Our team

Angie is a plant biologist and has spent the last decade focusing on understanding the power of plants to solve some of our most pressing challenges such as food insecurity, climate change and environmental degradation. Previously, Angie was a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge.

Antonia joined ARIA from the fusion energy sector, where she served as CFO of the UK Atomic Energy Authority. Prior to that, she was CFO/COO at the Satellite Applications Catapult and in various private sector organisations. Her background is in corporate finance and she has held a number of Non-Executive Director roles in early stage and leveraged businesses.

Dan previously served as COO at the UK healthtech startup Accurx, which supported the care of over 50 million NHS patients. Prior to this, Dan worked in strategy consulting with a focus on sustainability.

davidad is a software engineer with a multidisciplinary scientific background. He’s spent five years formulating a vision for how mathematical approaches could guarantee reliable and trustworthy AI. Before joining ARIA, davidad co-invented the top-40 cryptocurrency Filecoin and worked as a Senior Software Engineer at Twitter.

Gemma is a biomedical physicist. Currently an Assistant Professor of Medical Therapeutics and Head of the Neuro Optics Lab at the University of Cambridge, Gemma’s work focuses on developing non-invasive brain monitoring in real-world environments where traditional brain monitoring isn’t usually possible. At ARIA, she is working as a co-Programme Director with Sarah Bohndiek.

Ilan is our founding CEO. He previously founded Activate.org, a US-based organisation that empowers scientists and engineers to bring ground-breaking research to market. Prior to this, Ilan established two science-based start-ups and served in the first generation of Programme Directors at ARPA-E.

Jacques is an applied physicist and neuroscientist. He spent a decade building quantum computing technologies before pivoting into systems neuroscience where he developed optical technologies to understand living brains. Prior to ARIA, Jacques was a BBSRC Discovery Fellow at the University College London.

Jazz started his career and qualified as an accountant in audit and spent several years in corporate finance, largely with SMEs. Following this he joined Satellite Applications Catapult.

Jenny is a visual neuroscientist, previously trained in theoretical astrophysics. Her work focuses on how we can build smarter bodies for robots through new modes of sensing, transmission of sensory information, and actuation through hardware advances. Jenny joined ARIA from her role as Professor of Vision Science at Newcastle University.

Mark is an electrochemist, with a 15-year career developing sustainable fuels in the drive towards net zero. He joined ARIA from the University of Glasgow, where he is Professor of Electrochemistry and Electrochemical Technology.

Pippy was previously the founder and CEO of a women’s health start-up. She also served as Global Product Manager at Entrepreneur First, which supports the creation of technology companies internationally.

Sarah is a biomedical physicist – currently a Professor of Biomedical Physics at the University of Cambridge, she is jointly appointed in the Department of Physics and the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute. Sarah leads an interdisciplinary team that uses optical imaging technology to monitor in situ tumour evolution and support earlier cancer detection. At ARIA, she is working as a co-Programme Director with Gemma Bale. 

Suraj is an electrical engineer. His work focuses on how we can redefine the way computers process information to build dramatically more efficient computers. Suraj joined ARIA from Sync Computing, where he was co-founder and CTO, which optimises the use of modern cloud computing resources. The company was spun-out from his research at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Suraj previously worked at Intel Corp, helping transition silicon photonics technology from an R&D effort into a business now worth over $1BN.

Tammy’s career spans the private and public sector. She joined ARIA having previously worked at two unicorn software startups, including Rebellion Defense, where she established and led the UK procurement and contracts team.