Our People

Our 23-strong team boasts deep experience in RNA biology, bioinformatics analytics, neuro-translation and development.

Our Leadership Team

Dr Jan Thirkettle

Dr Jan Thirkettle

CEO

 Dr Andy Billinton

Dr Andy Billinton

CSO

 Dr Madeleine Wakeling

Dr Madeleine Wakeling

COO

 Dr Tom Briston

Dr Tom Briston

Research Director

 Dr Marc Watson

Dr Marc Watson

Research Director

 Mandy Cowling

Mandy Cowling

EA, Office Manager and HR Lead

Our Board of Directors

Heather Preston

Chair

  • Non-Executive Director of Oxford Biomedica, Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc and of Aligos Therapeutics
  • Senior Advisor of TPG Biotech
  • Served as a Director on the Boards of Oxford Science Enterprises plc, Karuna Pharmaceuticals and Akouos Inc.
  • Over 30 years of experience in healthcare, as a scientist, physician and management consultant and an investor in life sciences and biotechnology for more than 20 years.
  • Degree in Medicine from the University of Oxford

Christian Jung

Investor Director, Dementia Discovery Fund

  • Partner at SV Health Investors and co-lead for the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) currently representing the fund on the Boards of Harness Therapeutics Ltd, Amphista Therapeutics Ltd, Leal Therapeutics, LLC and LoQus23 Therapeutics Ltd
  • Previously Principal with Wellington Partners and Senior Investment Manager for High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF)
  • MSc degree in Molecular Biotechnology
  • PhD with distinction in Medical Science and Technology from the Technical University of Munich

Jiaping Gu

Investor Director, Takeda Ventures

  • Takeda Ventures - Partner
  • 8+ years of experience in public and private life science investments. Previously Vice President at Hillhouse Capital covering private stage biotech investments in the US and Europe
  • 10+ years of research experience focusing on neurodegeneration as a scientist in the pharmaceutical industry and academic institutions.
  • Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Rutgers University and B.S. in Biological Sciences from Tsinghua University

Mary Canning

Observer, Epidarex Capital

  • Partner: Epidarex Capital
  • Director: Caldan Therapeutics, LUNAC Therapeutics and Glasgow University Holdings Ltd
  • Commercialised academic research with MRC Technology
  • PhD and postdoctoral research in molecular biology

Dirk Landgraf

Observer, Dementia Discovery Fund

  • SV Health Investors: Principal and Dementia Discovery Fund
  • Biogen: External Innovation and Business Development
  • Whitehead/MIT: Postdoctoral research on protein misfolding toxicities
  • PhD Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School

Haruhito Tsutsui

Observer, Ono Venture Investment

  • Investment Director: Ono Venture Investment
  • Senior Manager: Discovery Research Alliance, Neurology Research Center, Ono Pharmaceutical / Ono Pharma UK
  • Researcher: Biomarker Research, Ono Pharmaceutical
  • PhD in pharmacology, bioanalysis

Paulo Fontoura

Independent Director

  • Roche: Senior Vice President and Global Head of Clinical Development for Neuroscience, Immunology, Ophthalmology, Rare and Infectious Diseases
  • Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship Stanford University
  • MD PhD New University of Lisbon, Neurology training, summa cum laude

Jan Thirkettle

CEO Director

  • Freeline Therapeutics – CEO and CDO
  • GSK – Discovery to Manufacturing
  • Strimvelis – the first ex vivo gene therapy approved by EMA
  • MA in Chemistry and a DPhil in Biological Chemistry, University of Oxford

Our Clinical Advisory Board

Dr Irina Antonijevic

Chair

  • Experienced clinician and drug development leader, widely recognized for her leadership in advancing innovative therapies from early development through clinical stages, particularly in areas with high unmet medical needs such as neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders.
  • Currently serving as Chief Medical Officer at Trace Neuroscience
  • Dr. Antonijevic is a board-certified physician trained in both psychiatry and neurology, with deep expertise in translational medicine and clinical development strategies

Dr Anne Rosser

Cardiff University

  • Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at Cardiff University and an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at the University Hospital of Wales, leading the South Wales clinical service for Huntington’s disease.
  • She co-leads the Cardiff University Brain Repair Group, a multidisciplinary research team focused on developing cell-based and regenerative therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.
  • Dr. Rosser previously served as Chair of the European Huntington’s Disease Network (EHDN) and is currently Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine.

