Lab Awards
Meet your 2024 Judges
Get ready to be inspired by the distinguished panel of judges for the 2024 Lab Awards!
This year, we are thrilled to introduce you to a group of experts who are leaders in their fields, from pioneering researchers to industry innovators. Each judge brings a wealth of experience and knowledge, ensuring that the awards highlight the very best in lab innovation and excellence.
Don’t miss the chance to learn from these trailblazers and discover what it takes to stand out in the world of scientific achievement.
Sean Marshall
Publisher – Laboratory News
Sean is the publisher of Laboratory News and has been involved in communicating science and technology for more than 25 years. With a background in chemical engineering, Sean has a deep interest in scientific innovation and achievement.
Dr Matthew Partridge
Founder – Errant Sciences
Dr. Matthew Partridge has spent 16 years working in research, including 5 years in industry and 12 years in academia. He holds a BSc in Biochemistry and a PhD in Fibre Optic Molecular Sensors, with a scientific career focused on developing practical sensors for various applications.
Matthew now works full-time as a science communication specialist. He is the cartoonist and primary content producer for ErrantScience.
Sharon Eaton MBA
Managing Director – BioChannel Partners
Sharon has worked in the Life Sciences industry (Amersham International, Roche/Boehringer Mannheim, Kodak Scientific Imaging Systems, Invitrogen) since 1987, gaining experience in R&D, regulatory compliance, sales, marketing and distributorship. She was an international channel partner manager in Europe, Eastern Europe, CIS and the Middle East.
Products that she managed have ranged from commodity and cutting edge consumables, laboratory equipment, high tech instrumentation and software. Sharon founded BioChannel Partners Limited in 2003 to help busy distributor managers find candidates to introduce and manage sales of their products in new, international markets. A systematic process and a proprietary database containing profiles of over 25,000 firms has been developed which enables a client to quickly identify compatible, active distributors.
Richard Stone
Founder and Managing Director – Stone Junction
Richard is a chartered PR practitioner and, in 2019, he was named in the CIPR’s ’70 at 70′ list of the UK’s most innovative, committed and influential public relations practitioners. In 2021, Propel listed him in its ‘100 most influential tech PR people in the world’.
Andrew King
SHE and sustainability – AstraZeneca Operations
Andrew has a background in environmental management with a PhD in environmental science and microbiology. He has worked in the UK water industry as a Senior Scientist, progressing to team management, where he oversaw the analytical sampling and reporting teams at Severn Trent Water, collaborating with the industry’s governing bodies.
In 2018, Andrew joined AstraZeneca to apply his skill set to a new organization, starting in a production role at Macclesfield. By 2020, he transitioned into a role in Quality Operations as their SHE lead, which evolved into a SHE and Sustainability role, where he began working on lab sustainability initiatives.
In this role, Andrew has shifted the focus of Safety and Sustainability from reactive to proactive, empowering teams to identify opportunities to eliminate waste and remove hazards from the workplace using low-cost/no-cost systems. Additionally, he has led AstraZeneca’s Green Lab program, consolidating the package of work across all AZ functions. Since then, the organization has engaged over 4,000 scientists across their enterprise, becoming the most successful organization in terms of scientist engagement recognized through the ‘My Green Lab’ certification program.
Jiteen Ahmed
Head of Technical Services – Aston University
Jiteen Ahmed is the Head of Technical Services and has worked at Aston University for over 20 years, beginning his journey as an apprentice. Throughout his time at Aston, Jiteen has taken on and led various roles in Health and Safety, Teaching Support, Research, and Procurement.
Jiteen is a champion for technicians and is one of the Technician Commitment leads at Aston. Externally, he serves as the Chair of the Southern University Purchasing Consortia (SUPC) Laboratory Group, is a member of the STEMed National Procurement Strategy Group, and an advisor to Lab Innovations. Additionally, he was previously a commissioner for the TALENT Policy Commission.
