Team
Our diverse
and talented team
We are a group of innovators, disruptors and seasoned industry experts with a track record of success. We are united by a passion for innovation and a commitment to excellence
Leadership Team [ 6 ]
Ola Wlodek PhD
CEO
Ola Wlodek PhD
CEO
Ola is the CEO of Constructive Bio. She holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Cambridge and executive MBA from Warwick Business School. Her scientific interests in genetic engineering of GC-rich microbes, unnatural products and peptide cyclisation led her to seek transformative applications of synthetic biology in the real world. Prior to joining Constructive Bio, she worked for various companies in the Cambridge biotech cluster, most recently as Chief Operating Officer at Reflection Therapeutics.
Prof. Jason Chin PhD
CSO and Founder
Prof. Jason Chin PhD
CSO and Founder
Jason is CSO of Constructive Bio. Work from his research group at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge provides a foundation for many of the approaches being pioneered and commercialised by Constructive. Jason has received numerous awards for his research including the EMBO Gold Medal and the Royal Society’s Francis Crick Prize. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Solange Bullukian
CFO
Solange Bullukian
CFO
Solange is a finance executive with extensive Fortune 500 and startup experience, in the life sciences, biotech, and high-technology industries. She is the founder of Scale2Growth, a consulting firm offering part-time CFO capabilities that enable fast-growing emerging companies to scale up efficiently and effectively. Solange began her career at Hewlett-Packard where she held various escalating finance roles until rising to leadership role at HP’s spinoff Agilent Technologies, including Chief Financial Officer of the company’s Life Sciences Group and Chief Accounting Officer. She later became the CFO of Twist Bioscience. Solange is Board Director and Audit Committee Chair at Inari Agriculture, Lumicks B.V., and Olink Proteomics (NASDAQ: OLK). She holds a master’s degree in management from the HEC Paris School of Management.
Paul Wallace PhD
CBO
Paul Wallace PhD
CBO
Dr Paul Wallace has been leading business development activities in both private and publicly listed companies for over 25 years. He has executed multiple partnership transactions with major pharma, regularly at the leading edge of deal trends. Successes include the hepatitis C protease inhibitor Olysio®, which became one of the fastest-launched drugs in the history of the industry. Prior to joining Constructive, Paul was Chief Business Officer at Mission Therapeutics Ltd and Executive Vice President at Medivir AB where he helped guide company growth from a research-focused model to a profitable, integrated company with commercial sales. Paul had an earlier career in pharmaceutical research and carried out his PhD and post-doctoral studies in biochemistry at the University of Cambridge. He currently serves as the non-executive chairman of Semarion Ltd, a spin-out from the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge.
Helena Francis PhD
Chief of Staff
Helena Francis PhD
Chief of Staff
Helena supports Ola and the leadership team in growing a global synthetic biology leader. As Chief of Staff, Helena works across strategy, operations and corporate governance to build a strong team of genome writing pioneers and enable them to succeed. Before joining Constructive, Helena completed her DPhil in Genetics and Synthetic Biology at the University of Oxford, where she focused on systematic genetic dissection of the alpha-globin gene cluster. She then carried out a stint as a Management Consultant in Oliver Wyman’s London office, working across a range of strategy, modelling and risk projects and most recently helped guide London-based biotechnology start-up Bactobio through two fundraises and six successful Innovate UK applications totalling £11 million as their Head of Business Development. Helena has an MSci/BA in Natural Sciences (Biochemistry) from the University of Cambridge. Outside of work, Helena is an avid adventurer, be that hiking, cycling or scuba diving.
Daniel de la Torre PhD
Head of Research and Development
Daniel de la Torre PhD
Head of Research and Development
Daniel is Head of R&D at Constructive Bio. After completing his BSc in Biotechnology at University College London, he obtained his PhD at Prof. Chin’s lab at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, where he developed the foundational technologies for genome synthesis and genetic code reprogramming.
Directors and Observers [ 8 ]
Paul Conley
General Inception
Paul Conley
General Inception
Matthew Newcombe-Ellis
Ahren Innovation Capital
Matthew Newcombe-Ellis
Ahren Innovation Capital
Pierre Socha
Amadeus Capital Partners
Pierre Socha
Amadeus Capital Partners
Craig Asher
OMX
Craig Asher
OMX
Rahul Dhanda
NED
Rahul Dhanda
NED
Jonathan Pearce
Medical Research Council
Jonathan Pearce
Medical Research Council
Ola Wlodek PhD
CEO
Ola Wlodek PhD
CEO
Ola is the CEO of Constructive Bio. She holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Cambridge and executive MBA from Warwick Business School. Her scientific interests in genetic engineering of GC-rich microbes, unnatural products and peptide cyclisation led her to seek transformative applications of synthetic biology in the real world. Prior to joining Constructive Bio, she worked for various companies in the Cambridge biotech cluster, most recently as Chief Operating Officer at Reflection Therapeutics.
