Meet the team

Rick joined Beacon (previously known as Findacure) as the charity’s third member of staff and first-ever Scientific Officer. His aim was to drive forward the charity’s work in drug repurposing.

Rick became CEO in 2017, and has since been involved in almost all of our projects. He drives the organisation’s growth and strategy.

Before Beacon, Rick secured a PhD in Evolutionary biology and studied moles in Cambridge’s Museum of Zoology. He has written articles, given talks and provided training across the European rare disease community. He is continually amazed by the work, knowledge and commitment of our patient group leaders.

In his free time, Rick likes to paint, read science fiction and fantasy novels, and geek out with a good board game – that is when he isn’t busy being a dad to his two small girls!

Favourite moment at Beacon:

Our first-ever rare disease showcase event in Birmingham will always stand out as a huge achievement, a great event and a showcase that set the tone for our work to come.

Likes

• Indie-rock music
• Dinosaurs
• The Wire

Mary Rose – or MayRo as we like to call her – joined Beacon in 2016 as the charity’s first Events Officer; initially tasked with growing our workshops programme, mentoring scheme, rare disease showcase series and drug repurposing conference.

In 2019, Mary Rose became our Head of Operations; taking on responsibility for the strategy, development and delivery of Beacon’s patient group training and community building projects, as well as leading our Projects Team. She moved into the position of Chief Operating Officer in 2022 and, in addition to steering our projects, oversees Beacon’s internal processes and supports the development and well-being of our staff.

Prior to Beacon, Mary Rose attended Keele University and graduated in 2014 with a First Class Honours degree in Politics. It was during this time that she developed a passion for social causes and event management and decided to pursue a career in the charity sector. Mary Rose prides herself on her organisational skills and attention to detail, which make our projects so successful.

In her spare time, Mary Rose is an aspiring kayaker, Zumba-goer, baker, crafter and guardian to Jasper, her ginger cat.

Favourite moment at Beacon:

The Virtual Rare Disease Showcase; our first ever large-scale, multi day virtual conference and a huge professional challenge.

Likes

• Eurovision
• Skiing in the Alps
• Swimming in the sea
• Marvel Cinematic Universe

Blayne joined Beacon in July 2020 as our Marketing and Engagement Manager. In June 2023, she moved into her new role as Digital Resources Manager where she began growing The Resources Hub and managing our volunteers!

Blayne is responsible for:

• Volunteer and pro bono management
• Developing and delivering our on-demand and online resources
• The Resources Hub website and promotion

Blayne adores writing and making connections with leaders in the rare disease community. She prides herself on writing concisely, clearly and accessibly so that everyone can enjoy our resources. She has now made the switch from adding the American “z” to adding the British “s” to words.

Blayne graduated a semester early from Clarkson University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Communications and a minor in Business. She does not miss the constant, freezing cold snow up in Potsdam, NY!

Outside of work, you can find her making memories with her long-haired weenie dog, Spooky, watching The Great British Bake Off and Facetiming her family.

Favourite moment at Beacon:

Being published in Pharmafile for her article, “Every number has a face: Are you valuing the patient voice?”

Likes

• Naps
• Christmas markets
• Comedians

Hannah joined Beacon in February 2021 as our Projects Administrator and has since moved into the position of Projects Manager. She graduated with a History Degree from the University of Leeds in 2017, and before joining Beacon, she was living in Canada skiing every day and working in events.

Hannah supports the management and delivery of Beacon’s events and projects and leads a number of our core activities, including the Patient Group Mentoring Programme, The Student Voice Prize, our masterclasses and in-person workshops.

Hannah sought out a career in the charity sector so she could have a positive impact on peoples lives and especially enjoys the projects where she works directly with the rare disease community. She loves the variation in her role at Beacon and is excited to be a part of the charity as it continues to grow and find new and innovative ways to support the rare community.

Outside of work, you can usually find her out in nature where she enjoys hiking, swimming and paddle boarding!

