Meet the team
Source: https://www.brookes.ac.uk/rie/team Parent: https://www.brookes.ac.uk/rie
Director's office
Professor Simonetta Manfredi
Director of Research, Innovation and Enterprise
Simonetta leads the Directorate and works closely with the PVC for Research and Global Partnerships to provide leadership for the implementation of strategies, policies and to support activities that underpin the university’s ambitions for Research & Innovation as set out in the R&I Pillar of the 2035 Strategy.
She also works closely with the Associate Directors on the strategic development of university-wide policies relating to research support and governance, KE and impact and entrepreneurship.
She represents and promotes the university RI&E community and its activities regionally, nationally and internationally and engages in forums related to policy development at regional, national and international levels.
Christie Walker
Deputy Director and Associate Director Research Support & Governance
Christie provides strategic leadership for the Research Support & Governance team (RSG), which encompasses the Pre-award, Post-award (including contracts), Research Culture and Practice, and Researcher Development functions. The RSG team works closely with the research community to support and enable excellent research and a positive, vibrant research culture at Brookes.
Christie and the RSG team are responsible for developing and delivering a range of systems, policies, processes, governance structures and reporting related to research. This includes providing support for statutory reports and returns such as HE-BCI, in collaboration with colleagues in RIE and other Directorates. In addition, Christie oversees the administrative support and management of the University's REF2029 preparation and submission, working closely with colleagues in RIE, the Faculties and other Directorates.
Bev Blackman
Office Manager & PA to the Director
Bev provides support and administrative assistance to the Director and teams. She also manages, guides and advises on various day to day processes (HR confidential personnel matters/recruitment/etc, finance, and general administration/issues, induction and IT), as well as managing the Director's diary and liaising with staff on her behalf.
Matty Mathe
*Communication and Engagement Officer*
Matty supports the Directorate for Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) in the publicity and promotion of Oxford Brookes University’s Research, Innovation and Knowledge Exchange activities. He specialises in developing and executing comprehensive public engagement campaigns and creating digital and printed publications and webpages. Additionally, he organises and promotes research events to enhance the university's public engagement.
Sara Garcia
Research, Innovation and Enterprise Administrator
Sara provides administrative and financial support across the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Directorate. She assists the RIE Finance Manager with managing the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) and the Central Research Fund (CRF). She also helps the Office Manager with administrative duties, supports the Director of RIE and wider teams and helps with events.
Knowledge exchange and impact team
Dr Carol McAnally
Associate Director Knowledge Exchange & Impact
Carol drives the implementation of Oxford Brookes' strategy and policies for knowledge exchange and impact. Her expertise and leadership support best practices and foster partnerships with business and industry. Carol creates synergistic partnerships to amplify the impact of the University's knowledge exchange and impact initiatives.
Dr Ellie Beaman
Public and Community Engagement Coordinator
Ellie is involved in the development and implementation of the university’s public engagement with research (PER) strategy. She supports and encourages research-active staff and students with opportunities, skill development, and creative idea generation to deliver and communicate excellent PER. Ellie is also the event manager for the Oxford Brookes Science Bazaar.
Lauren Davenport
Research Impact Manager
Lauren leads and participates in, developing the ways that the University engages with and shares its research with private, public and civil society sectors to enable and facilitate high quality impacts. She helps promote the University externally as a knowledge partner for private, public and civil society sectors.
Kevin Maynard
Business Development Manager, AI & Data – General
Kevin is responsible for developing and implementing business development strategies to drive growth and increase revenue. He works closely with researchers, academics, and industry partners to identify new opportunities and develop partnerships that leverage the university's cutting-edge research and expertise in AI and data.**
Anna Verghese
Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Manager and Consultant
Anna connects businesses and other organisations with our academic experts to work on KTPs. She provides advice and guidance throughout the process of application for a KTP to InnovateUK as well as post-award support. \
Sienna Lukey
Public Engagement with Research Officer
Sienna is undertaking a placement year as part of her Events Management degree, gaining hands-on experience in planning, delivering, and executing the Science Bazaar – a large-scale public engagement event showcasing Oxford Brookes University research. Following the event, she will also be supporting the development of sponsorship opportunities for the 2027 Science Bazaar.
Sophie Lawrie
Research Engagement Officer
Sophie leads activities that connect research with people and partners, building relationships, coordinating engagement events or initiatives, and helping ensure research insights are shared, understood and used by stakeholders.
Rasheedat Lawal
Public Engagement - Student Placement
Rasheedat helps design, deliver and evaluate activities that share research or university work with the public, while gaining practical skills in communication, events and community collaboration.
Researcher development team
Jennie Cripps
Researcher Development Manager
Jennie works in training and development for research-active staff. She manages the University Research & KE Training programme and the University Research Staff Mentoring Scheme. She also convenes the University’s Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers Working Group and is responsible for annual external reporting on its work supporting our Contract Researchers and their Managers.\
Katie Whitlock
Researcher Development Officer
Katie supports the training and development for research-active staff. In this role, she works on the continued expansion of the University Research & Knowledge Exchange Training programme, the development of the Research-Only Staff Network and promotes good news and events in Researcher Development.
