Trained scientist with experience of academic and commercial research. Currently running a bioscience company in Cambridge, UK.
Activist promoting openness, transparency and representative democracy, particularly in the field of policing, crime and justice; seeking to make Cambridge, and the UK, a safer and more pleasant place to live.
Confident making technical presentations and speaking in public.
Teaching and training experience.
Combining strong mathematical, scientific and IT skills with an interest in democracy and society.
Resident of Cambridge for over a decade, living in Market, Arbury and Kings Hedges wards.
Director of Cambridge based company, specialising in commercial applications of life-science publication, grant, and bioinformatics data.
Clients include many major suppliers of equipment and reagents to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, as well as consultancies, conference organisers, and those running specialist websites.
Volunteer working on the freedom of information website WhatDoTheyKnow.com. Assisting users and helping develop and act on policies for dealing appropriately with requests to remove information from the site. Also tweeting and writing articles about the site and lobbying for improvements to Freedom of Information law.
Contributing to maintaining the voting record for MPs on TheyWorkForYou.com.
Activism, Campaigning, Lobbying, Citizenship
Civic activities carried out in public, and recorded via this website and Twitter (RTaylorUK). What I do is driven by a desire to live in a meritocratic society with a thriving representative democracy where civil liberties are protected.
Regular user of the public speaking slot at Cambridge City Council and Cambridgeshire Police Authority meetings.
Working within the University of Cambridge for a spin-out company conducting commercial technology assessments and developing technologies for engineering functional microstructural formulations for biological materials. Working directly with major multinational clients. Appointed a Director in November 2005.
Work resulted in a patent application entitled: Encapsulation of edible oil products and encapsulated edible oil products. No. WO2007034213 (2007)
Novel formulations for complex biological therapeutics, including viruses, DNA, lipids and proteins. Working towards inhalable viral formulations with applications as gene therapy vectors and vaccines.
Working closely with Nektar Therapeutics (formerly Bradford Particle Design, and Inhale Therapeutics) on particulate biological formulation using the company’s specialist techniques within their facilities, as well as with a number of companies based in the Cambridge area.
Student trainer organising, promoting, writing and presenting training sessions. Promoted to supervisor in leading team of seven trainers.
Academic Publications
S. Zhai , R. Taylor, R. Sanches and N.K.H. Slater (2003) Measurement of Lyophilisation Primary Drying Rates by Freeze-drying Microscopy, Chemical Engineering Science, Volume 58, Issue 11, June , Pages 2313-2323.
Suling Zhai, Raino K. Hansen, Richard Taylor, Jeremy N. Skepper, Raquel Sanches, and Nigel K.H. Slater (2004) Effect of Freezing Rates and Excipients on the Infectivity of a Live Viral Vaccine during Lyophilization Biotechnol. Prog; DOI:10.1021/bp034362x
R.Taylor, S. Zhai and N.K.H. Slater, (2004) Functional formulations for gene therapy vectors, Presented at the 2nd Annual Biomaterials Workshop, Cranfield University, UK.
S.Zhai, H.Su, R.Taylor and N.K.H. Slater (2004) Pure Ice Sublimation within Vials in a Laboratory Lyophiliser; Comparison of Theory with Experiment. Chemical Engineering Science Volume. 60, no.4, Pages 1167-1176
J Morris, G.J.Morris, R Taylor, S. Zhai and N.K.H. Slater. (2004) The effect of controlled nucleation on the ice structure, drying rate and protein recovery in vials cooled in a modified freeze drier. Cryobiology 49, 308-309.
