MEET THE TEAM
Board of Directors
James Bojdo
CEO & Co-Founder
Alan Stitt
CSA & Co-Founder
Neil Williams
Non-Executive Director
Anne Dornan
Director
Alan is the Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Advisor at MediNect. He guides the company’s scientific direction and strategic goals, drawing on deep expertise in ophthalmology and regenerative medicine. Alan also advises on sector trends and innovation strategy, supporting MediNect’s mission to translate cutting-edge science into clinical impact.
Anne is Enterprise Network Manager at QUBIS (Medinect's Investor), supporting the development of Queen’s spin-out portfolio through funding, investment, and advisory networks. With 15+ years’ experience in innovation and economic development, she previously led Innovation at Manchester Science Partnerships and advises multiple boards across the UK.
James is the Co-Founder and CEO of MediNect, where he leads the company’s strategy, growth, and partnerships. With a background in preclinical research and 3D cell biology, James has built a multidisciplinary team focused on advancing translational ophthalmology and innovative disease models to accelerate therapeutic development.
Neil Williams is a senior biotech executive and entrepreneur with extensive experience in drug discovery, company formation and financing. As founder of KWS BioTest and Director at Nexus BioQuest, he brings deep scientific and commercial leadership to support innovation that makes a difference to patients’ lives.
Wider Team
James Bojdo, PhD
CEO & Co-Founder
James brings over a decade in preclinical research - specialising in animal model development and pCRO/biotech. As co-founder of MediNect, he assembled a dedicated team to advance research models, spearheads its strategic growth, and ensures everyone has the tools to deliver outstanding client service.
Prof. Alan Stitt, PhD,
MRIA, Gold FARVO
CSA & Co-Founder
Professor Alan Stitt is Chair of Experimental Ophthalmology at Queen’s University Belfast and a world-renowned expert on retinal diseases (notably diabetic retinopathy and AMD); a Royal Society Merit Awardee, RIA member, and ARVO Fellow, he sits on global advisory boards and editorial panels and now advises MediNect on study design and strategic direction.
Kevin Harkin, PhD
Head of Ophthalmology
Kevin conducted his PhD in the Xu/Chen lab out of Queen's University Belfast, specialising in Diabetic Retinopathy and retinal neurodegeneration, followed by several post-doc position in similar areas. Kevin's role in MediNect is predominantly client facing utilising his expertise to produce a robust study plan for our clients.
Sudha Priya Soundara Pandi, PhD Study Director
Sudha Priya Soundara Pandi brings 15+ years in cell and molecular biology—with a PhD on microRNA in aging and AMD—and 10 years in ophthalmology R&D across academia and industry. She’s pioneered retinal stem-cell and geographic atrophy models, led ex vivo drug-stability and gene-therapy studies (Oxular, Novartis), and as a senior validation scientist drove IVDR product rollouts while mentoring cross-functional teams.
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Lynsey-Dawn Allen
Principal In Vivo Scientist
Lynsey has over 15 years of hands-on experience working out of the Stitt lab conducting in vivo techniques in over 100 different studies. Lynsey leads the technical work for in vivo models. Lynsey's role in MediNect is to conduct in vivo research and train in vivo scientists.
Megan Kerr, PhD
Lab Manager
Megan has eight years in molecular biology, enzyme production, and vaccine formulation (pHion Therapeutics, Almac Sciences). With a PhD in Biochemistry from Queens University, she optimizes lab operations and drives translational retinal disease research.
Josy Augustine, PhD
Senior Scientist II
Rosana Penalva, PhD
Senior Scientist II
Maddie Smith, PhD
R&D Scientist
Josy holds a PhD in retinal disease research and has held several positions as post-doc under the stewardship of Prof. Tim Curtis, Mei Chen, Heping Xu and Alan Stitt at Queen's University Befast. Josy's 10+ years' hands-on experience is an invaluable asset to the Medinect team.
Rosana holds a Licenciatura in Biological Sciences (UBA) and a PhD in Neurochemistry (Max Planck). Her postdoctoral work spanned psychiatric disorders, sleep–wake regulation, neurodegeneration, and neuroimmunology across labs in Argentina, Germany, France, and Northern Ireland. Since 2009 at QUB, she studied immune-driven CNS remyelination and AMD. At MediNect, she’ll develop models for eye and brain neurodegeneration.
Maddie recently completed her PhD in the Costa lab based in Queen’s University Belfast where she investigated how RNA-binding proteins regulate mRNA distribution and protein translation during blood vessel development. At MediNect, Maddie is utilising her experience in angiogenesis in vitro models to develop new cell-based systems to study retinal disease therapies.
Mary Hanna
Quality Assurance Manager
With 12 years in higher-education biomedical research, Mary is known for her meticulous approach and deep passion for science. At MediNect, she champions a culture of excellence, applying her expertise to drive lasting impact.
Padraig Elliman,
In Vivo scientist
Padraig has over a decade in welfare and care and five years in regulated research. Fully licensed and rigorously trained, he masters diverse research models with technical precision and strict ethical compliance. His work consistently emphasizes best practices, animal welfare, and quality at every stage of the scientific process.
CONSULTANTS
Tine Van Bergen, PhD
Scientific Advisor, Consultant
Tine has 15+ years in preclinical ophthalmology—specializing in retinal disease models, ocular drug delivery, and PK/tolerability studies. Armed with an MSc and PhD from Leuven and a decade in biopharma, she consults on study design and leads remote teams from Belgium.
Arjuna Ratnayaka, PhD
DryAMD Scientific Advisor, Consultant
Arjuna is Scientific Advisor for Dry AMD at MediNect, bringing deep expertise in modelling and therapeutics for geographic atrophy. Based at University of Southampton, his work includes developing one of the first mouse models of dry AMD and collaborating on a small-molecule rescue approach for retinal pigment-epithelium dysfunction in partnership with industry.