is it for?” Brand and product marketing, in order to maximise profits, has always been concerned about the target audience and demographic that will be buying the product and how best to attract and engage with them. The application of personas to the design process h...

It’s no longer a secret that Cell & Gene Therapy is now considered the future of healthcare. That said, the number of market approvals has only just about hit double figures, each of which are still experiencing their own commercialisation hurdles that we are learning from every day. Nonetheless we have completed the cycle 10 times over, we know we can do it and we have an i...

To warn you, this is a little bit of self-promotion! But what I am aiming to do is clarify why I chose to recruit within the Biotech sector, specifically Synthetic Biology and Cell & Gene Technologies. I think it is essential to know what direction you are taking and why, otherwise success and true motivation will be elusive. Also from a business point of view to be successf...

It is now almost two weeks since myself and my colleague Steve Smith volunteered at Rarefest and I have to say I am still so inspired by the people we met, the stories that were told and the extraordinary performances we saw. Since then I have been reviewing the literature that we took away from the event and have been further inspired, reading about new developments in the ...