OUR TEAM
Meet the Team
Dr Nicola Kingswell
Chief Scientific Officer
Laboratory management, procurement, health and safety and quality lead for a start-up specialising in stem cell biology and engineering of an adherent cell culture bioreactor.
Cell biologist immortalizing primary cells using cell culture and molecular biology techniques. Project management of multiple Innovate UK grants (consortia, A41 and Canada-UK biomanufacturing round 1). Delivery of stem cell lines and contract projects to international clients.
Managerial lead for all activities across divisions of the business, including culture of 3D skin constructs, client project scoping, management and delivery, and R&D activities. Innovate KTP with the University of Bradford to develop a 3D skin construct with human melanocyte cells. Quality lead for the laboratories with successful ISO9001:2015 audits. Recruitment and development activities for all the laboratory personnel.
Nicola has also held key positions at Eurofins, Intertek Pharmaceutical Services and Labcorp (Covance) all operating to strict GxP quality regulations.
Dr Hugh Mead
Head of Cell BIology
Hugh studied Cell Biology at the University of Manchester. His first role beyond university was as a histology technician at Covance. Following this, he undertook further study with a Masters at the University of Durham researching and contributing to the development of a pigmented skin model for Stefan Pzyrborski’s lab. This established him with experience continue his career in cell culture specialising in skin models which he has worked on since 2020.
Bart Cwikla
Microbiology Services Manager
Bart holds a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Sciences, which was earned in 2016. Beginning his science career in veterinary pathology, he later transferred to skin biology in October 2018, focusing on the use of 3D skin equivalent models. With extensive experience in microbiology studies, gene expression, and histology, Bart has developed a deep understanding of 3D models, leveraging their capabilities across a range of scientific applications.
LET’S WORK TOGETHER!
Whether the requirements are for rapid, focused analysis or flexible, tailor-made research programmes we can help develop and validate your products with scientifically proven methods. Labskin offers more than testing on skin models. We can do anything from MICs, tampon safety testing, single cell assays to cytotoxicity testing.
Partnering with Labskin allows you to benefit from expert scientists to cost-effectively accelerate your development cycle.
Labskin skin model is a 3D human skin equivalent that incorporates vital biological components to model normal skin function. Developed over 15 years with more than 30 scientific journal publications, it is made from young keratinocytes (human skin cells) and adult fibroblasts (metabolically-active, collagen-producing human skin cells).
Dr Matt Freer
Business Development Consultant
Matt holds a BSc in Biomedical Science and a PhD in 3D tissue engineering from the University of Durham. Matt has extensive experience in 3D tissue engineering haven successfully developed in vitro models of the gut, lung, and skin in his academic career. Matt later transferred from academia to industry and began work as a Business Development professional and has demonstrated a proven track record of achieving significant pipeline growth and successfully securing new deals to drive revenue growth. Matt’s experience includes account management, new client generation, scientific consulting, experimental planning, marketing and social media, grant applications and management, and investment opportunity generation.
Dr Stewart Sale
Business Development Manager
Stewart is an experienced and results-driven sales and business development professional with over 10 years of expertise in sales, business development and product management, and a total of 22 years in the life sciences industry.
With a strong technical background, creative problem-solving abilities and a customer-focused approach, Stewart is dedicated to delivering innovative solutions that meet customer needs. He consistently holds himself accountable to meet targets, deadlines and exceed customer expectations, while striving for continuous improvement in all areas of his work.
TALK TO A LABSKIN EXPERT TODAY
Ready to start your next project? A member of the Labskin team can tell you more about our unique full-thickness human skin model and validated testing platform.