Favourite moment at Beacon:

The 2021 Drug Repurposing Conference. It was her first major event at Beacon and was a total success!

Likes

• Yoga
• Drum and bass
• Paddle boarding

Faith joined Beacon in September 2022 in the role of Fundraising Officer. After graduating with a degree in Human Geography, she developed an aspiration of working towards health equity.

Faith is predominantly responsible for seeking and maintaining funding for Beacon’s work, monitoring the success and impact of our projects, and creating effective fundraising proposals to harness the support from trust and foundations and potential corporate partners.

Being a fresh–faced graduate, Faith is looking forward to putting her skills towards the benefit of the rare disease community. She has always had a passion for working in charity, particularly within the healthcare sector, so is excited to meet an abundance of new people in her role.

Outside of work, you will usually find Faith somewhere in nature, whether that be at the beach, in the garden, or wandering around a nature reserve.

Favourite moment at Beacon:

Attending the Drug Repurposing for Rare Diseases Conference 2022. Particularly theevening mealwith the whole team, it was the first opportunity to spend time with everyone. 

Likes

• The beach
• Flowers
• Cheese boards
• Pistachios

Will joined Beacon in October 2022 as our Administrative Officer, having graduated with a 2:1 in military history from the University of Kent in 2021.

Will supports the day-to-day running of the charity, supports the CEO and Chief Operating Officer in their roles and helps ensure a smooth delivery of the new EU-funded drug repurposing project REMEDi4ALL. He is looking forward to learning how Beacon operates and how he can assist with the work we do within the rare disease community.

In his spare time, Will enjoys going to the gym, watching Man Utd again after years of disappointment and going to raves with his mates and girlfriend on the weekends.

Favourite moment at Beacon:

My favourite moment so far has been organising our Christmas party. All the new staff, including me, had settled in and it was one of the rare times that everyone was together. Everyone enjoyed the food and, more importantly, remembered their Secret Santa presents and all of them were a hit.

Likes

• Computer games
• Drum and bass
• Military history
• Manchester United

Eve joined Beacon in October 2022 as Senior Scientific Project Officer and came on board to support Beacon’s role in the ambitious, EU-funded drug repurposing initiative – REMEDi4ALL.

Eve works with clinicians, researchers, patients and other stakeholders to help add insight into the value of patient-centred research and decision making in clinical research. As part of REMEDi4ALL Beacon will help create an accessible platform to educate all interested in the multiple, often complex steps involved in drug repurposing. Eve is currently undertaking research into how best to deliver this education to a wide audience and will then work to make this happen.

Before coming to Beacon, Eve worked as a Clinical Trials Practitioner in gynecological cancer. This gave her great insight into both the impact of clinical trials on the day-to-day life of patients and the huge requirement of brain power, data and collaboration behind the scenes to ensure the trial runs smoothly.

Outside of work, you will find Eve doing something with her hands –be it upcycling old furniture, cooking, working in the garden or (especially in colder months) indoors on the sofa with a coffee and a sewing project.

Favourite moment at Beacon:

Attending the Drug Repurposing conference in October 2022. An exciting and informative introduction to what would soon be colleagues and friends in the rare disease and drug repurposing community.

Likes

• Star Wars
• Candles
• Cooking
• DIY

Niamh joined Beacon in 2023. As our communications officer, Niamh is responsible for the charity’s external communications, including running our social media channels, newsletters and website.

Before working at Beacon, Niamh completed a Level 3 Digital Marketing Apprenticeship, this gave her the opportunity to gain skills and knowledge in social media content creation and management, SEO, website development and email marketing. 

Niamh was given an introduction into the charity sector from doing a work experience placement at BBC Children in Need in the Corporate Partners and Marketing team.

Outside of work Niamh enjoys travelling, going to theatre shows and watching live music with her friends and family.

