Mark Talford - Chief Technical Officer
Now in his second term with Britest, Mark has over 25 years of experience in research and innovation posts in industry, academia and government. Beginning his career as a lecturer in Chemical Engineering at the University of Bradford, Mark joined BNFL, and later British Nuclear Group, Sellafield where he was responsible for the delivery of a programme of process improvement research from both UK and overseas contractors.
Mark first joined Britest in 2006. He was involved in the scoping and delivery of several pharma, speciality and fine chemicals collaborative innovation projects as well as supporting Britest members and consultancy clients develop and implement novel manufacturing processes using the Britest process understanding toolkit. In February 2021, Mark joined the Innovate UK Medicines Manufacturing Challenge Fund Team as Deputy Challenge Director, where he led the delivery of UK funding programmes for innovative pharmaceutical manufacturing, before rejoining Britest as Chief Technical Officer in May 2026.
A chartered Chemical Engineer, Mark holds a degree in Chemical Engineering and a PhD in polymer process modelling from the University of Bradford. He is also a 2nd Degree Black Belt in ITF Taekwon-Do, and is an assistant instructor at his local dojang.
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An experienced industrial chemist, consultant and trainer, equally fascinated by people and processes, John brings bring a personable and flexible approach to technical communications within the Britest community, and in support of dissemination and exploitation activities in our collaborative research projects.