Pre-Award team
Steven Radley
Research Funding Manager
Steven leads the Pre-Award team in Research Support and Governance, supporting academics across the University to submit externally funded research grant applications. His responsibilities also include managing and maintaining Worktribe, the University's research and consultancy costing tool.
Dr Gareth Preston
Research Funding Manager and Pre-Award Team Lead
Gareth leads the Research Support Team within the Directorate, overseeing the delivery of centrally managed research funding processes across the University. He provides expert strategic and operational advice to academic colleagues on the development, costing and submission of research grant applications to a wide range of external funders, including UK research councils, charities, and international funding bodies.
He works closely with researchers on large, complex and strategically important bids, with particular expertise on European funding programmes, such as Horizon Europe. Gareth ensures that applications are robustly costed, fully compliant with funder requirements and aligned with University policies, and that high-quality research support is delivered consistently across disciplines.
In addition to this advisory role, Gareth manages a team of Research Managers and Research Funding Managers, with responsibility for staff development, workload planning and service delivery. He plays a key role in shaping research support processes and systems, and contributes to University committees and external networks.
Ruzena Zemanova
Research Funding Administrator
As a pre-award Research Funding Administrator, Ruzena supports researchers, mostly within OxInAHR, with submitting their research grant applications, primarily in health and related academic disciplines. This ranges from discussing and reviewing the early drafts of their applications, costing them, advising on the SoECAT (if needed) and advising on all aspects, including the final reviews, as well as liaising with Faculty Research Offices.\
Yonas Hirutu
Research Funding Administrator
As the Research Funding Administrator Yonas seeks to develop and promote research support and to optimise opportunities for funded research. He works closely with academic staff applying for external grants to ensure that bids are submitted in a timely manner.
Lorraine Williams
Research Manager\
Lorraine oversees and supports the development, costing, approval and submission of research funding applications, ensuring they comply with funder and university requirements while maximising income and enabling high-quality research.
Olivia Matthews
Research Administrator
Olivia provides operational and administrative support for developing, costing and preparing research funding applications, ensuring all documents, budgets and approvals are accurate, compliant and ready for timely submission.
Christine Gahan
Senior Research Administrator
Christine oversees complex or high-value research projects, providing advanced administrative support, leading or mentoring junior admin staff, and ensuring studies and grants are managed efficiently, compliantly, and on time.
Paul Clipson
Research Support Assistant
Paul provides routine administrative and practical support to research activity, helping with tasks like information gathering, data or document preparation, and coordination so that researchers can focus on core research work.
Tudor Georgescu
Research Manager
Tudor leads and coordinates research projects or programmes, overseeing design, delivery, funding and compliance so that research is completed effectively, on time and within budget.
Bousmaha Baiche
Research Support Officer
Bousmaha provides professional, academic-facing support across the research lifecycle, helping researchers to identify funding, cost and prepare applications, ensure compliance, and set up and monitor awarded projects.
Ardeshir Pashmi
Research Support Officer
Ardeshir provides professional administrative and advisory support across the research lifecycle, helping researchers with costing and preparing applications, navigating ethics and governance requirements, and setting up and monitoring funded projects to ensure they run smoothly and compliantly.
Dominic Maitland
Research Administrator
Dominic provides professional administrative support across the research funding and project lifecycle, helping to prepare and process grant applications, set up and monitor awards, and ensure projects comply with institutional and funder requirements.
Marinka Walker
Research Administrator
Marinka delivers professional administrative support across the research lifecycle, coordinating funding applications, project setup and compliance processes.
Terri Morris
Research Administrator
Terri supports researchers by managing the paperwork, systems and workflows needed to secure, set up and run funded projects effectively.
Erika Stefanidi
Research Administrator
Erika oversees day‑to‑day research administration, from preparing and submitting grant bids to monitoring awards and ensuring adherence to institutional and funder rules.
Post-Award team
Mieke Tyrrell
Post Award Processes Officer
Mieke manages the Post Awards processes relating to Research projects. This involves assisting Faculties through the life cycles of projects to keep expenditure in line with prescribed terms and conditions, preparing interim and final financial statements for funders, and sorting out the logistics of QR income and its distribution to budget holders.\
Bronwen Hex
Contracts Manager and Post-Award Team Lead
Bronwen's work involves preparing and reviewing research and consultancy contracts whilst ensuring compliance of University procedures before signing. \
Abbi Sanford
Contracts Officer
Abbi's work involves preparing and reviewing research and consultancy contracts and arranging signing.
