ALMOND TREE

I am an experienced senior scientist and public health leader with over a decade of experience working across health security, infectious disease surveillance, pathogen genomics, environmental monitoring and pandemic preparedness. I have held senior scientific and technical leadership roles within the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), including at G7 level, and have worked across government, academia and international laboratory networks. My career has been focused on strengthening the UK's ability to detect, assess and respond to emerging infectious disease threats, working at the interface of science, surveillance, operational delivery and strategic preparedness. I am particularly interested in the Senior Emergency Preparedness Manager role because my professional experience has been shaped by working in exactly the type of complex, uncertain and high-consequence environment in which effective preparedness and response are critical. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked within the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC), contributing to the national response to an unprecedented public health emergency. I subsequently moved into senior UKHSA roles focused on strengthening environmental and genomic surveillance and preparing for future emerging pathogen threats. These experiences have given me a strong understanding of the importance of preparedness before an incident occurs, the need for coordinated and resilient systems during an emergency, and the value of learning and continuous improvement afterwards. As an Advanced Analyst within the JBC during COVID-19, I worked within a rapidly evolving national emergency response environment where the threat landscape, scientific understanding and operational priorities changed continuously. I analysed data from more than 1,000 wastewater samples per week across England, contributing to genomic and environmental surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and supporting the identification and monitoring of emerging variants and changing patterns of transmission. This work required me to deliver reliable analysis at pace while maintaining scientific rigour and recognising the limitations and uncertainty inherent in rapidly developing evidence. The value of this experience extended beyond the technical analysis itself. I worked as part of multidisciplinary teams in which genomic, environmental, clinical and epidemiological evidence needed to be considered together to develop a meaningful picture of the threat. I contributed to the translation of complex scientific findings into public health intelligence, supporting situational awareness and the wider response. Working within this environment taught me the importance of clear communication, rapid information sharing, proportionate risk assessment and effective collaboration when decisions have to be made under pressure and with incomplete information. It also reinforced the importance of preparedness. The effectiveness of a response depends heavily on the capability, relationships, systems and processes established before an incident occurs. The ability to mobilise quickly, access reliable intelligence, coordinate across disciplines and organisations, and adapt to changing circumstances cannot be developed for the first time during a crisis. My experience during COVID-19 therefore gave me a practical understanding of the relationship between preparedness and response and the importance of maintaining organisational resilience between incidents. Following my work in the JBC, I took on senior leadership responsibilities within UKHSA's Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection (EMHP) programme. As Omics Team Leader, I provided strategic and operational leadership to multidisciplinary work focused on developing environmental surveillance capability beyond the immediate COVID-19 response. I worked across UKHSA and with government, academic and external partners to develop approaches for integrating environmental and genomic evidence and to strengthen surveillance capability relevant to future emerging pathogen threats. This role required me to think strategically about both current and future risks. I balanced immediate operational priorities with longer-term capability development, assessed emerging scientific and technological approaches and contributed to decisions about how surveillance could be strengthened and sustained. I managed multiple priorities and coordinated multidisciplinary activities while ensuring that work remained aligned with wider organisational objectives. I also developed an appreciation of the importance of governance, quality assurance, clear accountability and sustainable systems in ensuring that preparedness arrangements remain effective over time. My experience as Senior Technical Manager for Genomics within UKHSA's New Variant Assessment Platform (NVAP) further strengthened my understanding of health security and preparedness for emerging threats. I provided technical leadership across genomic programmes supporting pathogen surveillance and epidemic preparedness, working with laboratories and international partners with different levels of sequencing capability, infrastructure and technical expertise. I developed work plans, led project work packages, coordinated delivery against milestones, identified risks and dependencies and provided technical advice to support implementation. A significant aspect of my NVAP role was working across organisational and international boundaries to strengthen genomic preparedness. I supported laboratories in implementing sequencing approaches, provided technical guidance and training, and helped partners overcome practical and technical barriers. I had to understand different operating environments and priorities, build trust with collaborators and adapt approaches while maintaining appropriate scientific and quality standards. This experience developed my ability to coordinate complex programmes involving multiple stakeholders and to influence others towards a shared preparedness objective. It also reinforced the importance of developing preparedness capability before it is urgently required. Building genomic capacity, establishing relationships between laboratories and developing appropriate technical approaches are long-term investments that enable a faster and more