Prof. Jason Chin PhD
CSO and Founder
Prof. Jason Chin PhD
CSO and Founder
Jason is CSO of Constructive Bio. Work from his research group at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge provides a foundation for many of the approaches being pioneered and commercialised by Constructive. Jason has received numerous awards for his research including the EMBO Gold Medal and the Royal Society’s Francis Crick Prize. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Team [ 19 ]
Atanas Georgiev
Research Scientist
Atanas Georgiev
Research Scientist
Atanas gained his MSc at The University of Edinburgh. He brings a cumulative six years of industrial experience from across established biotech and startup companies, where he focused on display technologies, protein engineering and prototyping. At Constructive Biology, Nas is interested in developing novel tools for expanding the chemical space available to extant biology and deploying those tools for biomedicine and biocatalysis. In his spare time Nas enjoys, sports, music venues and the outdoors. He also loves artisan coffee.
Dionysis Grigoriadis
Senior Bioinformatician
Dionysis Grigoriadis
Senior Bioinformatician
Passionate about facilitating biological research with computational methods, Dionysis gained extensive experience in analysing human sequence data for cancer biomarker discovery studying for his MSc Bioinformatics at Queen Mary University of London and working on rare disease variant discovery at St. George's, University of London. Prior to joining Constructive in early 2024, he played an integral role in maintaining the "WormBase ParaSite" resource for parasitic worm genomes at the EMBL European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI). When not coding, Dionysis enjoys basketball, music events, and traveling.
Emma Thurston
Executive Assistant to the CSO
Emma Thurston
Executive Assistant to the CSO
Emma is Executive Assistant to the Chief Scientific Officer. She joined Constructive Bio in August 2022 with over 20 years experience in administration. Emma also works with Jason at the Centre for Chemical and Synthetic Biology at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology.
Esther Ivorra Mollá PhD
Scientist
Esther Ivorra Mollá PhD
Scientist
As part of the translation engineering team, Esther is involved in the design, production and optimisation of programmable biomolecules with the use of non-canonical amino acids. Her scientific career began as a Biotechnology student in Spain, followed by a PhD degree in Molecular Biomedicine at the University of Warwick. When not in the lab, Eshter’s always up for a hike, a board game session or reading a book.
Faye Rodgers PhD
Lead Bioinformatician
Faye Rodgers PhD
Lead Bioinformatician
At Constructive, Faye is responsible for the informatics side of genome design and synthesis. Working closely with the experimental genome synthesis and strain improvement teams, she is developing computational approaches to accelerate the optimisation of genome and strain design. Before joining Constructive, Faye had various roles across academia and industry; after a PhD on the microbiota of malaria vector mosquitoes at Imperial College London, she diversified into helminth genomics at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, before moving into the biotech world as a Senior Bioinformatician at Mogrify. In her free time she enjoys running, cycling and the great outdoors.
Freddie Dudbridge PhD
Commercial Development and Strategy Manager
Freddie Dudbridge PhD
Commercial Development and Strategy Manager
Freddie combines a background in biochemistry with a unique blend of experience in the culinary and wine industries. As the Commercial Development and Strategy Manager at Constructive Bio, he plays a pivotal role in driving the company's strategic initiatives and business development efforts.
Gabrielle Guesdon PhD
Research Scientist
Gabrielle Guesdon PhD
Research Scientist
Gabrielle obtained her PhD from the University of Bordeaux, where she developed methodologies and gained expertise on engineering and cloning bacterial genomes (Mycoplasma species and Bacillus subtilis strains) in the budding yeast S. cerevisiae. Her mission at Constructive Bio is to build an accelerated pipeline for large-scale DNA synthesis. In her free time, Gabrielle is keen on practicing yoga, enjoying good moments with family and friends and long walks along the seafront.
Hannah Patrick PhD
Senior Scientist
Hannah Patrick PhD
Senior Scientist
Molecular microbiologist Hannah, is a member of the Genome Synthesis team at Constructive currently working in strain development/optimisation and method development.
Henry Massey
Bioprocess Scientist
Henry Massey
Bioprocess Scientist
As a bioprocess scientist, Henry is responsible for converting Constructive’s scientific developments into an industrial process, from fermentation to final product. After obtaining a BSc in Biotechnology at the University of Edinburgh, he started his career at biotech start-up Biocleave fermenting Clostridia to produce high value recombinant protein, before joining Constructive for the exciting opportunity of growing synthetic E. coli and producing programmable biomolecules. When not in the lab he is often found outdoors, hiking and exploring new places.
