Sam works for UK Research & Innovation (UKRI), the UK’s largest public research and innovation agency, leading on investment strategy. UKRI invests nearly £9bn per year in a diverse portfolio of people and careers, places and infrastructure, ideas and innovation; Sam’s team works to maximise the value of these investments.

Previously Sam worked at the UK’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT) in Singapore, where he was responsible for the trade and investment relationship between ASEAN and the UK. Before joining DBT, Sam worked for the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, where he established the UK Science Policy and Relations function.

Sam’s Civil Service career began in 2001 as a graduate FastStreamer in the Department for Trade and Industry, where he ran a Minister’s Private Office before becoming the Head of External Relations for the Department. He spent 6 years in Asia with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, boosting science and technology partnerships with Southeast Asia and China.

Sam’s structural biology research at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, was published in the journal Science and he has a Masters in Biochemistry from the University of Bath.