Bhakti Patel

Founder of IntelliGene Diagnostics, an independent practice offering specialist expertise in the delivery of innovative technologies, particularly molecular assays and NGS workflows, for healthcare-related fields. I partner with organisations on projects spanning diagnostics, genomics, biopharma, and life sciences innovation. Alongside this, I act as an industry expert for advisory networks such as GLG, providing technical insight to investors and emerging companies. www.intelligenedx.com

GLG is the world's largest expert network, connecting clients with experts who have deep experience in specific industries. I provide insights that help investors and other business professionals make more informed decisions, with focus on biotechnology, medical devices and diagnostics.

Genepica is a non-profit organisation working to advance health genomics in underserved populations. I identified partnership opportunities, made key introductions, and helped to build strategic alliances with stakeholders across the research, biotech, and pharma sectors.

Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) has developed a new generation of sequencing technology that provides real-time analysis of native DNA or RNA, spanning short to ultra-long read lengths, in fully scalable formats. I joined ONT to establish and lead the Diagnostic Applications team, a specialised group responsible for developing novel molecular diagnostic assays leveraging the benefits of nanopore sequencing. The team comprised molecular biologists and bioinformaticians, and projects spanned a range of clinical areas including inherited disease, immunogenetics, reproductive health, oncology, and infectious disease. I oversaw the design and delivery of prototypes, ensured technical oversight as products moved through the development pipeline, and evaluated third-party technologies under consideration for partnership with nanopore sequencing as part of the due diligence process.

DNA Script was created to revolutionise enzymatic DNA synthesis through innovations in enzyme engineering, surface and nucleotide chemistries, and instrumentation, giving rise to SYNTAX, the world’s first benchtop DNA printer powered by enzymatic technology. I spent my time at DNA Script in a multifaceted role that supported all scientific activities: 1) Platform Manager, Automated DNA Synthesis: Management of a full-time company-wide DNA synthesis service, enabling testing of new enzymes, nucleotide/surface chemistries, and providing materials for the Apps team 2) Project Leader, DNA Synthesis Development: Development, optimisation and advancement of DNA Script’s core enzymatic DNA synthesis technology 3) Co-project Leader (alongside Head of Apps), Next Generation Sequencing (NGS): NGS characterisation of oligonucleotides produced enzymatically (Illumina iSeq 100), including the establishment of a fully automated setup for library preparation A highlight of this role was the successful design, scheduling and co-ordination of technical demonstrations showcasing DNA Script’s capabilities across a two-day Due Diligence visit (Series B funding round 2019, €38.5 million).

DNAe is developing the LiDia-SEQ™ Platform, a fully integrated diagnostic system based on semiconductor sequencing, that will provide rapid, actionable information to clinicians at the point of need. I led a team of molecular biologists to develop a rapid, sensitive and robust amplification method to take place on the surface of a CMOS semiconductor chip, as part of an end-to-end NGS workflow. A highlight of this role was successfully demonstrating proof of concept to meet key annual deliverables for BARDA in 2017 and 2018 (total grant $51.8 million).

Enigma Diagnostics developed the Enigma MiniLab, a fully integrated system for rapid point-of-care diagnostics. As a member of the Assay Development team, I contributed to the development of CE-IVD assays against infectious disease targets, including the FluRSV assay and MDR-TB assay, working within the ISO 13485 quality management system. I subsequently took on an additional role within the Systems Integration team, involving assay transfer to a cartridge-based workflow and integration onto the MiniLab platform.

MRC Career Development Fellowship spanning two research groups. Investigated the structure and function of the metabolically important enzyme AMPK (Cellular Stress group), and analysed cardiovascular disease susceptibility loci identified in rodent models (Molecular Cardiology group).

Thesis title: 'Identification and analysis of the synergistic targets of TBX5 and GATA-4.' Investigated genes important in cardiac development, focusing on two key transcription factors whose haploinsufficiency is associated with atrial septal defects.

Rotation across two departments - Medical Genetics and Cardiovascular Sciences. Performed mutational screening of BMPR2 and associated genes in PAH patient cohorts, amplification and sequencing of coding regions of genes within a cardiovascular QTL, and functional studies to determine the effect of 5' UTR mutations on gene expression. Techniques included nucleic acid isolation from blood/tissue, PCR, DHPLC, and Sanger sequencing on both the ABI Prism 377 and ABI Prism 3130xl genetic analysers. Held sole responsibility for instrument running and maintenance, and provided a department-wide sequencing service.