Our Team

Committee Members
0

Leadership

President: Yushi Li

Yushi Li

President

COO: Waleed Seddiq

Waleed Seddiq

Chief Operating Officer

Marketing

VP Marketing: Simran Iswaran

Simran Iswaran

Vic President of Marketing

Director of Marketing: Weijia Gao

Weijia Gao

Marketing Director

Marketing Director: Anna Bekauri

Anna Bekauri

Marketing Director

Engagement & Institutional Relations

VP of Engagement: Madeleine Eaton

Madeline Eaton

Vice President of Engagement

Director of Engagement: Titas Radzevicius

Titas Radzevicius

Director of Engagement

VP of Institutional Relationships: Eliza Copland

Eliza Copland

Vice President of Institutional Relationships

Director of Sponsorships: Max Hill

Max Hill

Sponsorship Director

Corporate Partnerships

VP of Corporate Partnerships: Alexandra Friedmann

Alexandra Friedmann

Vice President for Corporare Relationships

Director of Partnerships: Ela Tabbouche

Ela Tabbouche

Partnerships Director

VP of Non-Traditional Industries: Sophie Beaumont

Sophie Beaumont

Vice President for Non-Traditional Industries

General Counsel: Jiyoon Kim

Jiyoon Kim

General Counsel

OUBT Consulting

Managing Director: Isobel Johns

Isobel Johns

Managing Director

VP of Consulting: Amaury Genovese

Amaury Genovese

Vice President of Consulting

Project Manager: Ian Hsu

Ian Hsu

Vice President of Consulting

OUBT Ventures

Milan Sabota

Co-Managing Director

Ventures Co-Managing Director: Eraj Shojai

Eraj Shojai

Co-Managing Director

Operations & Events

VP of Events: Bethany Yinung Ru

Bethany Yinung Ru

Vice President of Events

Director of Operations: Alana Hanson

Alana Hanson

Director of Operations

Head of Conferences: Antonia Panescu

Antonia Panescu

Head of Conferences

Director of IGNITE Program: Eren Akgün

Eren Akgün

Head of IGNITE

Platform Solutions

ikbo

Ikboljon Sobirov

Chief Technology Officer

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VP Platform Solutions: Vedat Habib Papo

Vedat Habib

Vice President for Platform Solutions

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President: Yushi Li

Prior to being elected President of the society, Yushi was the President of the Oxford Finance Society (OFS), one of the largest student-led finance societies in the UK. Whilst at OFS, Yushi optimised sponsorship workflow and led various initiatives including establishing a Masterclass series in finance and a digital database for members and alumni. Before that Yushi served as the VP & President-elect of Oxford University Scientific Society, the worlds’ oldest student-led science society, and helped rescue the society from discontinuation. Yushi sat on the organising committee of iGEM Oxford 2022-2023, making the prestigious biotech competition available to Oxford students again after significant discontinuation. Yushi was the youngest founder in the IMAGINE IF! Global Life Sciences Accelerator cohort in 2021.

Alongside his studies, he is a Venture Fellow at Ahren Innovation Capital, a leading UK-based Venture Capital Fund. Yushi has a Double First in Biochemistry from Oxford and is a student of Kim Nasmyth FRS FMedSci. He is an elected Scholar of New College, Oxford. In his free time, Yushi enjoys rowing, tennis and going to concerts.

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Chief Operating Officer: Waleed Seddiq

Waleed Seddiq is a PhD/DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford, specializing in cardiovascular medicine, where his research focuses on discovering novel biomarkers to predict and manage cardiovascular disease. As the Chief Operating Officer of OUBT, Waleed plays a key role in driving the society's mission to foster innovation and collaboration in the biotech sector.  

He also holds a Master of Medical Sciences in Clinical Investigation from Harvard Medical School, with a concentration in translational immunotherapy. During his time at Harvard, Waleed founded and served as the president of the Harvard Saudi Student Association (HSSA), demonstrating his leadership and commitment to fostering community engagement. His academic journey is distinguished by several prestigious awards, including the SABIC Prize for Chemistry and Health and the Harvard Medical School Annual Conference Award for his pioneering research on using genetically modified viruses to treat brain cancer.  

A dedicated athlete, Waleed has practiced judo for over 14 years and enjoys tennis, football, and sports in general. He believes that OUBT is an ideal platform for those eager to be at the forefront of a new revolution in the biotech field. 

 

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Vice President - Corporate Partnerships: Alexandra Friedmann​

Alexandra is the VP for corporate partnerships in biotech. She is currently pursuing an MBA at Saïd Business School and has previously worked in commercial analytics at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and in strategy consulting at Kx Advisors. Alexandra holds an MSc in biotechnology from the University of Edinburgh, and a BSc in molecular and applied biotechnology from RWTH Aachen University.  

