Our team

Gemma Bale

Gemma is a biomedical physicist. Currently an Assistant Professor of Medical Therapeutics + Head of the Neuro Optics Lab at the University of Cambridge, her work focuses on developing non-invasive brain monitoring in real-world environments where traditional brain monitoring isn’t usually possible.

Suraj Bramhavar

Suraj is an electrical engineer. His work focuses on how we can redefine the way computers process information to build dramatically more efficient computers. Suraj joined ARIA from Sync Computing, where he was co-founder and CTO, which optimises the use of modern cloud computing resources.

David 'davidad' Dalrymple

davidad is a software engineer with a multidisciplinary background. He’s spent five years formulating a vision for how mathematical approaches could guarantee reliable and trustworthy AI. davidad co-invented the top-40 cryptocurrency Filecoin.

Angie Burnett

Angie is a plant biologist and has spent the last decade focusing on understanding the power of plants to solve some of our most pressing challenges such as food insecurity, climate change and environmental degradation. Previously, Angie was a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge.

Jenny Read

Jenny is a visual neuroscientist, previously trained in theoretical astrophysics. Her work focuses on how we can build smarter bodies for robots through new modes of sensing, transmission of sensory information, and actuation through hardware advances.

Mark Symes

Mark is an electrochemist, with a 15-year career developing sustainable fuels in the drive towards net zero. He joined ARIA from the University of Glasgow, where he is Professor of Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Technology.

Sarah Bohndiek

Sarah is a biomedical physicist – currently a Professor of Biomedical Physics at the University of Cambridge, she is jointly appointed in the Department of Physics and the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute.

Jacques Carolan

Jacques is an applied physicist and neuroscientist. He spent a decade building quantum computing technologies before pivoting into systems neuroscience where he developed optical technologies to understand living brains. Before ARIA, Jacques was a BBSRC Discovery Fellow at University College London.

Ivan Jayapurna

Ivan joins ARIA from the University of California, Berkeley, with a PhD in materials science and engineering. While studying, Ivan co-led several tech spinout efforts, was twice funded by the National Science Foundation I-Corps, and co-founded a technical consultancy for biotech startups.

Claire Donoghue

Claire will join ARIA from her role as Senior Director in Data Science and AI at AstraZeneca. With two decades' experience in machine learning, she has delivered solutions across healthcare, manufacturing, and occupational safety. Claire is an inventor on 19 patents and holds a PhD in machine learning from Imperial College London.

Nathan Wolfe

Nathan is a renowned virologist, epidemiologist, and entrepreneur. Most recently, he was a Visiting Scholar in Stanford's Bioengineering Department, having previously founded initiatives to quantify epidemic and pandemic risk, and coordinate scientists globally to spot emerging pathogens. He served on DARPA’s Defense Sciences Research Council.

Brian Wang

Brian co-founded the non-profit Panoplia Laboratories to pre-develop medicine for the next pandemic. Brian has a PhD in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, conducted postdoctorate research in synthetic biology at MIT, and was Head of R&D at vaccine development start-up Alvea.

Nicole Wheeler

Nicole joins ARIA from the University of Birmingham, where she researched the potential of genomics and AI to detect and track new infectious diseases. She developed the UK's first software for screening synthetic DNA for potential biohazards. Nicole is also a technical expert for the AIxBio Global Forum and contributed to the world’s first International AI Safety Report.

Rico Chandra

Rico is a repeat founder who cut his teeth at the frontier of defence technologies. He has advised governments, investors, and high-growth companies on emerging tech and their strategic impact. He founded Arktis Radiation Detectors, whose systems are now deployed worldwide. Rico holds a PhD in dark matter detection from CERN and an MSc from ETH Zurich.

Yannick Wurm

Yannick joins ARIA from Queen Mary University of London, where he is Professor of Evolutionary Genomics & Bioinformatics. Yannick pioneered the use of molecular tools to assess pollinator health, has built startups to commercialise genome analysis software, and created a real-time network for pollinator monitoring.

Alex Obadia

Alex is an entrepreneur, researcher, and early-stage investor exploring the frontiers of quantum cryptography. He co-founded Flashbots, a unicorn R&D organisation working to preserve the decentralisation and permissionlessness of blockchain systems. Flashbots’ R&D sparked the 'MEV' industry and its software has helped generate nearly £1.7bn.

Tammy Thomas-Brown

Director of Procurement and Contracts

Tammy’s career spans the private and public sector. She joined ARIA having previously worked at two unicorn software startups, where she established and led the UK procurement and contracts teams.

Mike Tsang

Director of Finance

Mike joined ARIA from the Francis Crick Institute, where he built out their finance team through a rapid growth phase. He started his career in Big Four financial services audit before moving to the non-profit sector.

Cat Townley

Director of People Operations

Cat joined ARIA from the Freedom Fund - a catalyst in the global effort to end modern slavery. Here, she built their HR function, spanning 11 countries. Previously, Cat led the HR team in a tech startup, and has also worked with trafficking survivors in a residential programme.

Clara Zabludowsky

Director of Communications and Engagement

Clara joined from WPP where she worked with multilateral organisations and corporates on their communications strategies.