The Cerca team

Cerca Magnetics unites researchers and engineers at the forefront of OPM-MEG innovation, and together we are revolutionising functional brain imaging.

Leadership

David Woolger

Chief Executive Officer

David Woolger

Cerca is led by David, an experienced business leader. He is currently Managing Director of MSL where he has successfully doubled turnover and tripled EBITDA in the last five years.

Prior to this David worked at Deloitte as Management Consultant for 9 years. He is a CIMA qualified accountant, and his standing in the UK quantum technologies community is well recognised, for example by his membership of the UK Quantum ATEP Board.

Dr. Elena Boto

Chief Technical Officer

Dr. Elena Boto

Elena is a co-founder and Cerca’s chief technology officer. Elena is an award-winning physicist who has been working with next-generation human imaging since 2014.

Elena has been the lead author on many of the seminal papers which have led to the neuroscience community considering wearable technology as a viable alternative to the current state of the art. Elena was originally trained in physics at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, and has a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Nottingham.

Prof. Matthew Brookes

Chairman

Prof. Matthew Brookes

Matt is the non-executive chairman of the Cerca board. Matt is recognised globally for his work in the field of human neuroimaging with over 120 peer reviewed publications.

For nearly 20 years his pioneering work has helped to transform this field with seminal contributions in the areas of hardware development, mathematical modelling and measurement of connectivity. His most recent work has been on the applications of quantum technologies to electrophysiological brain imaging.

Dr. Niall Holmes

Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Niall Holmes

Niall is Co-founder and Chief Scientist at Cerca. Trained in Medical Physics at Nottingham, where he also earned his Ph.D., Niall has been developing hardware and techniques for wearable neuroimaging since 2016, authoring key papers and patents that underpin Cerca's tech.
 
In 2022 he was awarded the Institute of Physics Clifford Paterson Medal (shared with co-founders Elena and Ryan) for exceptional early-career contributions to the application of physics in a commercial context.

Product and Innovation

Dr. Ryan Hill

Co-founder

Dr. Ryan Hill

Ryan is a co-founder and a scientific advisor to Cerca. He has been working with OPMs since 2017, developing hardware and techniques for wearable neuroimaging. His work on a neuroimaging system with lifespan compliance was listed as one of Physics World’s “Top 10 Breakthroughs of the Year” in 2019.

Ryan achieved his Master’s degree in Physics and Ph.D from the University of Nottingham.

Holly Schofield

Product Developer

Holly Schofield

Holly is a scientific researcher at Cerca, undertaking a PhD at the University of Nottingham in parallel. Her research is focused on demonstrating and validating novel OPM-MEG hardware, and she has been involved in multiple successful installations of Cerca systems worldwide since joining in 2022. 

She was trained in Physics at the University of Nottingham, where she obtained her Master’s degree in Physics.

Dr. Ashley Tyler

R&D Lead

Dr. Ashley Tyler

Ashley is the R&D Lead at Cerca, bringing a range of skills following his Ph.D. at Nottingham.

He developed a phantom device to validate the performance of the Cerca OPM-MEG system and has contributed to system delivery worldwide, providing ongoing customer support.

Before joining Cerca, Ashley was a postdoctoral researcher at Nottingham, continuing his Ph.D. work on diamond-based quantum sensing hardware and techniques.

Frank Worcester

Engineering Team Leader

Frank Worcester

Frank is an award-winning engineering team lead and design engineer at Cerca. He has been working for Cerca since 2021, helping to design mechanical products for wearable neuroimaging. These include having a hand in, if not outright designing, the patient support, every helmet and every ancillary mechanical component. 

Prior to this Frank worked at 3M/ Kindeva Drug Delivery Devices as a Design Engineer, mainly focused on inhalation products and NPD activities.

Zoe Tanner

Scientific Researcher

Zoe Tanner

Zoe is a scientific researcher at Cerca , simultaneously pursuing her PhD at the University of Nottingham. Having previously graduated from Nottingham with a master’s degree in Physics, her role at Cerca involves testing and validating the next-generation of OPM-MEG systems to demonstrate comparability with and advantages over existing MEG systems.

As well as the research side of her role,  Zoe is involved in installing our OPM-MEG systems as well supporting customers.

Rosie Turton

Design Engineer

Rosie Turton

After graduating from Loughborough University with a degree in Industrial Design and Technology in 2024, Rosie joined Cerca as a design engineer.

Her role consists of product development (with a focus on usability and interaction), CAD and prototyping.

Jack Taylor

Software Engineer

Jack Taylor

Jack has been writing software for industry in a multitude of computer languages for the past forty years.  He holds a degree in engineering physics and an HND in optoelectronics.

Jack went back to university earning a further degree in diagnostic radiography and a post grad certificate in MRI scanning.

At Cerca, Jack maximises his combined knowledge to help with the development of our system.

Dr. Edgars Kelmers

Mechanical Engineer

Dr. Edgars Kelmers

Edgars is Cerca’s Mechanical Engineer. Edgar is responsible for new product development and ensuring the safety of the Cerca system. He brings expertise in mechanical testing and prototyping by performing computational FEA modelling and validation with physical experiments. 