Research culture and practice team
Dr Robyn Curtis
Research Culture & Practice Team Manager\ \ Robyn and her team provide support, training and advice to staff and research students on research ethics, as well as ensuring their research activities are compliant with UK and international legislation, funders requirements and best practice in ‘Trusted Research’. Working with researchers and professional services colleagues across the University to identify, mitigate and manage risks connected with research collaborations, including ensuring appropriate data capture within the University’s research management systems.\
Joseph Corneli
Open Research Project Manager\
Joseph is part of a consortium funded by Research England, and he is working to accelerate the development of open research practices at both Oxford Brookes University and across the sector. His commitments are primarily focused on the Training workstream. In addition to these responsibilities, he also serves as the UKRN Local Network Lead, representing the grassroots network of researchers at Brookes within the UK Reproducibility Network.
Nina Lewin
*Research Data Manager*
With a wealth of experience in research support, digital curation, and data management, she brings a unique perspective to our team. Having worked in a complex environment, she understands the challenges that come with data management, especially when working with limited resources. She has extensive knowledge of free software and is committed to helping researchers navigate the world of data management.
Yukari So
Research Ethics & Integrity Officer
Yukari manages the review process for doctoral and staff research ethics applications and supports the operation of the University Research Ethics Sub-Committees. She provides guidance to researchers on navigating the ethics application process, maintaining compliance with institutional policies, and preparing documentation to ensure the highest standards are met.
Abhay Singh
*Research Ethics Administrator*
Abhay supports the research ethics application process for staff and research students at Oxford Brookes, providing vital assistance to ensure all research undertaken at the University is delivered in an ethical and appropriate manner.
Innovation and enterprise team
Dr Philip Clegg
Associate Director for Innovation & Enterprise
Philip's role provides strategic direction for innovation, enterprise and entrepreneurship activity at the university. Leading the Innovation and Enterprise Teams, their combined activities include enabling the development of key enterprise/employability skills and attributes, enabling student and graduate start-up, the development and growth of the Oxford Brookes Enterprise Centre, and the commercialisation of research via the Technology Transfer Office
Howard Feather
Business Start-Up Manager
Howard is the Business Start-Up manager. Based in the Enterprise Centre, Howard and team of Start-Up advisors give all students and graduates support with any and all of their business ideas from pre-concept all the way through to fully operational status. Come and meet Howard and the team in the Enterprise Centre to move your business idea forward to the next level.**
Dr Sarah Irons
Enterprise Centre & BioInnovation Hub Manager\
Sarah manages the Oxford Brookes Enterprise Centre and Bioinnovation Hub, which provide lab and office space for start-up early stage life science and digital tech companies. With her combination of research and lab management experience, and strong connections within the University and local innovation ecosystem, she is perfectly positioned to ensure companies are well-supported so they can focus on growth.
Nav Krishna Viswanathan
Enterprise Centre Coordinator
Nav's role is pivotal to the operations of Oxford Brookes Enterprise Centre and delivering a seamless experience for the ventures based there. He leads on elements of marketing, stakeholder engagement, and programme coordination to support startups and entrepreneurs across the University. Nav manages the Centre’s digital presence through impactful content, supports financial operations, and ensures events and daily activities run smoothly. His work strengthens the Centre’s visibility and contribution to the wider innovation ecosystem.
Mim Sirajudin
Business Start-up Advisor
Mim brings a wealth of expertise in business management and entrepreneurship to the university as a Business Start-up Advisor. With a proven track record, including the launch of his own modern Malaysian food start-up (Popiah) and extensive experience supporting clients across various industries; food and beverage, fashion, music, technology to health and wellness. He excels in the art of business planning, crafting compelling pitch decks, and delivering practical guidance. His specialisation in mentoring international students adds a unique dimension to his advisory skills. He remains dedicated to nurturing the ambitions of emerging entrepreneurs, promoting a culture of innovation, and cultivating a dynamic start-up ecosystem within the university.
Dr Afroditi Pekou
Enterprise Support Coordinator
Afroditi ensures the smooth and coordinated delivery of Brookes Enterprise Support programmes and leads on our evaluation of our Business Engagement work. She also provides support across the team by utilising her broad professional skill set to deliver our wide range of initiatives and interventions.
Unai Ledesma Gorostizaga
Business Start-up Advisor
Unai is a startup support specialist who focuses on helping entrepreneurs create market fit by making them aware of the problems that customers face. Unai also understands the power of networking and uses it to inspire students and take their businesses to the next level.
Dr Gary Jennings
Senior Technology Transfer Manager
Gary is an experienced TTM, helping our researchers in their entrepreneurial efforts to move ideas and inventions to the marketplace, via licensing, spin-outs, partnerships and other commercialisation routes. Previously, Gary worked in technology transfer in UK, Germany and Switzerland, and in executive positions in biotech companies in Germany and the US.
Lina Cox
Technology Transfer Manager
Lina works with academics to protect and commercialise their research, helping them build IP portfolios which can be licenced or used in the creation of spin-out companies. She also assists in the management of existing IP rights at the university. Lina previously qualified as a European patent attorney, so has particular expertise in the field of patent applications and prosecution.