Meet the team
ELAROS is a private digital health company incubated by NHS organisations, that represents a breakthrough, not only in terms of the innovative nature of its product development, but also in its partnership approach that brings together the NHS, the academic community and industry. ELAROS has partnered with The University of Leeds to digitise and enhance its C19-YRS questionnaire by developing a clinical web portal and patient app with another Sheffield-based software development company and strategic partner, Pipe and Piper Ltd.
The NHS organisations involved in ELAROS are:
Devices for Dignity: a NIHR Healthcare Technology Co-operative set up to drive forward innovative new products, processes and services to support people with long-term conditions, preserving their dignity and independence. Devices for Dignity is hosted by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Medipex Ltd and NHS Innovations North: the UK NHS Innovation Hubs for Yorkshire & Humber and the North East Region. Their mission is to facilitate the development of services and products that cut costs and improve patient care.
Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: who provide the clinical direction for ELAROS.
North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group: with whom ELAROS is working to commercialise the hydration monitoring system, Hydr8, and a service improvement management software, the CQI Toolkit.
Professor Paul O'Brien
CEO
Professor Paul O' Brien was appointed CEO of ELAROS 24/7 in April 2012. Paul has held senior posts in the private sector (Chief Executive), local government (Chief Officer), health (Director in West Essex NHS Trust) and education (Head of Department).
He has previous venture start-up experience having established the Essex Development and Regeneration Agency with a turnover of £8.5 million and funds under management of £15 million - employing 60 planners, economists, surveyors, bid writers and fund managers.
He has extensive experience of public sector transformation having externalised a local government service and more recently the externalisation of a £33 Million NHS Service.
Paul also has broad non-executive board experience gained over a 15 year period and has completed the Institute of Directors Diploma in Company Direction.
He is a visiting lecturer to the University of Surrey on its MBA & MSc Entrepreneurship programmes.
Peter Cunliffe
Finance Director
Peter Cunliffe qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1983, having trained in Birmingham with one of the then ‘Big 4’ accountancy firms, Deloitte Haskins and Sells.
Since qualifying, Peter has worked in various finance and accounting roles for a wide spectrum of businesses, both in terms of size (£3m up to £1.2bn turnover) and industry sector (including retail, engineering, steel stockholding, laboratory analysis and specialty chemicals).
His early positions were in large blue-chip companies, roles which gave him a full understanding of the importance of pertinent, current management information and the need for strict financial disciplines to augment performance and safeguard assets.
Recognising that most small companies do not need a full-time financial director, Peter set up Flex FD Ltd in 2004, providing a flexible financial direction service for start-up and early-stage companies, particularly in the life science and healthcare sectors, and has helped raise £7m in funding across 10 businesses.
Román Rocha Lawrence
Director of Research & Development
Román Rocha Lawrence joined ELAROS in July 2019 as our Graduate Trainee Research & Development Manager after graduating from The University of Sheffield with a First Class Honours MEng Degree in Bioengineering.
As part of his degree which drew on various engineering disciplines, management, science and medicine, Román specialised in Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering, Medical Devices and Computational Medicine; completing a summer research project with INSIGNEO in 2018; Europe’s largest research institute dedicated entirely to the development, validation, and use of in silico medicine technologies.
Román made a substantial impact at ELAROS in his first year using his broad depth of knowledge of interdisciplinary STEM subjects and entrepreneurial experience outside of academia, forming key partnerships for the company at an early stage and managing two pivotal Innovate UK funded projects for ELAROS.
Román has managed the (digital) C19-YRS development with ELAROS' industrial, academic and clinical partners and will be responsible for the clinical rollout and national launch of the system in the NHS and private sector.
Oscar Petherick
Research & Development Manager
Oscar was appointed to the new role of Graduate Research and Development Associate in July 2021, following the completion of the University of Sheffield’s MEng Bioengineering degree. This multidisciplinary degree covers traditional disciplines, such as medicine, computer science and materials science, commercial areas of study such as project management, finance and law, as well as cutting edge subjects such as tissue engineering and in silico modelling.
Following a placement with the company in August 2020, Oscar and ELAROS remained in touch over the course of his final year where he undertook a dissertation project in the investigation of an in silico tool for clinical applications. In his new role, Oscar is supporting the development and clinical rollout of the C19-YRS across the U.K. will develop his skills and support the company in the release of ongoing projects as well as the development and management of new digital health solutions.
Henry Robinson
Business and Healthcare Analyst
Henry Robinson joined Elaros part time in March 2021 whilst studying for a master’s degree in healthcare Analytics and Artificial Intelligence at Sheffield Hallam University. Henry’s master’s degree explores the digital health field, including data processing, data protection, ethics, project management and procuring among many other areas.
In 2018, Henry graduated with second class honours in BSc Biochemistry from the University of Sheffield before working as Laboratory Technician for a medical devices company. This degree included teaching in genetics, bioinformatics, microbiology, and genomics. Henry has also completed a PGCE in Secondary Science at the University of Manchester. Henry aims to bring his combination of industry, teaching and academic experience to his role with Elaros.
Since joining Elaros, Henry has been involved with the rollout of the C19-YRS system. This has included bug testing, proof-reading and planning academic and NHS outreach. Over the coming months, Henry aims to complete his master’s dissertation through his work with Elaros.
Pipe & Piper Ltd.
ELAROS contracted a third-party developer and one of its long-term strategic partners, Pipe & Piper Ltd, to develop the C19-YRS platform with The University of Leeds. Pipe & Piper were able to rapidly develop the C19-YRS system to an industrial, professional and clinical standard by pivoting ELAROS' pre-existing, CE-marked medical device, the Digital Bladder Diary, which focuses on the remote assessment and monitoring of lower urinary tract symptoms. Pipe & Piper have years of experience building bespoke systems for industrial, government and NHS organisations.
"Pipe & Piper provide cross platform mobile application design, cloud software development and web design services focused on delivering high-end bespoke digital business solutions right here from our Sheffield based offices. We love cloud and mobile technology, it’s something that we as a team have an abundance of passion for! We use this tied with our experience to provide our customers with something that’s incredibly unique and that is guaranteed to fulfil their digital requirements."