My fondest memories would be the previous antiquated look/feel of the University. At the time of my study, they began to invest heavily upon new builds, campuses and sites. I am amazed at the wonderful deluxe which are now apparent at all sites and campuses whenever I drive into Wolverhampton from London. Making lifelong friends and seeing/watching them grow just as much as you is inspirational!

The University provided the platform for me to excel towards a scientific and senior management role both in the public and private sector. Previously, during the Covid-19 pandemic, I was Acting Head of Life Sciences in addition to my substantive role. In my previous role, I led a pan- European pathology service provider in London for the operational excellence of five divisions including a bespoke Harley Street breast clinic practice. The tutorials and group seminars at the University allowed me the confidence to confer and build my strong relationships with key eminent surgeons and key stakeholder partners. The University secured me the confidence to develop a natural presence, build high emotional intelligence, stay positive, resilient, flexible, adaptable and develop a confident personality. I became innovative, strategic, proactive, dynamic and adaptable to change. I became proficient with my interpersonal skills, both written and verbal. This has helped me tremendously with my sessional lecturing upon the UCL MSc External Cornea course. I developed thorough knowledge of Care Quality Commission, ISO standards 15189 (2012), Human Tissue (Quality and Safety for Human Application) Regulations 2007, MHRA Requirements Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005. Moreover, I developed leadership and influencing skills with the ability to enthuse, motivate and involve individuals and teams to meet the expectations of my employers. The University assisted towards my numeracy and analytical skills. I became adept and proficient, becoming a key member of all NHS/private IT steering panels. I was also privileged to have my audit report nominated in the top 10 NHS Clinical Governance Poster Presentation in 2019. The University provided me with organisation and planning skills. I was able to invest heavily upon contingency and disaster planning. Therefore, when the Covid-19 pandemic commenced, my disaster plan was initiated swiftly. I was honoured to have then assisted the North Central London region and PHSE with SARS-2-Cov-19 testing. I successfully led my NHS trusts validation and implementation of SARS-2-Cov-19 testing and assisted in the operational excellence of all UK urgent ocular surgeries. I am privileged to manage a department that won my NHS Trust’s Team of the Year award 2022. I am honoured to be a Healthcare Science Ambassador with Health Education England,thus able to share my knowledge and experiences to the next cohort of ambitious scientists.

My role is to provide direct line management to both departments and drive innovation and improvement through Quality Management and Accreditation compliance. I manage The Moorfields Lions Eye Bank (MLEB) which provides various donated human tissues for 1000+ ocular surgeries across Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (MEH) each year. The MLEB procures, stores, processes, issues and disposes of human tissue. I also manage the Pathology department and the Point of Care Testing (POCT) providing an annual throughput of around 80,000 tests. Many of these come from the phlebotomy service. I manage the day to day running of the MLEB and Pathology departments in accordance with the relevant compliance standards including the Human Tissue Authority (HTA), the codes of practice for Tissue Banks, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) clean laboratory and UKAS/ISO Standards for the Medical Laboratory (ISO15189:2016), clean rooms (ISO14644:2015) and POCT (ISO22870:2016). I also deputise for the Head of Life Sciences (HoLS) in his absence, acting as a Nominated Individual (NI) for the Human Tissue Authority.

The University provided me with the essential prerequisites to develop a professional attitude and visual interpersonal skills. My most notable successful project included overseeing the entire cytology operation of assisting Dr Dawn Harper in September 2014 as part of her implementation of cytopathology reporting in a “live” media setting on behalf of Dr Dawn Harper’s “No Fear Go Smear” campaign on ITV This Morning (see ink below): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92_YLf7A_cc. More recently, I am privileged to have contributed with my surgical colleagues towards the poster abstract presentation at the prestigious Ophthalmology Bowman's club in March 2022 and published in the peer reviewed British Medical Journal of Ophthalmology. https://bmjophth.bmj.com/content/7/Suppl_1/A5.2

How time has flown since my university course! I am honoured to have taken every possible opportunity that came my way. The University provided me the key resources, tools and essential prerequisites in order to succeed. I was able to grasp any opportunity that came my way. I certainly hope you do too?