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Partnership Director: Ela Tabbouche​

Ela is a fourth-year Biochemistry student, completing her Master’s research project in the Gromak lab. As Partnership Director, she is working closely with Alexandra to build connections with leading Biotech and Pharma companies.  

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Vice President Non-Traditional Industries: Sophie Beaumont​

Sophie is a current 4th year Biochemistry undergraduate student at Trinity College with her research project in Prof Stephen Tucker's lab. She is VP for Non-Traditional Industries and at Oxford has previously been President of Oxford Women in Business, an intern at an Oxford health-tech start-up and writer for the Oxford Scientist. Beyond Oxford she has completed research experience at Birkbeck University London and interned for a leading boutique strategy consultancy in London. 

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Head of Strategy: Matthew Dean​

Matt is a first year DPhil student in cancer science interested in how we can target metabolic properties of the tumour microenvironment to design more specific therapeutics. His project involves the design and preclinical testing of pH sensitive logic gated therapeutics for colorectal and pancreatic cancer. Alongside by studies, Matt is an avid sports enjoyer playing both football and table tennis.   

 

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Vice President - Engagement: Madeline Eton​

Madeleine is the VP of Engagement for OUBT. She’s currently a graduate student in the Department of Biochemistry in Jason Schnell’s lab and also holds a bachelor’s degree from Imperial College London. 

 

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Engagement Director: Titas Radzevicius

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Vice President - Institutional Relationships: Eliza Copland

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Sponsorhip Director: Max Hill

As the Director of Sponsorship (Retail) for OUBT and a consultant for the organisation, Max oversees sponsorship initiatives with local retail businesses and provide strategic guidance to external biotech and pharmaceutical companies. 

 

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Vice President - Marketing: Simran Iswaran

Simran is a fourth year Chemistry student completing her Master’s research project in the Timmel Group focussing EPR spectroscopy on molecular triad systems for avian magnetoreception. As VP of Marketing she is responsible for leading a dynamic team in executing strategic marketing campaigns to broaden the visibility of OUBT between its members and partner companies. Previously, Simran has held positions as Director of Investment Operations of OxWIB and Vice President of the New College JCR, where she developed an algorithm to allocate accommodation to undergraduates. Beyond academia, Simran enjoys socialising with her friends, cooking and skincare.  

 

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Marketing Director: Weijia Gao

Weijia is a 4th year Biochemistry student completing her Master’s research project on AI-driven image processing of tumour tissue immunofluorescence data. As the Director of Marketing, she is working to connect OUBT to both the student community and the broader biotechnology ecosystem. Previously, Weijia has served as the Director of Sponsorships at Oxford Economics Society, the world’s oldest student-run economics society, where she led client relations and restructured sponsorship and funding strategies. She has also been thrice elected as the Biochemistry Student Representative for the university’s departmental and divisional committees.  

Weijia holds a Double First in Biochemistry and has been awarded the Gibbs Proxime Accessit Prize, Schools Prize and St Edmund Hall Open Scholarship. She was also winner of the NASA ISSET Experimental Design Competition, where her proposal was launched and conducted on the International Space Station. Alongside her studies, Weijia enjoys baking, karate and is an avid Pokémon card collector. 

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Vice President - Events: Bethany Yinung Ro

Bethany is a third-year DPhil candidate in Pharmacology, specializing in sleep and circadian rhythms. As the VP of Events, she manages event logistics, including venues and speakers, and coordinates with various divisions to organize an exciting array of events.

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Operations Director - Alana Hanson

Alana is a second year biochemistry undergraduate at Exeter College, and will be working with Bethany to bring exciting events to the society this year. Last year, she enjoyed attending talks run by OUBT, and now, in her role, she hopes to share her interest in biotech with fellow students.   

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IGNITE Director: Eren Akgun

Eren is a second-year undergraduate studying biomedical sciences.  Prior to joining Oxford, he co-founded a startup which produced PHA (a biodegradable plastic) through the growth of genetically modified Bacillus megaterium on a medium derived from food waste. His startup was a runner-up in an accelerator program similar to IGNITE and is concluding its proof-of-concept research. Alongside his studies, Eren is the co-captain of Keble College Boat Club. 

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Vice President of Consulting - Amaury Genovese

Amaury is a second-year DPhil student in Medical Sciences and is currently the OUBT Consulting VP. He is passionate about helping biotech and pharma companies develop. He believes that student insight can be particularly refreshing and unique. His team is composed of biotechnology & STEM specialists. 