Favourite moment at Beacon:

My first Beacon event was the Rare Disease Showcase 2023 in Cambridge! It was great to meet the rest of the Beacon team, and learn more about the amazing rare disease community.

Likes

• Traveling
• Live music
• Theatre shows
• The beach

Emma joined Beacon in September 2023 to manage income for the charity and support communications.

Her aim is to maintain and develop partnerships with businesses and grant makers to ensure the charity continues to deliver exceptional services and support to the rare disease patient community.

Emma has worked across the charity sector in fundraising and communications following her time at university studying journalism. After working in the arts and higher education, she spent 5 years at the Tuberous Sclerosis Association and 2 years at Genetic Alliance UK.

In her free time Emma enjoys yoga, gigs and stand-up comedy, when she is not chasing around her small chaotic little boys.

Favourite moment at Beacon:

The welcome given by the Beacon staff team!

Likes

• Dancing
• Festivals
• Posh bakeries
• Assault courses

Gabriel joined Beacon in 2024 after graduating in Immunology from the University of Edinburgh. At Beacon, Gabriel supports the production and development of our educational resources for patient groups, acts as a key liaison between collaborators and the community, and provides support in a range of different projects, especially those with a scientific relevance, like REMEDI4ALL.

At Edinburgh, Gabriel gained a thorough understanding in genetics and immunology, which are the base of many rare diseases. After university, Gabriel joined Scleroderma United, a charity that works to raise awareness and connect people living with Scleroderma, a rare autoimmune disease.

At the same time, he volunteered as a medical writer at Klarity, where he produced comprehensive articles
about disease management to help people understand diseases better.

Outside of work, Gabriel enjoys spending time with friends, keeping active, and cooking!

Favourite moment at Beacon:

Because I’ve only recently started, I don’t have a lot of experiences yet! However, my favourite moment was when I opened my work laptop for the first time, and I saw the laptop’s wallpaper. It was a landscape from the Canary Islands (where I’m from)! This is a little detail that meant a lot, and I will always remember it!

Likes

• Being active (working out, swimming, surfing)
• Dancing
• Cooking
• Socialising
• Learning about psychology, our brains and human relationships!

Elizabeth joined Beacon in May 2024 in the role of Events Officer. In 2023, she graduated with a degree in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Nottingham. She developed an interest in rare diseases after completing a research project investigating the underlying neural mechanisms of a rare type of dementia.

Elizabeth’s role is to assist with the planning and delivery of Beacon’s online and in-person events. She serves as a point of contact for beneficiaries, collaborators and external partners to ensure smooth delivery of Beacon’s projects. She also collaborates with the Fundraising and Communications Team, supporting with the collection and reporting of impact data and maintaining the patient group database.

Outside of work, she can usually be found rock climbing with her partner, taking a yoga class, or catching up with family and friends.

Favourite moment at Beacon:

Attending and assisting with the organisation and delivery of the MCDS-Therapy final conference in Newcastle, 2024. It was an eye-opening insight into the clinical trial and a great opportunity to spend time with the team and consortium.

Likes

• Rock climbing
• Yoga
• Forests

Jeffery joined the charity in Summer 2021 after Beacon – then named Findacure – entered the Cambridge Independent‘s ‘design a mini-moo’ competition.

The competition was run in conjuction with Cows about Cambridge, a free public art trail of 90 locally designed Cow sculptures.

The Cambridge Independent called upon local community groups and organisations to submit a design for a ‘mini moo’, with the winner being awarded their very own mini moo!

We tasked our Senior Projects Officer, Phil, to create a design for the mini moo and, low and behold, we won the competition! Read our article in the Cambridge Independent to find out more.

Favourite mooment at Beacon:

Attending the Cambridge Rare Disease Showcase in July was a great mooment! I loved having my photo taken with a lot of people across the rare disease community, it made me feel like a moovie star. I felt like I had really earned my spots!

Likes

• Showing off his dance mooves
• Grazing awareness of rare diseases
• Cowllaborations
• Mootown music