Insight 3: Perspectives on Preventative Innovations in Healthcare
Arise Innovation hubs are delighted to be collaborating with Medilink Midlands and Innovate UK in a series of events for autumn and winter 2025/26. The final of these looks at an overarching theme in the NHS’s current 10-year plan, around how prevention is better than cure.
The third of the pillars in the NHS 10-year plan is ‘from sickness to prevention’, with a focus on reaching patients earlier to prevent illness, where-ever possible. To achieve this, we need to look across key areas including health surveillance, genomic science, standardised data collection and thoughtful deployment of digital and AI technologies. Reshaping the ways we innovate to make every one of us proactive citizens.
Challenges we will address in this session include:
-What needs to change to improve the focus on prevention?
-How do we use health surveillance data to inform and accelerate new preventative health programmes?
-How do we move to a data-driven and personalised approach throughout our lives?
Agenda
10.00 – 10.25: Arrival, networking and refreshments
10.25-10.30: Introduction and Welcome by
Dr Beverley Vaughan| Director | Arise Innovation Hubs
Stephen Goddard | Senior Innovation and Growth Specialist | Innovate UK
10.30-10.35: Welcome by Medilink Midlands
Raghul Senthilnathan | Innovation Advisor | Medilink Midlands
10.35-10.50: Setting the scene I – What does the future look like, in an ecosystem of health promotion and protection
Nadia Shivji-Brown | Senior Business Development Manager | UK Health Security Agency
Jorg Hoffman | | UK Health Security Agency
Setting the scene II – From Body Mass Index to Body Volume Index
Richard Barnes | CEO | Select Research
10.50-11.00:
11.00-11.30: Lightening pitches
- Imran Haq | Managing Director | The Sample Network
- Hasan Avcu| Co-Founder & Managing Director | Tesu Health
- Dr. Shaobin Wu | Co – Founder | C-Prio Ltd
11.30-11.45: Q&A
11.45-12.00: Refreshment break
12.00-12.20: Support available to innovators
- Stephen Goddard | Senior Innovation and Growth Specialist | Innovate UK
- Dr. Anne Blackwood | Chief Executive | Health Technology Enterprise
12.20-13.00: Networking lunch
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Speaker Profiles
Event Chair: Dr Beverley Vaughan | Arise Innovation Hubs Director | ARU
Beverley is a scientist by training, having worked in academia, start-up and business sectors, including Cambridge University Teaching hospitals, Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (SBC), Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult and University of Oxford. Currently, Director at Arise Innovation hubs, part of Anglia Ruskin University, small but beautifully formed and importantly close but not within the golden triangle powerhouses. Beverley has been building a pipeline and success stories in the local environment has involved using knowledge of other clusters and adaptation to a different ecosystem. Collaborating with our community to harness the skills and talent in ARU to support them, on a bespoke and case by case basis. Proud to have delivered programmes such as ABOVE and learnt how being small can make you nimble but success relies on powerful and strategic partnership.
Raghul Senthilnathan | Innovation Advisor | Medilink Midlands
A dynamic Innovation Advisor with a master’s degree in Biotech and Pharma Management from UCL, and a strong background in life sciences and healthcare innovation. Founder of two innovative start-ups, with personal expertise in digital technologies. Skilled in leading accelerator programs and supporting early-stage companies to navigate challenges and realize their potential in contributing to the economy. Expertise in coaching, mentoring, and business diagnostics to help innovators avoid pitfalls and succeed.
Richard Barns | CEO | Select Research
Richard Barnes is CEO of Select Research, based in Malvern, Worcs. Select have been pioneers in human body measurement in 3D for nearly 30 years. Select developed the sizing standards for clothing retailers using their 3D technology, and since 2004 have developed the Body Volume Index (BVI) and other metrics measured digitally, from a smartphone. The Body Mass Index (BMI) was invented in 1835. BVI was designed to be a better, and modern alternative, and has now been validated by Mayo Clinic as being a significant improvement on BMI for the prediction of metabolic risk.
Hasan Avcu | Managing Directors | Tesu Health
Hasan is a physician and health technology entrepreneur, and Co-Founder and Managing Director of Tesu Health, a Cambridge-based company developing evidence-based digital tools for chronic disease prevention. His work focuses on the behavioural management of cardiometabolic risk, with an emphasis on scalable interventions that support personalised prevention. Hasan has a background in clinical practice as well as medical and regulatory affairs within the pharmaceutical industry.
Stephen Goddard | Senior Innovation and Growth Specialist | Innovate UK
Stephen Goddard is an experienced business development, sales, and marketing professional with deep sector knowledge across:
- Accounting (PwC, KPMG, HW Fisher)
- Banking (Lloyds, Clydesdale)
- Legal (Ashton Legal, Attwaters Jameson Hill, Woodfines)
Stephen also brings hands-on experience from running his own consultancy and working as a business advisor in the region.
Imran Haq | Managing Director | The Sample Network
Imran’s experience spans top tier universities (University of Cambridge, UCL), large pharma (AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline), founding successful companies (Cellomatics, Ignite Life Sciences, The Sample Network), government funded entities (Medicines Discovery Catapult), and non-profits (Pistoia Alliance).
As Managing Director of The Sample Network, Imran is tackling barriers in relation to clinical collection. Inability to access samples rapidly, delays biomarker and diagnostic development.
The Sample Network resolves this via access to proven sites that can rapidly start studies, in defined timeframes, and with complex study design. The company has been growing 300% YoY and can now count upon a global client base.
Dr. Anne Blackwood | Chief Executive | Health Tech Enterprise
Dr. Anne Blackwood is a prominent leader in the UK’s health innovation ecosystem, currently serving as the Chief Executive of Health Tech Enterprise (HTE). With over 20 years of experience in technology transfer and intellectual property management, she has dedicated her career to bridging the gap between clinical research, academia, and the commercial market. Prior to leading HTE, Anne spent several years at Cambridge Enterprise, the technology transfer office for the University of Cambridge, where she honed her skills in IP management and spin-out formation. She holds a PhD in Chemistry, providing her with a rigorous scientific foundation that informs her commercial decision-making. Beyond her role at HTE, she is an active voice in the medtech community, often contributing to regional innovation boards and national committees aimed at improving patient care through technological advancement.