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Managing Director - Isobel Johns

Isobel is a 4th year DPhil student in Biochemistry working with Professor Kim Nasmyth FRS FMedSci, winner of the breakthrough prize. Her work uses mammalian cell culture techniques and genome editing to understand the 3-Dimensional organisation of our genome. Isobel knows the Oxford academic space well as she also completed her undergraduate and master's degree in Biochemistry at Oxford. Prior to transitioning to her DPhil, Isobel worked as management consultant at McKinsey where she developed a keen interest in business and the applications of science in the real world. She has also previously interned at J. P. Morgan and a start-up consultancy spin-out from the Oxford MBA programme. Whilst at Oxford, Isobel rowed for the Oxford University Blues squad and still enjoys college rowing in her spare time. In her role as MD leading the OUBT Consultancy programme, Isobel hopes to apply her consulting experience to the Oxford biotech scene to engage PhD students with the application of science beyond academia. 

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Project Manager - Ian Hsu

Ian is a third-year PhD candidate at the University of Oxford, specializing in stem cell genomics and therapeutics. As VP of Consulting, Ian will be overseeing progress on OUBT Consulting projects and final deliverables. Ian has a combined 7+ years of hands-on biomedical research experience from work at Stanford University, Dartmouth College, and the University of Oxford, and his work has been highlighted in over a dozen peer-reviewed journals and conference talks. Ian also previously worked as a management and strategy consultant at Clearview Healthcare Partners, where he was directly involved with life sciences market research and product deployment. 

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Vice President: Platfom Solutions

Vedat is a second-year undergraduate student studying Biochemistry. Having won the OxBioHack competition organized by the OUBT. This year, he is the Vice President responsible for Platform Solutions, where he develops and maintains the society website and the membership database, as well as establishing new platforms for the society, such as a LinkedIn group. 

While this is his first Committee role in a University-level society, he previously served as the leader of various student clubs such as the Magazine and environmental clubs. He also founded the IBreak project, with the objective of providing free study materials for IB students worldwide. 

Finally, in terms of his hobbies, he is an avid fan of swimming (in summers!) and playing chess. 

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I am vertically centered.

Co-Managing Director: Milan Sabota

Milan is an Interdisciplinary Bioscience DPhil student and Co-MD of OUBT Ventures. Building on his experience co-founding and running biotech companies, he is expanding the support for grassroots bioentrepreneurship in Oxford. 

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Co-Managing Director: Eraj Shojai

Before joining the University of Oxford, Eraj founded and served as CEO and CTO of eMedicals Healthtech GmbH, a Frankfurt-based health tech startup. Under his leadership, eMedicals achieved an eight-digit valuation through a diverse fundraising strategy that included equity, debt, and public funding. His deep expertise in R&D and technology is exemplified by his work leading a multidisciplinary team in developing a Deep Neural Network-based medical device for Chronic Kidney Disease treatment. Eraj also spearheaded a significant Machine Learning-based Clinical Decision Support System project in collaboration with renowned institutions such as Fraunhofer IGD and Technical University Darmstadt. 

Eraj’s extensive experience extends beyond technical leadership to include partnership development with top-tier organizations like the Federal Kidney Association and German Society for Nephrology. He has also contributed to academia as a guest lecturer at Philipps University Marburg, covering topics such as Entrepreneurial Finance and Business Model Innovation. 

Currently pursuing a part-time MSc in Evidence-Based Health Care at the University of Oxford, Eraj focuses on Computational Medicine and Statistics for Clinical Trials. His academic journey has been marked by excellence, including being awarded a prestigious scholarship by the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation, reserved for the top 1% of German students. 

Outside of his professional and academic pursuits, Eraj enjoys football, running, golfing, painting, and writing. 

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General Counsel: Jiyoon Kim

Jiyoon has gained industry experience in investment banking at Goldman Sachs in Singapore and Morgan Stanley in Tokyo, specializing in fixed income settlements in Japan and equities cash trades transactions for APAC clients in Singapore.
Prior to joining the MBA program at Oxford, Jiyoon completed a Master’s degree in Neuroscience and Behavioral Studies at Osaka University and published a journal article in Frontiers as the first author: “Nucleus Accumbens Core Dopamine D2 Receptor-Expressing Neurons Control Reversal Learning but not Set-Shifting in Behavioral Flexibility in Male Mice” (2022). Jiyoon was a member of the Laboratory for BioProcess Systems Engineering, where she gained experience conducting experiments with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells).
As a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Working Group at Morgan Stanley, Jiyoon led the firm-wide Analyst Design Contest (2021) and engaged closely with her APAC clients, leveraging her language skills in English, Japanese, and Korean.

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Marketing Director: Anna Bekauri

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Head of Conferences: Antonia Panescu

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