Jim Williams is an IVD Development & Validation Manager within Almac Diagnostics Services’ UK CLIA certified laboratory in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. He has over 15 years’ experience within the molecular biology and diagnostics fields and has a passion for bringing highly complex diagnostic assays to fruition. After obtaining a BSc Hons in Cell and Molecular Biology, Jim worked for two years within the field of Developmental Genetics at the University of Sheffield, and then went on to achieve a PhD in Environmental Microbiology at Queens University Belfast. Jim has worked at Almac for 15 years, where he is currently responsible for developing and validating novel molecular diagnostic assays under Design Control - predominantly to aid selection of eligible subjects for clinical trials, or as drug Companion Diagnostics (CDx). As well as overseeing laboratory aspects, Jim is also responsible for generating the requirements for, and having full oversight of, bioinformatics pipelines and reporting software, which form integral and essential components of a successful Clinical Trial Assay (CTA) or CDx.