Dr David Secher

Life Fellow, Gonville and Caius College

David Secher was Senior Bursar of Caius from 2012-2018.  He has also been a Graduate Tutor, College Lecturer and Registrary (secretary to the College Council) at Caius, as well as interim Bursar of Trinity and Corpus Christi. He was the University’s first Director of Research Services, where he established Cambridge Enterprise.  He has been a member of the University Finance Committee, the Board of Scrutiny and the Nomination Committee for External Members of the Council.  Outside Cambridge he is a Governor of Coventry University, where he chairs the Enterprise and Innovation Committee and is a member of the Research Committee.  David is the Senior Independent (non-executive) Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Crossword Cybersecurity plc.  He also chairs CTC Cambridge (cycling club).

David is a University-nominated trustee of United Charities of Cambridge, an historic local charity for the alleviation of poverty in Cambridge, and the Treasurer of the César and Celia Milstein Foundation.

For two decades David was a member of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, first as a graduate student of Dr César Milstein, Nobel Laureate for the invention of monoclonal antibodies; later as a tenured Group Leader.  As his interest in the application of medical research for patient benefit developed, he moved to work in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, and then for Cancer Research UK, where he set up and directed an organisation for the early clinical trials of new cancer treatments.

In 2002, together with Lita Nelsen of MIT, he founded Praxis (now PraxisAuril), the leading UK knowledge exchange organisation.  He served as chairman or as a director until 2014 and is now Patron. For his contributions to “creating environments that favour enterprise, specialising in the practical aspects of commercialising the results of academic research” he was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion (lifetime award). In 2023 he received a lifetime achievement award for his commitment to Knowledge Exchange.  David has taught or worked as a consultant in intellectual property and Knowledge Exchange, advising universities or governments in all six continents.