A very warm welcome to our new recruit, Mehreen Arif, who has joined our Action Duchenne family as Chief Scientific Officer.
Bringing support & science to life
This new role forms a crucial part of our ‘All-through Support’ project, which recently received support and recognition by the National Lottery. Mehreen will be working on the science education programme and developing our research strategy to define the path for innovative and novel research approaches.
Hear from Mehreen
“I have always been driven by my passion and intrinsic motivation to make a positive difference in someone’s quality of life. I have been chasing that moment of ‘eureka’ throughout my scientific career and have been fortunate to celebrate one such success in my 10 years behind the bench. A patient enrolled in our phase 1 clinical trial, evaluating a novel personalised cancer therapy, attained complete tumour resolution post therapy. Once you experience the difference your scientific contributions can make in the real world, you never stop pursuing the next promising direction.
Once you experience the difference your scientific contributions can make in the real world, you never stop pursuing the next promising direction.
I completed my Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science with second class Honours (Upper Division) from the University of Surrey in 2014. Soon after completing my BSc, I secured a position to pursue my PhD studies in the development of Cancer Immunotherapy. During the 4 years in my doctorate studies, I undertook and completed the preclinical in vitro and in vivo work that led to a successful phase 1 clinical trial and generation of peer-reviewed papers. In my subsequent role as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at GlaxoSmithKline, I lead a project in collaboration with academic partners in King’s College London. I utilised my laboratory expertise, partnership building and interpersonal skills to develop and validate a novel technique designed for clinical setting.
Action Duchenne came up on my browser at the end of a long day of searching for the next, exciting opportunity for myself. After watching the ‘It’s all about the why’ video on the Action Duchenne website, I immediately knew I wanted to be a part of this brilliant team.
I am extremely delighted and proud to be representing Action Duchenne as the Chief Scientific Officer. I will be supporting the Science Education programme and developing research strategy to define the path for innovative and novel research approaches. Additionally, I will be providing support and scientific expertise to the team wherever required. I will contribute to the updating of the Accident and Emergency pack, the registry, webpage and support families.
Action Duchenne is committed to exploring new ways we can deliver accessible and inclusive scientific, research and education programmes. Mehreen brings procedure-focussed and goal-driven ways of working which will directly impact our organisation. She joins our growing team of capable professionals, who are joining me in helping deliver our positive, forward-looking vision.
Florence Boulton – National Director
I have worked with teams from different areas of the business. My ‘can do’ approach and positive attitude has led to success in every project that I have been a part of. Furthermore, I have an eye for detail and pay careful attention to project planning. I take smart risks to deliver targets on time. I look forward to working with the brilliant team at Action Duchenne and cannot wait to make my impact on the lives of the families facing this diagnosis.
My personal life is as exciting as my scientific career, I have a 3-year-old daughter who keeps me on my toes. We love to explore new towns, try out different banana bread recipes and throw pretend tea parties for all the teddies to enjoy.
Looking forward to meeting you!
Find out more
- Contact Action Duchenne support team on 020 7250 8240
- Watch recordings from our Conference 2022
- Join a support event
- Sign up to receive Duchenne news
Annual General Meeting
