If the NHS thought like a Startup; Where would it begin?

Jen Taylor is Communications and Marketing Manager at the NIHR Innovation Observatory, based at Newcastle University. She leads the organisation’s marketing and communications strategy, delivering multi-channel campaigns spanning events, PR, digital communications and stakeholder engagement to raise the profile of its global work. Working at the UK’s national horizon scanning centre, Jen plays a key role in translating complex, data-driven insights on emerging health technologies into accessible, impactful narratives for diverse audiences across industry, academia, government and the NHS. The Innovation Observatory identifies and tracks future medicines, devices and digital innovations to inform policy, research and adoption across the health system.

Dr Nigel Sansom is Executive Chair of PinPoint Data Science, a Leeds-based company developing UKCA-marked, AI-driven blood tests for early cancer detection. PinPoint's tests have been prospectively validated across more than 13,000 NHS patients in a five-year real-world evaluation spanning five NHS Trusts and 170 GP surgeries and are available for deployment across NHS urgent suspected cancer referral pathways today. Originally trained in molecular pathology, Nigel has over 25 years of senior experience at the intersection of biomedical research, the NHS, academia, big Pharma, and biotech. He was part of the senior management team of the NHS National Innovation Centre and has since built a career supporting the commercialisation of health technology through roles in both academia and industry, and his own consultancy, Celaris. He is an external assessor for Innovate UK and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. Nigel also founded Lucensa Quantum Biology, a TechBio company working at the intersection of quantum sensing and molecular biology. He holds a PhD from the University of Aberdeen and an MBA from Henley Management College.

As Associate Director of Commercial Enterprise at The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Wayne Elliott leads a commercial portfolio across health & life sciences covering research, diagnostics, data and innovation. With over 25 years of commercial experience across the private and public sectors he also leads on strategic partnerships to drive revenue and reinvest into patient care. Wayne has a great passionate for the North East and its potential for growth in areas such as innovation and life sciences, and is focused on enabling our healthcare systems to continue to provide high quality healthcare for patients.