About us

Our company

We are a world-class team of scientists, an impressive group of 20+ highly skilled toxicologists who have a combined total of over 250 years of data appreciation. It is this depth and breadth of toxicological knowledge backed up by bibra’s unique in-house toxicology databank and associated database, TRACE, that enables us to support you in a number of important toxicological areas.

Whether you are bringing a new product to market, dealing with a contamination crisis or submitting a dossier, we have the proven knowledge to assist. We can provide reports and expert opinions on toxicological acceptability or safety-in-use, including the preparation of urgent hazard and risk assessments of chemicals. Our highly skilled, experienced, professionally registered toxicologists, are ready to help.

Meet our team

Richard Young

Managing Director and Principal Toxicologist

RSB/BTS European Registered Toxicologist

Richard has ~20 years’ experience in desk-based toxicology at bibra. He has an MSc in Applied Toxicology and his skills include expert analysis of human health data.

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Anne Edwards

Director and Principal Toxicologist

RSB/BTS and European Registered Toxicologist

Anne joined the company in 1987, gained her PhD in 1991 and since moving to a desk-based job in 2000, she is now responsible for reviewing and critically evaluating toxicological data on chemicals.

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Ashleigh Ace Barrett

Commercial Director

Ashleigh heads up the commercial aspects of the company (finance, marketing etc) and has been at bibra over 10 years

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James Hopkins

Toxicology Director and Chairman

RSB/BTS and European Registered Toxicologist

James, in his 46+ years at bibra, has obtained an extraordinary breadth of knowledge and experience within the food, chemical, pharmaceutical, agrichemical and packaging sectors.

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Pete Watts

Toxicology Director

RSB/BTS and European Registered Toxicologist

Pete, one of our two Toxicology Directors, has an impressive 42 years of experience as a desk-based, bibra toxicologist and hazard/risk assessor. His special interest is in the pragmatic application of risk assessment methodology to toxicity data sets.

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Tanya Diver

Principal Toxicologist

RSB/BTS and European Registered Toxicologist

Tanya has over 30 years’ experience of identifying and critically evaluating toxicological data on a wide range of chemicals, as well as extensive experience in project management.

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Beth O’Connell

Principal Toxicologist

RSB/BTS and European Registered Toxicologist

Beth has an MA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, an MSc in Forensic Science from King’s College London, and has been a toxicologist at bibra for 11 years.

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Chris Waine

Principal Toxicologist

RSB/BTS and European Registered Toxicologist

Chris is a Registered Toxicologist, who joined bibra at the beginning of 2013 after gaining an MChem in Chemistry with Forensic Science from the University of Manchester.

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Dan Threlfall

Senior Toxicologist

RSB/BTS and European Registered Toxicologist

Dan joined bibra in 2014 after graduating from the University of Cambridge with an MSci in Natural Sciences, specialising in Chemistry.

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Charlie Johnson

Senior Toxicologist

RSB/BTS and European Registered Toxicologist

Charlie joined the bibra team in mid-2015 after he completed his MChem degree. He is now a senior toxicologist and manages a large variety of projects.

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Helen Gregory

Senior Toxicologist

RSB/BTS and European Registered Toxicologist

Helen joined bibra in 2017, having previously worked as an analytical chemist and forensic toxicologist for nearly twenty years.

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Craig Freeman

Toxicologist

Craig joined bibra in 2018, having studied for a degree in Biological and Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Exeter.

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Jessica Gagalang

Toxicologist

Jessica joined bibra in 2021 after completing her master’s degree in Analytical Toxicology from King’s College London. She also holds a BSc in Natural Sciences from UCL, specialising in organic chemistry and biomedical sciences.

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Kimberley Jerwood

Toxicologist

Kim joined bibra in 2022 having completed a MChem at Cardiff University, with her Masters’ research on stereoselective coordination of 2’2’-bipyridine ligands to iridium (III) cores published in the Dalton Transactions.

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Philip Copestake

Senior Toxicologist

Philip joined BIBRA (as it then was) in 1987 with a degree in biochemistry from Edinburgh University and an MSc in Information Science.

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Tracy Laughland

Senior Toxicologist

Tracy studied Biochemistry at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh before joining BIBRA (as it then was) in 1988, working in the Information Department.

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Kelly Jackson

Toxicologist

Kelly completed her PhD (examining mechanisms of cellular zinc homeostasis) and since 2013 has worked part-time for bibra, producing toxicological profiles for various consumer products.

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Kate de Navarro

Office Manager

Kate joined the Bibra team in 2014; she runs the office, assists Ashleigh and keeps all the tox team in check.

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Tanya Mooneapillay

Administrative Assistant

Tan joined the Bibra team in February 2017 as an Administrative Assistant, helping Kate to seamlessly run the office.

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Pat Aspin

Project Administrator

Pat trained as a technician, specialising in histology and electron microscopy; she joined BIBRA (as it then was) in 1986 and has worked in a number of departments.

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Green credentials

As scientists, we love the planet and we try to be as green as possible. Wherever we can, we buy from, and use, local trade (IT support, solicitors, locksmiths, food etc). 40% of our team cycle to and from work every day (phew!), and importantly, our pensions are in sustainable and environmentally-considerate funds.

Carbon off-setting

Bibra is proudly a carbon-neutral company. We offset our carbon usage by donating to schemes via Carbon Footprint. As a team, we decided to make double the necessary contribution, to at least do our little bit to help ensure our planet is protected for future generations.

Charity

This year, we are supporting a local charity, Duffus Community Foundation, who use recreational activities, creative workshops and evidence-based practice to help make a positive difference in children and young people.

CPD

A significant proportion of our time is devoted to our Continued Professional Development - be it holding internal seminars, attending training conferences, or going out to speak at events. All of our senior team are accredited and listed in the relevant Registers of Toxicologists, and are bound by their specific codes of conduct.

Corporate CV

Our team of toxicologists have a wealth of experience in assessing health hazards and risks relating to chemical exposures. They have an outstanding track record working in a competitive market, dealing with a wide range of companies drawn from many different industrial sectors, government agencies and regulatory bodies.

This team, having worked together for some considerable time (45+ years in some instances), have collaborated on thousands of projects. To make it easier for visitors to our website, we have listed a sample of our projects in one document, our Corporate CV. More expansive information on a few of these projects can also be found in our Case Studies.

Click to download our Corporate CV

Our logo

Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating exposures to toxins and toxicants.

The 'four corners' are representative of the four cornerstones of toxicology. They encapsulate our business (as well as our logo!) and you'll see the corners featuring on each page of our website.