Nexxus Scotland

Meet the Nexxus Team 
 

Dr Kate Rowley, Manager

Kate joined the Nexxus team in January 2006, taking on the role as manager of Nexxus where she aims to raise the profile of the West of Scotland as a thriving centre for life science activity. She comes from a molecular biology background specialising in Virology having gained a PhD from the University of Reading studying influenza. She has experience of working within the pharmaceutical industry with Wellcome, academia, the NHS as well as public sector funded research organisations including over five years working for the Medical Research Council as a postdoctoral researcher.

Prior to joining the Nexxus team she worked within, eventually acting as head of, knowledge transfer at the Scottish Association for Marine Science at Dunstaffnage, Oban. Through this immersion in knowledge transfer activities she was able to experience a wide range of technological disciplines from geochemistry to biotechnology and numerous facets in between. In addition to her knowledge transfer activities she was the business development manager for the European Centre for Marine Biotechnology, the business incubator co-located at the Dunstaffnage site. Kate has significant experience working between the business/research interface, advancing rewarding collaborative opportunities, which will strengthen her endeavours to progress the creation of a dynamic and interactive life sciences community in the West of Scotland.

Kate can be contacted at k.rowley@nexxusscotland.com

Jan Clark, Marketing Communications Officer

Jan joined Nexxus as Marketing Communications Officer at the end of January 2005. She is responsible for the ongoing development and implementation of the Nexxus marketing communications strategy, designed to promote the local and national profile of the West of Scotland as a centre of excellence in life science.   Jan aims to target key audiences with appropriate news and information about the West of Scotland life science community by building relationships with members of the community itself and also with appropriate journalists and news organisations through which this information may be disseminated.    Jan is editor of the quarterly newsletter Nexxus News and is always happy to receive news items and articles from any member of the West of Scotland life science community for inclusion in this publication or for general promotion purposes.    In addition she is responsible for placing of advertisements; ensuring that the Nexxus website adheres to best practice principles; arranging Nexxus participation in appropriate external exhibitions and ensuring the smooth administration of the Annual Nexxus Life Science Awards.

A graduate of Dundee University, Jan has 11 years marketing experience.   She has previously worked with SMEs and assisted them to raise their profile by improving their presentation and marketing thereby enabling them to successfully compete with other better known businesses in the same industry. In undertaking a postgraduate course in Exporting for Small Businesses at Stirling University, she gained a fuller appreciation of entrepreneurship and undertook in-depth case studies to assist businesses to not only evaluate their current position, but also help them to determine the best way forward based on both their own strengths and weaknesses and also the condition of the markets in which they were operating. In addition she has wide experience in the production of sales and marketing literature, market research, events management, and public relations.

Jan can be contacted at j.clark@nexxusscotland.com

Claire Gallagher, Marketing Assistant

Claire joined the Nexxus team in October 2006 as Marketing Assistant. Claire is involved in creating promotional marketing materials, organising Nexxus events and maintaining the Nexxus information management systems, ensuring information is targeted and distributed efficiently to promote Nexxus and the West of Scotland life science community on a national and international level. Claire is responsible for maintaining and updating the website which aims to provide comprehensive information on West of Scotland research and news as well as local companies and institutions; details of life science events worldwide; related links and general information on living and working in the West of Scotland.

A graduate from the University of Paisley in Business and Information/Media Technology, Claire has significant experience in database management, communications, information research, publishing and design. Claire comes from a publishing background working as an Editor/Product Designer with a leading UK stationery publisher where she developed editorial and designed products for a large range of companies and academic institutions. Claire also worked with many UK life science companies developing products in line with their corporate branding and building up knowledge and experience of promoting life sciences organisations in the process. As part of the business aspect of her degree, Claire also studied Small Business Enterprise in Scotland building up a background of knowledge in this area enabling her to fully appreciate the needs of small businesses and how organisations such as Nexxus can provide valuable services in promoting and supporting this community in the Life Science sector.

Claire can be contacted at c.gallagher@nexxusscotland.com