By Jianyi Nie
In an exciting development for the MRC-Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) community, we are thrilled to announce that David Kennard was awarded the Royal Society’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence scheme. This prestigious award ensures that David will continue to serve as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at LMS for two more years.
David, with both an MBA and a biochemistry Ph.D., brings decades of entreprenerial experience across Pharmaceutical and Biotech sectors. Since assuming the role in April, David has made significant contributions to the LMS community. He has collaborated with group heads, played a key role in shaping the institute’s new translational knowledge transfer strategy, actively engaged with the community through seminars and informal discussions and liaised with industry.
The Royal Society Entrepreneur-in-Residence scheme not only recognizes David’s outstanding efforts but also provides LMS with the invaluable opportunity to benefit from his expertise for an extended period. This award acknowledges the success of the initiative and the positive impact he has had on the LMS.
“I am absolutely delighted to have secured funding from the Royal Society so that I can continue as Entrepreneur in Residence for a further 2 years. This is an incredibly exciting time for LMS, and it’s great to be involved. I hope to provide support to senior staff and early career researchers, discussing routes for translating research ideas and career aspirations, either through one-to-one or innovation training workshops,” says David Kennard.
David’s work supported the LMS-wide extensive consultation in 2023, resulting in a Team Science strategic vision. This vision brings together diverse teams of collaborators, addressing major mechanistic questions of translational relevance to complex health problems.
Integral to this vision was David’s pilot evaluation of translational and commercial opportunities within the LMS portfolio. This evaluation led to clear organizational recommendations, identifying 14 targets and mechanisms with potential for translational development.
In addition to his role in supporting individual researchers, David’s efforts align seamlessly with the refreshed LMS scientific strategy. Wiebke Art, director of the LMS, highlighted how the Entrepreneur-in-Residence integrates with the institute’s evolving strategic vision, “The LMS is transitioning to a new transdisciplinary team science strategy, which requires a dedicated Entrepreneur-in-residence to provide support and expert commercial advice not currently available within the Institute. The Royal Society award provides us with more opportunities for moving our discoveries into the translational space and to maximize commercial opportunities.”
The embedded Entrepreneur-in-Residence role is crucial for LMS, allowing the institute to focus on fundamental research while unlocking translational potential and creating transformative impact. David Kennard’s term as Royal Society Entrepreneur-in-Residence is an affirmation of the success of this approach, and LMS looks forward to continued growth and impact under his guidance.