He obtained his PhD at the University of Leeds, where he invented the next generation of smart knee implants.

Jack Wood

Software Engineer

Jack Wood

Jack received a masters  Physics with Nuclear Astrophysics from the University of Surrey, during which he spent a year working in Nuclear Security. This was followed by an 18 month research stint at the University of York and a year working at Photek on product development of a Neutron Camera.

Jack now works for Cerca, developing and refining programs for end users as well as working with automation, hardware integration, signal acquisition, and magnetic field control.

Dr. Lukas Rier

Software Consultant

Dr. Lukas Rier

After working alongside the Cerca team during his PhD and postdoctoral research at the University of Nottingham, Lukas' role at Cerca involves developing user-friendly tools to streamline OPM-MEG data analysis.

Elspeth Jackson

Systems Technician

Elspeth Jackson

Elspeth is a University of Surrey graduate with a First Class BEng in Biomedical Engineering, where her research included signal processing of interictal EEG data to explore new diagnostic tools for epilepsy and psychogenic seizures. She has a strong background in competitive sport and valuable experience in customer-facing roles.

As a Systems Technician at Cerca, Elspeth provides technical support, assists with system installations, and works closely with the R&D team.

Emily Murray

Systems Technician

Emily Murray

Emily recently completed her Master’s degree in Physics at Loughborough University, where she specialised in medical physics with a focus on microbeam radiotherapy.

As a Systems Technician at Cerca, she will play a key role in the preparation, installation, and servicing of OPM-MEG scanners at customer sites.

Tyler Hayward

Junior Technician

Tyler Hayward

Before joining Cerca in 2023, Tyler studied Draughting at the Academic Institute of Excellence in South Africa. His role involves CAD and prototyping, 3D printing, as well as room and system installation.

Operations

George Caines

Senior Project Manager

George Caines

George has extensive experience in delivering complex, high-value projects and driving business-wide transformations.

With his background as an athlete and coach, George brings a unique level of drive, resilience, and adaptability to project management. Over the past decade, he has successfully managed large-scale multi-million-pound programs across multiple sectors, developing a pragmatic, results-focused approach.

Freya Jackson

Head of Finance

Freya Jackson

As Head of Finance, Freya has been instrumental to Cerca’s ability to remain EBITDA and cashflow positive from its inception until now.

A CIMA qualified accountant, Freya has also worked in the manufacturing industry since 2018 and brings with her a wealth of knowledge in managing the finances of a growing business.

Eliot Dawson

Operations Manager

Eliot Dawson

Eliot is Cerca’s Operations Manager, after spending two years as MSL’s R&D Manager.  Whilst at MSL, Eliot was actively involved in both the development and installations of all of their OPM-optimised shielded rooms.

He brings that knowledge, including extensive experience of the critical degaussing setup, to Cerca. Eliot has a Master’s in Physics with Nanotechnology from the University of Leeds.

Dr. Molly Rea

Technical Operations Lead

Dr. Molly Rea

Molly has been working with OPM-MEG since 2018, using the latest coil and sensor developments to create a more naturalistic scanning environment for wearable neuroimaging.

Molly completed her Ph.D. at Nottingham and brings expertise in background field control techniques and multi-channel OPM systems, to drive delivery of our system; from assembly in-house to installation on-site, as well as providing ongoing support to users.

Rebecca Guest

Quality Engineer

Rebecca Guest

As Cerca's quality Engineer Rebecca is responsible for the implementation and management of ISO 13485 across the company, overseeing all quality assurance.

Rebecca previously worked in the medical device, general manufacturing, distribution, and clinical waste industries. Her experience includes implementing and managing ISO 9001, ISO 13485, ISO 45001, and ISO 14001 standards, and ensuring legal compliance.

Allan Park

Procurement and Stock Manager

Allan Park

Joining the team in 2021, Allan has been an instrumental part of delivering our systems on schedule to customers around the world. 

Allan crossed over from the logistics industry where he gained experience across multiple disciplines before specialising as an inventory manager for 10 years. In this time, he helped build and develop team members to deliver excellent results.

Phaik Low

Exec Assistant and Office Manager

Phaik Low

Phaik is a highly experienced Executive and Personal Assistant with over 25 years of expertise supporting C-Suite and senior leadership teams across national and international settings.

Fluent in English, Mandarin, Malay, and various Chinese dialects, Phaik prides herself on her exceptional communication, as well as organisation and multi-tasking skills.

Ella Crowther

Marketing and Communications

Ella Crowther

Ella is Cerca's Marketing and Communications consultant, managing and publishing content on the website and social media channels, as well as producing physical and digital materials.

Ella also works for the University of Nottingham Energy Institute, managing the digital channels, organising workshops and large-scale conferences, as well as leading on civic engagement.
Please note, the Cerca OPM-MEG System is offered as a research system, it does not have any medical or regulatory approvals in any jurisdiction.