Our People

Managing Director

Laboratory Director

Emma attained a PhD in Biomedical Science from Lancaster University which explored the role of intestinal dysbiosis in local and systemic pathologies. Emma has over 10 years of experience working across the clinical-academic research sector, international standards laboratories and contract research organisations and holds an Honorary Research Fellowship with the University of Liverpool and NHS. Prior to joining Invivo in July 2022, Emma led a team of 139 Scientists in delivering the UK’s National Testing Programme for SARS-CoV-2 at the Alderley Park Lighthouse Laboratory. She brings a wealth of clinical research and testing experience, paired with a love of the microbiome to Invivo. Emma leads Invivo's Bristol-based human microbiome lab and drives the strategy to deliver the best-in-class microbiome profiling for better human health and ecology.

Non-Executive Director

Nick has been in business for over 30 years at board level, as Commercial Director, Managing Director, Non-Executive Director and Chairman. Nick is a certified GDPR Practitioner, is CIPP/E qualified and has acted as DPO and provided data privacy advice across a number of sectors including healthcare and the charity sector. Nick comes armed with a wealth of experience in business planning, growth, fund-raising, structure/restructure, mergers & integration, acquisitions and company sales, sales and marketing including brand creation and development.

Founder

Don founded Invivo in March 2007. With a background in human health and performance, Don was motivated to find the highest quality tools to drive improvement. Invivo has been a leader, shaped by innovation and incredible people. This continues as the company pioneers new frontiers in this exciting and wonderous space.

New Product Development & Category Manager - Supplements

Belinda studied Food & Nutrition in Australia, then moved to Canada, Bermuda and the UK, where she developed a keen interest in natural and organic products. After a long stint working as a buyer for an organic grocery chain, she joined Invivo in 2017 as the Buying and Compliance Manager. She is currently studying beekeeping and is Invivo's resident sourdough aficionado.

Business Analyst & Sustainability Lead

Kath has a BSc in Forestry from University of Copenhagen and worked most of her professional life in project management in geospacial development and analysis. Kath moved to Stroud in 2011 where she founded a geospatial software consultancy. A personal interest in community and change making, saw her founding a community space focussing on textiles and sustainable living. Kath's first project with Invivo was to facilitate B Corp certification and to understand our environmental and social impact.

Marketing & Communications Manager

Originally from South Africa, Robyn relocated to the UK in 2014. With marketing management as her academic background, she has amassed a diverse range of marketing experience across both countries. Throughout her career, she has worked in multiple industries such as telecommunications, exports, interiors, and currently healthcare. Peanut has a specific focus on marketing strategy, analysis, user research and user experience, which she has furthered through recent studies in UX Design.

Finance Manager

Tessa joined Invivo in April 2019 as the Assistant Finance Manager. Tessa is AAT and Prince 2 qualified.

Sales Manager

Naomi is a Nutritional Therapist and joined the Clinical team in 2019. After 20 years managing customer relationships in travel industry and airlines, Naomi enjoys supporting practitioners with understanding how best to use Invivo's testing and therapeutics in their clinical practice to get the best outcomes with their clients. As an NT, Naomi is passionate about helping the physical and mental health of business travellers and travel industry professionals and has always had a keen interest in gut health, which has grown into a love of all microbiomes through her time at Invivo.

Head of Clinical Innovation

After previous studies in music and early childhood education, Debbie found her way to naturopathy and completed an Advanced Diploma of Naturopathy, Bachelor of Health Science and a Masters of Integrative Psychotherapy. Debbie has been in clinical practice for over fifteen years, including time in the NHS, and has been a lecturer in health sciences throughout this time too. Debbie joined Invivo in 2018 as a part of the Clinical Education team and the Product Development team.

Clinical Education

Emily started her career as an archaeologist specialising in prehistoric human nutrition before training as a Nutritional Therapist to translate her enthusiasm for human nutrition into personalised, cutting-edge nutritional and lifestyle medicine. Emily has seven years of clinical experience within the industry from running her own private practice, working within the functional testing and supplement industry, and lecturing in Nutritional Therapy around the country.

Clinical Education

After a previous career as an engineer, Lesley’s own health issues led her to explore nutritional therapy as an option to support her health. Benefiting significantly, Lesley’s interest in the subject was ignited and she made the decision to retrain in order to practice and promote the development of nutritional therapy. Lesley has been providing individual consultations and workshops to various organisations, course tutor and for several years ran nutrition workshops for fitness retreats and has provided sessions for first and second-year medical students. Lesley continues to run a private practice specialising in clients with chronic gut issues.

Clinical Education

Ashley's passion for nutrition and ecology was born through travelling to different cultures, which opened the door to a new way of supporting health and wellness. This led her to retrain as a Nutritional Therapist. Since then, she has continued to run a busy private practice, as well as hosting workshops and retreats centred around nutrition and lifestyle medicine. 

