Dr Balwir-Matharoo-Ball: Bal has a wealth of experience in academic research as well as the NHS. Bal is new Director of a Biobank in Abu Dhabi and previously was Deputy Director of the Biobank Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust where she managed a team of 23 scientific and biomedical staff with a wide range of biobanking, informatics and technical skills. She is a member of European, Middle Eastern and African Society for Biopreservation and Biobanking (ESBB) and serves as an Ambassador the promote the mission of ESBB. She served a term as councillor, President-elect, President, and past-President. Since 2016 Bal also serves as Co-Chair of the ESBB Academic and Industry working group. The goal is to bring together a forum to enable and enhance public-private biobank related partnerships within the European framework and foster biobank-based R&D and innovation within the pharmaceutical, biotech and ICT industry.Past positions held by Bal include Senior Post Doctoral Research Fellow for 12 years both at Nottingham Trent University and University of Nottingham. After gaining her PhD in 1994 from Keele University Bal with her husband emigrated to Oman and took up a position as Head of Biomedical Sciences for the Ministry of Health.
