Why The Northern Retrieval Registry located to The Biosphere

How does The Biosphere serve your business?

The Northern Retrieval Registry is a research centre business that studies implants removed from the body. Through reverse engineering, we work out why they malfunctioned or performed well. It’s quite a unique area because it falls in between bioengineering, pathology and the surgical specialties.

The Biosphere was perfect for us because it could serve all these disciplines. I’d been looking around for the right space for years and The Biosphere really met all our criteria. It was centrally located, it was modern, it was new and surrounded by like-minded individuals and companies.

What collaboration opportunities does this site provide?

One of the reasons why I chose The Biosphere was the opportunity to meet like-minded individuals. We do a lot of data management and we're right next door to the National Innovation Centre for Data, as well as the National Innovation Centre for Ageing. These facilities are really central to what we do in terms of cellular responses and genetics.

Chance meetings at conferences have been behind many of the biggest developments I’ve made. Being in an environment like this, we’re going to be exposed to different learning opportunities, different people and different specialties and areas, which will help us in our work and development.

What global opportunities will be enabled by working at The Biosphere?

I’ll give you an example. Last year, we organised a world-class conference in the joint replacement research area. I remember at the time thinking how good it would have been to be able to show people from outside the UK around a world-class facility like The Biosphere, which not only looks impressive but also has excellent technologies and experts. Now we can.

We’re also looking to collaborate with Australia and do an increasing amount of work in the United States. But to expand our database, we need bigger equipment, bigger facilities, we need attractive facilities and attractive technology. That’s exactly what The Biosphere provides.

What excites you about the bigger vision of Newcastle Helix?

What excites me about working on the Helix site is the ability to work with other individuals who are all working towards the same goal, i.e. to improve science and technology for the future. The Helix is so new and exciting and it’s right in the city centre. It’s a pretty mind- blowing place and I’m really looking forward to moving there.