Sales Executive

Senior Laboratory Technician

Mercedes attained a level 5 certificate of higher education in Animal Science while studying at the University of the West of England. After her studies she worked for two years as a microbiologist before joining Invivo as a Laboratory Technician. Mercedes focus is DNA and protein extractions alongside ELISAs.

Research & Development Scientist

Suzie has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge. Prior to her doctorate she attained a BSc in Microbiology and spent a year researching neuropharmacology in Barcelona. She has also previously worked as a Healthcare Scientist in microbiology diagnostics for the NHS.

Suzie joined Invivo in July 2021 and is excited to be leading the R&D efforts to develop our testing platforms.

Associate Senior Scientist

Jonathan has a PhD in Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences from the University of Brighton. Following his PhD, he has held Research fellow positions at the Universities of Brighton and Bath in molecular microbiology and virology. He conducted various research projects and has a strong track record of publications in areas spanning from host-microbe interactions, infection diagnosis and therapy, to microbiome analysis. Jonathan joined Invivo in January 2023 and is excited to bring his academic research experience into translational research restoring human health and ecology through the microbiome.  

Laboratory Scientist

Sophie has a BSc in Biochemistry from Royal Holloway University. Following that she completed a Master by Research there, with research into quantifying antibodies and immunology. Now she works as a Laboratory Scientist at Invivo.

Laboratory Scientist

Driven by her interest in health and microbiology, Nicola is a multi-tasking, error-solving genius. She lives and thrives in discussions and projects about microbiomes, female health, remedies and food. She completed a Bsc in Biomedical Sciences from University of Reading and a Master's by Research at the University of Bristol, studying the genetics of Parkinson's Disease, sleep and memory.

Laboratory Technician

Anna is a really fun-guy. After travelling the oceans with their cat companion Bob they landed in Bristol. At the University of Bristol they completed their Bachelor's degree in Plant Sciences followed by a Master's in Mycology. You'll find them climbing on the weekends and chatting mycology and genetics on a week night.

Laboratory Technician

Sofiya developed an interest in genetics after studying Zoology at Liverpool John Moores University, afterwards conducting a Master's in Tropical Marine Biology, where she conducted a project in coral holobiont interactions, which developed her skills in microbiome study and made her eager to learn more. She started at Invivo in 2022 as a lab technician to assist the lab with any growing project. Her interests include interspecies interactions and the growing technological advances in genetic analysis.

Operations Coordinator

Sian has many years of customer service experience across different industries, both in the UK and Zimbabwe, where she is from. Sian is one of the original team and has helped in all departments as the company has grown.

Lead Customer Guardian

Finance Assistant

Jack completed his bachelor's degree in International Business and spent a Sandwich year in the Netherlands focusing on business ethics and sustainability. His dissertation focused on building trust and reputation in Indian Foreign Exchange markets.

Customer Services Administrator

Customer Services Assistant

Compliance Officer

Manjinder has a degree in BSc Pharmacology and 7 years’ experience working in both chemistry and microbiology fields of the pharmaceutical industry.

Outside of work, Manjinder spends her time meditating, reading, baking and providing voluntary counselling support

Marketing Assistant

Laboratory Services Administrator

Phoebe joined the Invivo team in April 2022 as a laboratory services administrator. Alongside work, they are studying towards a BSc degree in biology, with the goal of specialising in microbiology at the postgraduate level. In their free time, they enjoy playing chess and studying the piano.

Finance Administrator

Creative Designer

Rebecca graduated with a BA in Illustration and has since pursued a career as a Graphic Designer and Illustrator. For the past 6 years, she has sought out sustainable and holistic practitioners to collaborate with, in order to align with her personal values. As a yoga teacher with a keen interest in the microbiome, she is committed to helping people improve their overall well-being. By joining Invivo, she aspires to visually convey the complexities of this subject matter in a simplified and accessible manner, one step at a time.

Warehouse Operative

Warehouse Operative

PhD

Dr Tim Mak is a medical microbiologist who completed post-doctoral research at the University of Cambridge, working on the gut microbiota and epigenomics in paediatric gastrointestinal health and disease. He was also a visiting scientist at the Sanger Institute before working as a Senior Scientist in Janssen, a J&J company, where he led and managed projects on oncology, microbiome, and vaccinology. He has 10 years' international experience in pharmaceutical industry drug discovery while also acting as an advisor for venture capitals and biotech start-ups.

PhD

Dr David Moyes gained his PhD from Imperial College London before working at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology investigating the link between microbes and rheumatoid arthritis. At King's College, he was part of a team that identified the central mechanisms by which epithelial cells discriminate between commensal and invasive forms of Candida albicans. The Moyes lab at King's College London studies the interactions between the human host and the microbiota that reside at the different mucosal surfaces, including the bacteria, fungi, and viruses. David is also a lecturer in host-microbiome in the Centre for Host-Microbiome interactions.

