Daniel Smith, PhD, FRSB

Following the acquisition of Cobra Biologics/Cognate BioServices by Charles River Laboratories (CRL) in April 2021, Professor Smith was appointed Executive Director, Global Cell & Gene Therapy Portfolio within the CRL Corporate Development & Strategy function. Prior to acquisition, Professor Smith was the Chief Scientific Officer across the Cognate/Cobra C> CDMO portfolio (2020-2021), and Cobra Biologics (2014-2020), driving CDMO innovations and partnerships across plasmid DNA, viral vectors, and latterly, (gene-modified) Cell Therapies, with respect to development and production. Previously he was Knowledge Transfer Manager and Senior Technologist for the BioProcessUK team. Daniel spent five years (2005-2010) at Cobra in roles including Senior Scientist, QC Team Leader, Head of Process Technology Transfer and Commercial Scientific Development Manager. He has over eight years academic research experience, 30+ research publications to his name and a PhD in Molecular Cell Biology, and a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry. Daniel holds Honorary Industry Professor positions at both the University of Kent, UK and at the University of Warwick, UK.