effective response when a new pathogen or variant emerges. I would bring this perspective to emergency preparedness, recognising that resilience depends on both established arrangements and the ability to adapt those arrangements as risks evolve. My scientific background provides a strong foundation for understanding biological hazards and emerging infectious disease threats. My PhD was in Immunology and Virology, and my subsequent career has focused on infectious disease, virus genomics, pathogen surveillance, environmental monitoring and public health. I have worked extensively with genomic data and emerging pathogen threats and have a detailed understanding of how scientific evidence is generated, assessed and translated into surveillance intelligence. This enables me to engage credibly with scientific and technical specialists while also understanding the need to communicate evidence in a way that supports operational and strategic decision-making. I also bring substantial experience of working across multidisciplinary and multi-agency environments. Throughout my career I have collaborated with scientists, epidemiologists, bioinformaticians, laboratory leaders, public health professionals, government colleagues, academic partners and international organisations. I am comfortable working across organisational boundaries where different stakeholders have different priorities, levels of expertise and constraints. I focus on establishing a shared understanding of the objective, identifying dependencies and risks, maintaining clear communication and ensuring that responsibilities and expectations are understood. I have extensive experience communicating complex scientific information to diverse audiences, including senior stakeholders. I have produced technical reports, strategic documents, project plans, training materials and presentations and have communicated complex evidence to both specialist and non-specialist audiences. My approach is to provide clear, concise information that distinguishes established evidence from uncertainty, identifies the implications of different risks and supports informed decision-making. I understand that during an emergency, effective communication is particularly important: information must be accurate and timely, but it must also be presented in a way that enables people to act. My current experience as a Genomics Subject Matter Expert at Catalytic AI has further strengthened my ability to translate complex scientific requirements into practical frameworks. Working collaboratively with a colleague, I contributed to the development of a scientific playbook for an FDA-facing programme. The specific work is confidential, but it involved structuring complex scientific knowledge, methodological considerations and operational requirements into coherent guidance. This experience has strengthened my ability to develop structured frameworks, work collaboratively to resolve complex requirements and translate specialist knowledge into practical approaches that can be implemented consistently. This experience is directly relevant to preparedness work, where plans, frameworks and guidance need to translate complex risks into clear actions and responsibilities. I understand that effective preparedness arrangements must be practical and usable, rather than simply comprehensive on paper. They need to reflect the realities of how organisations operate, identify interfaces between teams and partners, anticipate potential barriers and provide sufficient flexibility to adapt when circumstances change. I have also developed a strong understanding of the importance of learning and continuous improvement. My work during COVID-19 required continuous adaptation as new evidence emerged and priorities changed. My subsequent UKHSA roles have focused on strengthening capability for future threats, applying learning from the pandemic to develop more resilient surveillance and preparedness approaches. I am comfortable reviewing existing processes, identifying gaps and risks, considering what could be improved and translating learning into practical changes. I would bring this approach to preparedness exercises, debriefs and lessons-identified processes, recognising that resilience is strengthened through continuous testing, evaluation and adaptation. I am highly organised and experienced in managing complex programmes involving multiple concurrent workstreams. I have coordinated activities across multidisciplinary teams, managed competing priorities, identified risks and dependencies and supported delivery against agreed milestones. I am comfortable working independently, taking ownership of complex areas of work and exercising judgement about when issues can be resolved directly and when they require escalation or wider discussion. I have also mentored colleagues and delivered technical training, recognising that organisational resilience depends on people having the knowledge, skills and confidence to fulfil their roles effectively. My career has therefore given me a distinctive combination of senior UKHSA experience, national emergency response experience, scientific expertise in biological hazards and emerging infections, strategic leadership, partnership working and preparedness capability. I have seen first-hand the consequences of a rapidly evolving public health emergency and the importance of having strong surveillance, trusted relationships, effective systems and skilled people in place before a crisis occurs. I have subsequently worked to strengthen capability for future threats through environmental and genomic surveillance, international preparedness and the development of practical scientific frameworks. I would bring to the Senior Emergency Preparedness Manager role the ability to combine strategic thinking with practical delivery, scientific expertise with operational awareness, and independent judgement with effective partnership working. I am confident operating in complex and high-pressure environments, communicating with senior stakeholders and coordinating multidisciplinary programmes. I would be committed to applying my experience to strengthen UKHSA's emergency preparedness and resilience, support effective multi-agency working, identify and address preparedness gaps, and help ensure that the organisation is able to anticipate, prepare for and respond effectively to future emergencies.