Leire is an Associate Director at AstraZeneca, where she leads cross-functional teams in functional genomics and early-stage drug discovery across immunology, respiratory medicine, oncology and cell therapy, driven by the belief that every novel target offers an opportunity to change a life. Originally from Barcelona, she holds an MSc in Immune Molecular Pathology from Imperial College London and a PhD in Cancer Genetics from the University of Cambridge. Her career in the industry has taken her through GSK, Horizon Discovery and AstraZeneca, where she has built and scaled phenotypic and CRISPR-based screening and iPSC capabilities, combining advanced perturbation libraries with physiologically relevant models and AI-driven analysis of large-scale genetic screening datasets to translate complex biology into decisive portfolio decisions. An entrepreneurial leader and former co-founder of a Cambridge-based healthcare start-up, she brings a purposeful and inclusive approach to both science and team building. Beyond R&D, she strengthens scientific communities as a founding leader of the HBA Cambridge branch and an active mentor and judge for innovation programmes.
