Park People: Poppy Roworth, Arctoris

In this month’s Park People, the Milton Park team learns how Arctoris’s Poppy Roworth went from lab to leadership. Find out how Poppy juggles patents, Pride events and plumbing mishaps as Chief Operating Officer of the automated drug discovery technology company.

Hi Poppy! Please can you tell us a bit about Arctoris?

Arctoris is a Partnership Research Organisation (PRO) that collaborates with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as academic groups, to accelerate their drug discovery research. Our secret ingredient? A fully automated platform called Ulysses™ that handles a wide range of experiments.

Pair that with our expert scientific teams in biochemistry, biophysics, cell biology, protein science and structural biology, then you’ve got a recipe for top-notch data. This is crucial for our clients to make informed decisions on their journeys towards developing successful new drugs.

What inspired you to pursue a career in biotech?

I was fortunate enough to complete a year in industry at AstraZeneca during my undergraduate studies and really enjoyed the work I did there. I knew I wanted to work in an industry that was intellectually stimulating and focused on improving patients’ lives.

During my PhD, I met the future co-founders of Arctoris, who offered me a job as their first scientist. Although my role has evolved and grown with the company over the years, I’m still fully committed to our mission to collect stronger data to speed up the development of better drugs for patients.

What motivated your transition from a scientific role to operations?

While my background was in science, I quickly found myself wearing multiple hats, that’s startup life for you! I fell in love with the constant problem-solving across a wide range of challenges, both big and small. My scientific knowledge and curiosity ultimately led me to transition into operations.

What does your role as Chief Operating Officer involve?

In a small company like ours, the COO assumes many roles. I oversee the teams and people responsible for project delivery, develop and implement systems and processes, manage facilities, handle IT and lead growth planning.

I also chip in with project management, marketing and anything else that needs doing! Every day is a new adventure, which I love, but juggling so many tasks can be a real workout. Thankfully, I have an amazing team of independent, talented colleagues who are ready for anything.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I thrive on variety. One day I might be puzzling over data with the scientists, the next I’m writing Standard Operating Procedures or developing new processes. I’ve even been known to pitch in with cleaning after a plumbing mishap!

Every day brings something new to learn, whether it’s science, software, or other aspects of the business. It’s an incredible privilege to learn from such talented colleagues.

Do you have any career highlights?

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget to celebrate the wins. While there isn’t a single standout moment, being named as an inventor on our first patent, moving to Milton Park and completing our lab expansion have all felt pretty great.

Overall, I’m thrilled with the team we’ve built and the growth we’ve achieved, despite the challenges facing the whole sector. Looking back, it’s amazing to see how far we’ve come from starting as just five people in a tiny lab.

How has your commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) helped shape the culture at Arctoris?

I work closely with our Chief People Officer, Sally, as our EDI Ambassador. Together, we ensure that all our policies and culture promote equity, diversity and inclusion. Two of our core values at Arctoris are collaboration and authenticity. We want everyone to feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work and working closely together.

Keeping EDI at the forefront is crucial. I’m proud of how we’ve grown our diverse culture and EDI initiatives as the company has expanded.

What do you like about being based at Milton Park?

The community at Milton Park is fantastic. There’s a diverse mix of companies from different sectors and sizes, which always leads to fascinating conversations at networking events.

For small companies like Arctoris, having access to such a wide range of activities is brilliant. Our employees love to participate in the sports sessions and enjoy exciting foodie events. We even have a keen group that regularly attends the board game nights at the Hive Cafe.

This year, I initiated a Pride networking event for everyone working at Milton Park. The MEPC team was wonderfully supportive, promoting the event and hosting it at Bee House. I also had great support from EDI groups at other companies, including Immunocore, Adaptimmune, Evotec, and Vertex. Another LGBTQIA+ event is already in the pipeline!

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