Andrew Ward

“I cut my teeth in chromatography in the analysis of illicit drugs at the Forensic Science Service (FSS) where I worked for over ten years, ultimately gaining responsibility for the development, validation, implementation and accreditation of national and international drugs analysis systems,” says Andrew Ward. He sat on the forensic technical group overseeing EU funded collaborative projects, developing international harmonized methodologies for the comparison of illicit drug seizures. “This aspect of my role at the FSS taught me a lot about collaborative work, which has proven key to my current role at JSB,” he says. The challenge of method development has always excited Andrew, and his current role allows him the freedom. “I am able to think bigger, with a vast range of instrumentation to choose from to solve a particular analytical problem and no ties to a single supplier. Working so closely with customers means that we often get the more difficult or unusual analytical problems to solve, and long may this continue!”