Jamie Lum Choy Ling
Laboratory Technician – Molecular Biologist
Jamie Lum Choy Ling
Laboratory Technician – Molecular Biologist
Excited about the potential of our technology platforms to help shape more sustainable bioindustries Jamie joined us as a Laboratory Technician specialising in molecular biology techniques. She specifically supports the Genome Synthesis R&D team, as well as contributing to general laboratory operations and organisation. Jamie obtained an integrated Master’s degree (MBiolSci) in Biochemistry and Genetics from the University of Sheffield in 2021. Outside of the lab, she’s enthusiastic about bouldering, film photography and movies.
Kajetan Behler
Operations Manager
Kajetan Behler
Operations Manager
Kajetan is an esteemed Laboratory Manager at Constructive Bio, overseeing the seamless operation of technical facilities, procurement, and ensuring optimal health and safety protocols. With a wealth of experience in establishing, managing, and optimizing biomedical facilities, Kajetan brings valuable expertise to the team. Holding a BSc in Microbiology and Molecular Biology from Manchester Metropolitan University, Kajetan's educational background further reinforces their strong foundation in the field. His meticulous approach and dedication ensure that Constructive Bio operates at the forefront of scientific excellence and operational efficiency.
Kate O’Neill
Office Administrator
Kate O’Neill
Office Administrator
Kate joined the company in 2022 as Office Administrator within the Operations Team and is responsible for the smooth running of the office systems and projects across HR, IT and Finance. Kate has over 20 years' experience working in business admin / project co-ordination roles within the creative communication industry. Sustainability-minded, Kate spends her free time eco-gardening, lake swimming and exploring the great outdoors with her dog.
Kerri Leach
Executive Assistant to CEO
Kerri Leach
Executive Assistant to CEO
Kerri is a highly experienced Executive Assistant, having started her career in biotechnology at Illumina, followed by Kymab and most-recently VaxEquity. CIPD Level 5 qualified in People Management, Kerri also brings a wealth of experience in HR and operational support. Outside of the office, Kerri is a keen theatregoer and adores playing and coaching local netball.
Lakshmi Harinarayan
Associate Scientist
Lakshmi Harinarayan
Associate Scientist
Lakshmi is an Associate Scientist at Constructive Bio. She holds an MSc. in Plant Genetics & Crop Improvement from the John Innes Centre, University of East Anglia. Prior to her current position, she was engaged in dissecting the genetic architecture of native traits, such as disease resistance and crop yield at BASF Ghent (formerly Bayer Crop Science). Her deep-rooted passion for developing innovative technologies and a recognition of the significant potential of synthetic biology to revolutionize multiple applications from therapeutics to biomaterials, were the driving factors behind her decision to join the team at Constructive Bio. Outside work, she is a trained South Indian classical singer, an avid reader, a traveller, an adrenalin junkie and loves to try out new things.
Leon Zhang
Research Associate
Leon Zhang
Research Associate
Leon is a Research Associate in the Engineered Translation team and has experience in expressing, purifying and characterising recombinant proteins. Before joining Constructive Bio, Leon was developing and optimising downstream processing workflows in the precision fermentation industry. He has also completed an MRes in Molecular Plant and Microbial Sciences at Imperial College London where he investigated the structure and function of photosynthetic proteins. Outside of work, Leon enjoys swimming, bouldering and trying new cuisines.
Tomás Reveco Kappes PhD
Research Scientist
Tomás Reveco Kappes PhD
Research Scientist
Tomás is part of Constructive’s genome synthesis team, spearheading our phage engineering projects. His scientific journey began in Chile, where he delved into Bioengineering and Microbiology and dedicated his efforts to antimicrobial resistance research, with a specific emphasis on ESKAPE pathogens. Later, Tomás joined CCB, a biotech startup, directing a project focussed on biopharmaceutical formulations for vaccine development.
Wanna Chen PhD
Senior Scientist
Wanna Chen PhD
Senior Scientist
Wanna Chen brings extensive work experience from academic labs worldwide, refining her skills and adaptability for collaborative environments. Her expertise covers protein production, characterisation, engineering, and structural analysis, including cutting-edge methods like incorporating unnatural amino acids.
Zad Otari
Laboratory Technician
Zad Otari
Laboratory Technician
The most recent addition to our team of laboratory technicians at Constructive Bio, Zad joined us in 2024 after qualifying from Liverpool John Moores University where he studied Forensic Science. Keen to explore DNA synthesizing and sequencing further, Zad supports the research team implementing operational processes. Outside of work, he is passionate about all things football having previously worked in and around Europe in various roles with football teams.
Zakir Tnimov PhD
Project Lead
Zakir Tnimov PhD
Project Lead
Zakir lead projects at Constructive Bio that focus on incorporating noncanonical amino acids into proteins and peptides. This work is primarily aimed at creating biopharmaceuticals and novel biomaterials in the recoded strain Syn61.
Careers