Derry is Antimicrobial Programme Head at BIOASTER (Lyon, France) and a visiting Professor at Robert Gordon University. He gained his degree and PhD in microbiology at the University of Liverpool, before working in academia for over a decade. More recently, he has been working in industry on the design and development of novel antimicrobials. Additionally, he has a keen interest in modulation of the role of the immune system in combatting infection and antimicrobial resistance.

Tony Maxwell did his first degree in Biochemistry at University College London (1977), then a PhD in Biochemistry with Steve Halford (Univ. Bristol; 1981) working on mechanistic aspects of restriction enzymes.  He did a 4-year postdoc at NIH (USA) with Martin Gellert, where he worked on bacterial DNA gyrase. In 1986 he took up a ‘New-Blood’ lectureship in the Dept. Biochemistry, University of Leicester, where he continued working on gyrase and other DNA topoisomerases. He was promoted to a Readership in 1994 and to a Personal Chair in 1997.  Between 1991-1997 he held a Lister Institute Jenner Fellowship. Since August 2000 he has been at the John Innes Centre, Norwich (the largest institute in plant and microbial research in Europe) and was Head of the Biological Chemistry Dept from 2000-2016. His research interests are in the structure and function of DNA topoisomerases and associated proteins, their role in biological processes, and their exploitation in chemotherapeutics. He has a particular interest in antibiotics and antibiotic discovery, and the problems of AMR (antimicrobial resistance).

Originally from Scotland, Lewis completed his BSc (Hons) in Molecular Biology at the University of St Andrews before moving to Northern Ireland where he is currently a PhD student at the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast. His research focuses on antimicrobial resistance and inflammation in cystic fibrosis associated bacterial pathogens, specifically on the role of LPS and lipid A. He has long been interested in the power of policy to make positive change in society and is keen to increase opportunities for early career researchers to improve the skills required to communicate with policy makers as well as identifying where collaboration with policy makers can be beneficial to our research.

Tailise is a postdoctoral research assistant at the University of Warwick. Her work includes investigation of bioelectrical properties of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. contributing to the development of diagnostic tools for proliferative microorganisms, as well as exploring antmicrobial properties of biogenic nanoparticles.

Dr Wayne Grant Carter completed a BSc (Hons) degree in Biochemistry with Nutrition and then a PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Southampton. He subsequently undertook post-doctoral research posts at The Babraham Institute, Cambridge; Imperial College, London; the University of California at Irvine, USA, and then at the University of Oxford. Additionally, Dr Carter has worked for a global reagent supplier, Sigma, an SME company, Mobious Genomics, and has been employed as a consultant for Syngenta. Dr Carter is currently an Associate Professor and Group Leader (Clinical Toxicology lab) within the School of Medicine, University of Nottingham. Dr Carter's research interests are varied and include the detection and utilisation of novel biomarkers of toxicological exposure.