Health and Life Sciences Speakers
 | Ambassador Dominique Paravicini |
 | Bettina Balmer, Nationalrätin and Clinician Bettina Balmer is a Swiss politician representing the FDP, the liberal party. She has been a member of the National Council since 2023. Prior to that, she served for nearly ten years on the Cantonal Council of Zurich. In Switzerland, the legislative branch is largely made up of part-time politicians, a structure known as the country’s “militia system,” in which elected representatives continue their regular professional occupations alongside their parliamentary duties. Bettina Balmer is a specialist in paediatric surgery and currently works at 50% capacity in the emergency department of the University Children’s Hospital in Zurich. After obtaining her medical degree in 1992, she completed postgraduate training in several locations, including Birmingham, England, and Toronto, Canada. Because of her professional background, Bettina Balmer focuses primarily on health policy. However, as a member of the National Council’s Committee on Science, Education and Culture, she is also active in these fields, particularly advocating for an excellent education system. Since 2025, Bettina Balmer has been President of FDP Women Switzerland and therefore she is also part the national board of FDP Switzerland. |
 | Lord Willets, Chair of the UK regulatory Innovation Office The Rt Hon. Lord Willetts FRS, HonFREng is Chair of the UK Government’s Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO). He served as the Member of Parliament for Havant (1992-2015), and as Minister for Universities and Science (2010-2014) where he advocated for strategic growth of high technology industries including synthetic biology. He has previously worked at HM Treasury and the No. 10 Policy Unit. He has held a range of Board positions across the Space and Science sector, including at Surrey Satellites. He was a member of the ESA Expert Group on the Future of Space in Europe, as well as the Space Advisory Board of the EU’s External Action Service. He currently sits on the Advisory Council of the European Space Policy Institute and chairs the Foundation for Science and Technology. |
Hosts
 | Natalie Thomas Head of Swiss Business Hub UK |  | Linda Bedenik Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager, BIA |
 | Maddie Cass Policy and Public Affairs Manager, BIA |  | Kerstin Kinkelin Engineering Biology Innovation and Partnerships Manager, University of Bristol |
 | Kathleen Sedgley Engineering Biology Strategy Manager, University of Bristol |  | Anike Te Chief Strategy Officer, Lucideon |
Round table participants
| Charles Allard | Lonza | CH |
| Tom Archer | Lucideon | UK |
| Kasia Averall | Quell Therapeutics | UK |
| Steve Bagshaw | HIgh Value Manufacturing Catapult | UK |
| Bettina Balmer | Swiss Parliament (Nationalrat) | CH |
| Linda Bedenik | BioIndustry Association | UK |
| Christiane Berger-Schaffitzel | University of Bristol | UK |
| Stan Blein | AstraZeneca | UK |
| Jeffrey Bode | ETH Zurich | CH |
| Maddie Cass | BioIndustry Association | UK |
| Samanta Cimitan | Celonic Group | CH |
| Mark Cresswell | Lucideon | UK |
| Livjia Deben | Prokarium | UK |
| Robert Deller | MRC | UK |
| Julia Djonova | Swissmedic | CH |
| Neil Goldsmith | BaseLaunch | CH |
| Joseph Healey | NanoSyrinx | UK |
| Kerstin Kinkelin | University of Bristol | UK |
| Rosie Lindup | BioIndustry Association | UK |
| Rowan McKibbin | UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) | UK |
| Angela Osborne | eXmoor Pharma | UK |
| Chaewon Park | University of Oxford | UK |
| Sylke Poehling | Roche, ETH Zurich | CH |
| Guy Poppy | University of Bristol | UK |
| Anna Perdrix Rosell | Sixfold Bio | UK |
| Philipp Schneider | UK Science & Technology Network, British Embassy Berne | CH |
| Kathleen Sedgley | University of Bristol | UK |
| Antonia Walpole | Regulatory Innovation Office (ROI) | UK |
| Oliver Sims | Octopus Ventures | UK |
| Jeremy Tavaré | University of Bristol | UK |
| Yiea Wey Te | Zurich Parliament (Kantonsrat) | CH |
| Anike Te | Lucideon | UK |
| Natalie Thomas | Swiss Business Hub UK | CH |
| Vineeta Tripathi | Vitarka | UK |
| Isabel Webb | Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) | UK |
| Simon Youlton | Novartis | UK |