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Office for Translational Research

 
 

Dr Anita Marguerie de Rotrou  
Anita is Head of the OTR, strategically setting the vision of the OTR with stakeholders, managing the team and advising on how to handle difficult cases. She has oversight of the overall project portfolio handled by the office and leads trouble-shooting where necessary. With a PhD in developmental biology (UCL), a postdoc at Cancer Research UK, 10 years’ experience in SMEs at operational, management and scientific levels, her expertise notably includes: setting up start-ups from scratch, product development, fund raising from investors, government, EU, public and private sectors. She joined the OTR in 2015 and was appointed as Head two years later.

Email: am2444@medschl.cam.ac.uk
Tel: 01223 335650

 

Ms Ewa Czekaj
Ewa is Assistant Project Manager/Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Lead. She manages the AIM HY Consortium and co-ordinates PPI and PPE activities of the OTR’s projects. Previously, Ewa was providing administrative support for all members of OTR, managing websites, as well as taking care of the logistics for a portfolio of projects run by the OTR. She was also responsible for organising meetings and arranging events related to industry and academic collaborations.

Email: ec588@medschl.cam.ac.uk
Tel: 01223 748091

 

Ms Marija Drinjakovic
Marija recently joined the OTR team as a Translational Project Manager, bringing over 10 years of experience in leading teams and managing complex projects. With a background in international business, she has a proven track record of driving successful outcomes. Previously, as Head of the International Department at a business school in France, Marija led the institution’s global expansion, fostered international partnerships, and boosted team efficiency. In her current role, she is coordinating a project aimed at enhancing care for preterm infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Units, with a focus on supporting kangaroo care.

Email: md909@cam.ac.uk

 

Dr Magda Gerigk
Magda is a Translational Research Programme Manager in the OTR. She manages a portfolio of projects awarded MRC IAA (Confidence in Concept) funding, helping researchers progress their work toward practical applications by securing additional funding. Before joining the OTR, Magda worked in the coordination and governance of clinical trials. She also had a varied academic career in translational research, from developing organ-on-a-chip models of brain cancer to advancing novel drug-delivery systems. Magda is an apprentice in Data & Insights for Business Decisions at Multiverse and is also working towards a PRINCE2 project management qualification.

Email: mg780@cam.ac.uk

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Ms Glenda Harden
Glenda is a Research Administrator in the OTR, managing secretarial and administration duties for the OTR’s events and projects. She has much experience working as a PA/Secretary in academia and industry including the National Environmental Research Council, having worked as a Project Administrator with the British Antarctic Survey. She has extensive experience organising meetings and arranging events at an academic level. Glenda spent time abroad working as PA for BHP Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited in Melbourne, BHP is one of the world’s largest mining companies in Australia.

Email: gh392@medschl.cam.ac.uk

 

Ms Cathy MacLean
Cathy is a Translational Research Project Manager in the OTR. With a background in Clinical Laboratory Science, and later an MBA in Health Services Management, Cathy has many years of experience working in the field of clinical research. She has also completed several courses in project management, including both the Foundation and Practitioner level of PRINCE2. Cathy has managed clinical trials and research studies at local, national, and international levels, across multiple therapeutic areas, and engaged with stakeholders at all levels of the project process including funding bodies, pharmaceutical and non-commercial sponsors, regulatory authorities, ethics committees, clinical research networks, local R&D departments, and clinical staff.

Email: cm939@medschl.cam.ac.uk
Tel: 01223 748091

 

Ms Zoe McIntyre

Zoe has worked in research facilitation at the University of Cambridge for 10 years, with a particular focus on project management and operational support at all stages of the project life cycle. Zoe joined the OTR team as a Translational Research Project Manager in 2019, and qualified as an Associate Project Manager in 2022 through the Association for Project Management.

In her current role as Programme Manager for the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, she coordinates a programme of translational research on key health problems across thirteen themes, including cancer, infection, diabetes, obesity, dementia, cardiovascular, immune and neurological disease and mental health.

Zoe is currently on maternity leave.

Email: zm276@medschl.cam.ac.uk 

 

Dr Luis Pennanen
Luis currently manages Cambridge’s Experimental Medicine Initiative as well as the Sunway-Cambridge Collaboration. He is also the contact person for the STAR TRACK project as part of the LMU-Cambridge Strategic Partnership and supports further translational studies in the project portfolio.

Before joining the OTR in 2022, Luis worked at a university start-up centre in Germany, supporting students with founder ideas through to early-stage start-up projects and oversaw the centre's grant portfolio. He holds a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Zurich.

Email: ljcp2@medschl.cam.ac.uk
Tel: 01223 748091

 

Dr Caroline Reynolds

Caroline recently joined the OTR team as maternity cover for the Programme Manager at the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. In this role she coordinates a programme of translational research on key health problems across thirteen themes, including cancer, infection, diabetes, obesity, dementia, cardiovascular, immune and neurological disease, and mental health.

With a PhD in applied animal biochemistry, Caroline worked as a metabolism biochemist in industry before transitioning to business development. Caroline has since gained extensive experience in research management and facilitation. Most recently Caroline worked with the Cambridge Academy of Therapeutic Sciences, at the University of Cambridge, where she managed a programme of work for the Wellcome-funded Institutional Translational Partnership award. This award supports translational research aimed at advancing therapeutics sciences.

Email: cmmr2@cam.ac.uk

 

Dr Reza Salek

Reza is a Translational Research Programme Manager specialising in MedTech and Medical Devices. He focuses on software, app-based solutions, AI, and GenAI (SaMD, AIaMD) applications as medical devices. In this role, he advises University researchers and startups on product development and technical document compliance, including establishing Quality Management Systems, adhering to General Safety and Performance Requirements (GSPR), and ensuring alignment with MHRA and EUMDR stipulations regarding medical device classification.

He possesses extensive academic and commercial experience. He previously served as VP and Head of Application Development at Bruker in Germany, where he managed a diverse portfolio of 25 products, including medical diagnostics, and oversaw application development initiatives. Additionally, he led the development of workflow solutions for large-scale computing (IaaS) and multi-omics (multimodal) data analysis and integration at the IARC–World Health Organization in France; established several advanced knowledge resources and IaaS infrastructure at EMBL-EBI in Cambridge; and conducted metabolomics research at the University of Cambridge.

Email: rms72@cam.ac.uk

 

Dr Alex Samoshkin 

Alex is the Deputy Head of the OTR, where he has worked since 2017. In this role, he focuses on connecting researchers and clinicians with technology and physical science academics to initiate and develop new collaborative translational projects aimed at improving human health. He is responsible for building translational and clinical networks and promoting and fostering external partnerships through existing and new alliances. Alex identifies industry stakeholders, leads and manages multidisciplinary projects and teams from inception to business opportunities.

Email: as2794@medschl.cam.ac.uk
Tel: 01223 336802

Office for Translational Research
School of Clinical Medicine
University of Cambridge
Box 111, Cambridge Biomedical Campus
Cambridge CB2 0SP

Email: translation@medschl.cam.ac.uk

Enquiries: OTR Enquiry Form