Governance & Management
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors for provides essential guidance, oversight, and strategic direction. They ensure the centre's goals align with its mission, support academic excellence, and foster innovation.
Professor John Colbourne
CERJ Centre Director
As the Centre Director, John provides leadership and strategic direction for the centre, developing its mission and purpose to help remedy harm to human health and the environment caused by pollution. John founded CERJ in 2022, building upon the university's involvement in large EU research grants (PrecisionTox: €20m, PARC: €400m), identifying a unique opportunity to solidify the University of Birmingham as a global leader in precision toxicology.
Staff Profile - Professor Colbourne
Professor Iseult Lynch
CERJ Director of Research
Professor Iseult Lynch is a prominent figure in environmental nanoscience, serving as an Associate Editor for Environmental Science: Nano and Deputy Director of the Facility for Environmental Nanomaterials Analysis and Characterisation (FENAC) at the University of Birmingham. Her research primarily focuses on the interactions of nanoparticles with biological entities and their environmental impacts. She has played a significant role in the EU Nanosafety Cluster, contributing to the development of safety assessment frameworks for nanomaterials. Additionally, she is part of the Birmingham Plastics Network, an interdisciplinary team addressing the global plastics problem. Professor Lynch also leads and contributes to various undergraduate and postgraduate modules, emphasizing environmental protection and pollution.
Staff Profile - Professor Lynch
Professor Robert Lee
CERJ Director of Education
Professor Robert (Bob) Lee is a distinguished legal scholar specializing in environmental law and policy. He has held various prestigious positions, including serving as the Chair of the Environmental Law Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Bob has also been a key contributor to the development of environmental legislation and policy at both national and international levels. His research interests include environmental justice, regulatory frameworks, and the intersection of law and science. Additionally, he has published extensively in leading legal journals and has been involved in numerous high-profile environmental cases. Bob's work has significantly influenced environmental governance and policy-making, making him a respected authority in his field.
Staff Profile - Professor Lee
Professor Luisa Orsini
CERJ Deputy Director
Professor Luisa Orsini is a leading expert in evolutionary systems biology and environmental omics. She is an Alan Turing Fellow and the co-founder and CEO of Daphne Water Solutions, a company focused on sustainable wastewater treatment technologies. Her research utilizes high throughput sequencing technologies and artificial intelligence to study the impact of environmental change on freshwater ecosystems.
Staff Profile - Professor Orsini
Luisa's innovative work with "ghost DNA" and resurrected crustaceans helps identify the causes of biodiversity loss and the mechanisms of species evolution. Luisa bridges science and innovation to address urgent environmental issues supporting green growth and meeting UN developmental goals.
Professor Georgios Gkoutos
CERJ Deputy Director
Professor Georgios Gkoutos is a renowned expert in clinical bioinformatics and health data science. He holds the position of Chair in Clinical Bioinformatics, a joint appointment between the University of Birmingham Medical School and the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. He is the Director (Joint) of the Centre for Health Data Science, co-Director of the Joint Birmingham-Shenzhen Clinical Institute and Associate Director of HDRUK Midlands. His research lies within the areas of clinical and biomedical informatics, health data science and translational research aiming at the discovery of molecular origins of human disease and the development of novel disease diagnostic and intervention strategies.
Staff Profile - Professor Gkoutos
Georgios' expertise lies in the fields of translational phenomics, integrative systems biology, biomedical knowledge formalization, standardisation and representation, multimodal large data harmonization, interoperability and integration, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and multiomics, multimodal integrative analytics. He is actively involved in numerous international collaborations and has published extensively in high-impact journals. His work aims to bridge the gap between data science and clinical practice, ultimately improving patient outcomes.
Centre Management Team (CMT)
The Centre Management Team coordinates and supports CERJ administration, research, operations, and the researcher community network.
David Epps
Centre Manager
David oversees centre operations, providing practical management, leadership, and strategic support. As Centre Manager, he is deeply involved across administrative and operational responsibilities of CERJ and its research, education, and scientific facilities. His team, the Centre Management Team (CMT), forms the administrative backbone of CERJ. David is a PRINCE2® Practitioner and current MBA candidate, with 8 years experience providing higher education administration and management.
Agata Ormanin-Lewandowska
Project Manager
Agata is responsible for the coordination and organisation of the contractual, administrative and financial aspects of the 20M EUR H2020 project PrecisionTox, bringing together 15 partners from Europe and the US. Working in close collaboration with academic researchers, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and industry, she is the main liaison between the project consortium and the European Commission, supporting the financial and technical reporting and providing guidance to project partners on EC funding rules.
Frankie Lloyd
Project Officer
Frankie is part of the Centre for Environmental Research and Justice administrative team. She has worked at the University of Birmingham for two years, in which time she has managed and administrated a variety of projects within the Biosciences department, including the Environment Care Consortium, the Phenome Centre Birmingham, the Birmingham Metabolomics Training Centre, and the Daphnia Facility.
Raymond Huynh
Projects Administrator
Raymond is a dedicated and proficient Project Administrator, providing both pre- and post- award support for CERJ's project portfolio. Raymond works to manage financial, administrative, and operational matters, and supports administration for CERJ projects whilst supporting and developing new opportunities.
Eszter Voros
Finance and Administration Officer
Eszter is an enthusiastic and capable Finance and Administration Officer, supporting the day-to-day administrative activities of the centre. Eszter's role is extremely varied and spans elements of HR, finance, accounts, procurement, and contracts. Eszter also provides administrative support for CERJ’s affiliated facilities: Phenome Centre Birmingham (PCB), Daphnia Facility (DF) and Envision.
