Hugh Laverty

Hugh is the Head of Scientific Operations (HoSO) at the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking (IHI JU), where they lead a team of scientific and financial officers responsible for the programme’s operational activities. In their role as HoSO, Hugh oversees the overall planning, management and monitoring of calls for proposals and evaluations leading to projects and grant agreements, as well as the management of the resulting projects and the dissemination of programme results.

They previously held the same position at IMI2 between 2015 and 2021, having joined IMI in 2011 as Senior Scientific Project Manager. In that capacity, Hugh managed specific projects primarily in the fields of drug discovery, CMC, and education and training, while also overseeing IMI’s engagement with Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Prior to joining IMI, Hugh worked as Industry Programme Manager at the Centre for Drug Safety Sciences at the University of Liverpool, UK. They also bring extensive experience from the biotech sector, having spent nearly a decade identifying and developing recombinant proteins as novel therapeutics for the prevention of dermal scarring.

Trained as a molecular biologist, Hugh holds a PhD in gene cloning and developmental biology and maintains a broad interest in a wide range of scientific areas and research questions.