Dr Jeffrey Long

University of Iowa

  • Professor of Psychiatry and Biostatistics at the University of Iowa Health Care / Carver College of Medicine applying statistical modeling to neurodegenerative diseases, with a special emphasis on Huntington’s disease.
  • He develops and refines disease progression indexes, critical for understanding natural disease trajectories and planning clinical trials.
  • Dr Long also serves as Lead Biostatistician for NIH-funded longitudinal studies, such as REDICT-HD, and plays a key role as Head Biostatistician in the Data Coordinating Center of the NeuroNEXT clinical trials network.

Dr Ralf Reilmann

George Huntington Institute

  • Founding Director and Chief Executive Officer of the George-Huntington-Institute (GHI) in Münster, Germany, a private research institute devoted to clinical care and research in Huntington’s disease. Under his leadership, the Institute participates in key Huntington’s observational studies including ENROLL-HD and clinical trials exploring disease-modifying therapies and gene therapy approaches.
  • Dr. Reilmann is a board-certified neurologist, widely recognized for his commitment to improving trial outcomes, patient care, and global collaboration in Huntington’s research.

Dr Roger Barker

University of Cambridge

  • Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.
  • Serving as Lead Academic Scientist for the Alzheimer’s Research UK Drug Discovery Institute in Cambridge and Lead Consultant for the East of England Huntington’s Disease Service. His research focuses on clinical characterization of neurodegenerative disorders and the development of new therapeutic approaches, especially cell- and gene-based treatments.
  • Dr. Barker has led and coordinated major research programmes, including European projects and stem cell trials for Parkinson's disease as well as a range of trials in Huntington's disease.

Dr Sarah Tabrizi

University College London

  • Professor of Clinical Neurology at University College London, internationally recognised for her research in neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Huntington’s disease.
  • Holding several prestigious roles across UCL’s neuroscience community and the UK's top clinical research institutions recognised with many major awards. Her work has transformed the Huntington’s field, establishing frameworks for disease staging, biomarker development, and therapeutic trials that serve as models for other neurodegenerative conditions.
  • Dr. Tabrizi’s bench-to-bedside approach integrates deep biological insight with clinical trials to bring hope to patients with previously untreatable conditions.

Dr William Gray

Cardiff University

  • Professor of Functional Neurosurgery at Cardiff University and Honorary Consultant Neurosurgeon at the University Hospital of Wales.
  • He brings dual expertise in clinical neurosurgery and neuroscience research, especially focused on disorders like epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and frontotemporal dementia. He serves as Director of the Advanced NeuroTherapies Centre (ANTC), developing and delivering emerging therapies directly to the brain, is the Academic Lead in Neurosurgery in Wales, and Head of the Brain Repair and Intracranial Neurotherapeutics (BRAIN) Unit. Dr. Gray is the UK Chief Investigator for the uniQure AMT-130 gene therapy trial in Huntington’s disease and Principal Investigator for gene therapy trials in frontotemporal dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
  • He also co-leads the European Huntington’s Disease Network ATMP Working Group and chairs its Surgical Delivery Task Force.

Corporate team

Dr Jan Thirkettle

Dr Jan Thirkettle

CEO

Dr Madeleine Wakeling

Dr Madeleine Wakeling

COO

Dr Andy Billinton

Dr Andy Billinton

CSO

Mandy Cowling

Mandy Cowling

EA, Office Manager and HR Lead

Programme Management & Operations

Dr Wendy Williams

Dr Wendy Williams

Research PM

Ewan Baldwin

Ewan Baldwin

Operations Manager

Discovery & Computational Biology

Dr Marc Watson

Dr Marc Watson

Research Director

Dr Yi-Fang Wang

Dr Yi-Fang Wang

Principal Scientist

Dr Laura Blackburn

Dr Laura Blackburn

Bioinformatician

Cell & Molecular Biology

Dr Tom Briston

Dr Tom Briston

Research Director

Dr Sinem Atli

Dr Sinem Atli

Research Scientist

Dr Zara Smith

Dr Zara Smith

Research Scientist

Dr Becky Johnson

Dr Becky Johnson

Principal Scientist

Dr Aleksandra Pitera

Dr Aleksandra Pitera

Principal Scientist

Dr Laura Heraty

Dr Laura Heraty

Research Scientist

Darci Bird

Darci Bird

Research Scientist

Yvonne Stephens

Yvonne Stephens

Laboratory Ops Supervisor

RNA & Computational Biology

Dr Isabela Navarro

Dr Isabela Navarro

Principal Scientist

Dr Giulia Furlan

Dr Giulia Furlan

Senior Scientist

Dr Vadim Shchepachev

Dr Vadim Shchepachev

Senior Scientist

Fay Humphries

Fay Humphries

Research Scientist

Izzy Thurston

Izzy Thurston

Research Scientist

Scientific Advisors

Dr Tom Massey

University of Cardiff

  • Neurologist specialising in HD & repeat expansion disorders
  • Clinical trials in HD
  • Active laboratory researching DDR in HD using iPSC, CRISPR and biochemistry to link clinical phenotype to mechanism
  • Exploring therapeutic options including genetic therapies

