Deborah O’Neil

A biotechnologist with over two decades of experience in the field of research & drug development.

Deborah founded NovaBiotics in 2004. She trained as an immunologist in internationally acclaimed laboratories (University College London, UC San Diego, University of Ghent) before moving to Aberdeen and developing the clinical and commercial potential of her antimicrobial technologies, spinning NovaBiotics out of the University of Aberdeen’s Rowett Research Institute.

Deborah is a Board member of the UK’s BioIndustry Association, a Director and founding member of the BEAM Alliance (Biotechs of Europe innovating in Anti-Microbial Resistance), was a member of the Scottish Life Sciences Industry Leadership Group and served on the Boards of the Scottish Life Sciences Association and Opportunity North East Life Science/BioAberdeen. Also Chairperson of the UK’s Medicines Discovery Catapult-Cystic fibrosis (CF) Trust’s working group on antimicrobials in CF and sits on the UK BioIndustry Association’s working group on AMR. Deborah was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2018 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. Named as one of the 20 women leaders in European biotech in 2019, one of the 30 top female leaders in UK Healthcare in 2018, one of the 15 leading women in European biotech in 2017. In 2020, Deborah was made OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, for services to biotechnology, industry and charity.