PhD

PhD

Dr Javier Ochoa-Reparaz is an Assistant Professor at Eastern Washington University. His research is focussed on host-microbial gut interactions and mechanisms of immunomodulation associated with protection against CNS inflammatory demyelination, with a particular focus on the impact of gut microbes regulating disease. Javier obtained his BSc and PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Navarra in Spain. He received postdoctoral training at Montana State University and at Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. Javier has industry experience as a senior scientist with a focus on neuroimmunology and drug development.

PhD (Candidate), MSciMed (RHHG), BHSc(Nat), FNHAA

Leah is an experienced and respected clinician and has been in private practice for over 20 years. She specialises in fertility, pregnancy and reproductive medicine and holds fellowships and memberships with many International organisations. She sits on multiple Scientific Advisory boards and is a Past President of the NHAA.

She has completed extensive advanced training and is currently completing her PhD through the School of Women’s and Children’s Health (Faculty of Medicine [UNSW]). Her research is exploring ovarian biomarkers in women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and Premature Ovarian Failure (POF).

Leah is the Director of The Natural Health and Fertility Centre, in Sydney Australia. Over the years she has helped thousands of couples conceive healthy, vibrant children often in situations where they were told there was no hope left.

She is a keynote speaker at conferences locally and internationally to both the functional and complementary medicine communities as well as the wider fertility and gynaecological areas of medicine. She is the author of multiple seminal naturopathic textbooks and is a contributor to journals and other texts within the Naturopathic and Functional Medicine areas as well as general gynaecology, fertility and infertility.

Most importantly, she is a mother to two gorgeous boys who keep her grounded, humbled and consciously aware.

PhD (Candidate), M ACU, B NAT

Moira is a PhD Candidate at Griffith University in the area of the vaginal microbiome and recurrent vaginal infections. Moira also holds a Bachelor of Naturopathy from Southern Cross University and a Master’s degree in Acupuncture from Southern Cross University. She has over 18 years of clinical experience as a Naturopath, Acupuncturist and educator. During this time she has developed specific interest and expertise in the treatment and assessment of recurrent vaginal infections, optimal vaginal and genitourinary health as well as hormones and the vaginal microbiome. She is the founder of Intimate Ecology clinical and education services.

PhD (Microbiology & Glycobiology)

Dr George Tzortzis completed his PhD in gut microbiology and glycobiology at Reading University in 2003. Since then George has been both Director of R&D and CSO at Clasado Biosciences, developing a 17-year track record of successful strategic and tactical leadership within the biotech industry. He has a consistent track record of successfully handling all complexities pertaining to therapeutic discovery, pre-clinical and clinical studies, and international regulatory compliance; while holding nine patents in the area of gut microbiota/microbiome and health.

PhD (Microbiology)

Dr Andrea Monteagudo completed her microbiology PhD at the University of Leon. Andrea’s primary research has focused on the evaluation of the potential probiotic of lactic acid bacteria strains. She has also assessed several intrinsic characteristics of different strains of probiotics, including, gastric and bile tolerance, antimicrobial activity, adhesion ability to intestinal cells. Before joining Reading University, she was a post-doctoral researcher, with Dr Andrea Azcarate at the Microbiome Core Facility. Currently, she is a post-doctoral researcher investigating the influence of iron in modulating the composition and metabolism of the microbiota.

BDS U(Lon), MFDS, RCS Ed

Dr Victoria Sampson obtained her Bachelor in Dental Surgery from Barts and the London. She is now known for her work in developing salivary diagnostics, microbiome testing and incorporating artificial intelligence into everyday care. Her work has been acknowledged worldwide resulting in her becoming a scientific advisor, board member and clinical lead of multiple dental companies globally. She also has a postgraduate Diploma in Periodontology.

Victoria has been at the forefront of change in dentistry, by undertaking research projects in multiple fields of dentistry and taking a special interest in the relationship between the mouth and the body. She has published numerous papers both in the UK and internationally, with her most recent publication in the British Dental Journal being the most cited and viewed article ever published. Most recently, Victoria was shortlisted as one of the most promising young scientists in Europe for the Forbes 30 under 30 in Science and Healthcare 2022 for her efforts and devotion to healthcare. She is the first dentist to ever shortlist for Forbes.

In both 2021 and 2022, Victoria was also recognized for her achievements, as one of the finalists for the award for Best Young Dentist in England by the Private Dentistry Awards as well as winning the Best Young Dentist Award by the British Endodontic Society. She has also won national prizes from the British Society of Dental Maxillofacial Radiology and the Association of British Academic Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons for her research. Victoria is one of the founders of the The Health Society in Mayfair, London; the first multidisciplinary health centre where she practices functional and precision dentistry as well as heading clinical research trials from.