Dr Eric Marcusson

Independent Consultant

  • Providence Therapeutics: Cofounder, CSO
  • Deep Genomics: SAB
  • Regulus: Snr Director
  • Isis Pharma: Director
  • Post-doctoral studies in oligonucleotide trafficking

Dr Jim Gusella

MGH, Harvard

  • Human geneticist
  • Identification of susceptibility and modifier genes
  • Characterisation of these genes
  • Led GeM-HD consortium that ID’d DDR genes through large GWAS studies
  • Exploring therapeutic options including genetic therapies

Dr Jennifer Sims

Independent consultant

  • More than 30 years non-clinical biologic drug development experience
  • Expert preclinical Assessor, MHRA
  • Head of BioPharma Safety Assessment Group, MedImmune
  • Head of Translational Science & Safety, Novartis Biologics

Our programmes

Huntington's Disease

Discover more

ALS and Alzheimer's

Discover more

Our news

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Dr Jan Thirkettle

CEO

Jan has more than 25 years’ experience of pharmaceutical development and has played a leadership role in the commercialisation of therapeutics across all modalities. Jan joined Harness from Freeline Therapeutics where he was start-up CEO and CDO overseeing establishment of a platform for a novel AAV capsid and programme management. Prior to this, Jan held roles at GSK spanning from Discovery to Manufacturing, latterly establishing the cell/gene therapy platform and playing a pivotal role in the commercialisation of Strimvelis, the first ex vivo gene therapy approved by EMA. Jan holds an MA in Chemistry and a DPhil in Biological Chemistry from the University of Oxford.

Dr Andy Billinton

CSO

Andy has more than 22 years’ experience in drug discovery and early development in both big pharma and biotech. Andy joined Harness from Nodthera where he drove translational science, bridging the preclinical and clinical phases. Previously, roles of increasing responsibility were held at MedImmune/AstraZeneca and GSK in neuroscience, leading teams and projects up to phase II. Between these two roles Andy was co-founder and Director of Translational Science and Operations at Transpharmation, a translational CRO. Andy holds a PhD in Neuropharmacology from the University of Birmingham.

Dr Madeleine Wakeling

COO

Madeleine has over 24 years’ experience in biopharmaceutical research and development, and programme and portfolio management. Previously working for BioVex, GSK, MedImmune, MRC, Autolus, Crescendo and Cellinta, Madeleine has held increasingly senior programme management and leadership positions with vast experience in building and leading high performing matrix teams from discovery to clinical stage across multiple therapeutic areas and modalities. Alongside programme management, Madeleine also has significant alliance and operational management experience. Madeleine holds a PhD in Molecular Virology from the University of Edinburgh and is PMP® certified.

Dr Tom Briston

Research Director

Tom has over a decade’s experience in drug discovery, having spent time in both big pharma and biotech. Tom joined Harness from Eisai, having lead multiple preclinical programs in the neurodegenerative disease space. Tom has extensive experience in CNS cell biology, iPSC-derived systems and disease modelling, and high-content imaging and screening. Tom holds a PhD in Molecular Cell Biology from UCL.

Dr Marc Watson

Research Director

Marc has over 15 years’ experience working in the biopharmaceuticals and biotechnology sector, with expertise in CNS cell biology and neurodegeneration. Marc has extensive experience in CNS in vitro and in vivo modelling and has lead projects on multiple CNS diseases and targets, covering a range of modalities including small molecules, therapeutic antibodies and RNA therapies. Over the last decade Marc has moved from large pharma, with roles at MedImmune and Takeda, into the biotechnology sector at Cerevance and Mission Therapeutics. Most recently, Marc has lead preclinical projects via internal research teams, CROs and academic groups. Marc Holds a PhD in CNS cell biology from the University of Manchester.

Mandy Cowling

EA, Office Manager and HR Lead

Mandy brings over twenty years’ experience and knowledge of supporting Board and Executive teams together with invaluable exposure to Investor Relations management as part of her previous role within the life science sector working for a Plc operating in the UK and France, listed on both AIM and Euronext Growth stock markets. Mandy is Office Manager and Executive Assistant to the CEO and the Leadership Team; and will be responsible for developing evolving business processes and strategic projects. In her role as HR Lead, Mandy will continue to focus on cultivating a workplace that fosters individuality and enables people to flourish by embracing their talents. Mandy and our HR team are striving for a culture at Harness that instils purpose and joy both within and outside out professional responsibilities.