Meet the Avilabs Team
At Avilabs, our people are at the heart of what we do. With specialist knowledge in poultry testing and a passion for supporting the industry, our team is dedicated to delivering fast, reliable, and accurate laboratory services you can trust. Meet the experts behind our accredited testing solutions.
Maxine Markus - General Laboratory Manager
With over two decades of hands-on experience in microbiology laboratories, Maxine has built a career rooted in scientific rigor, operational excellence, and a deep understanding of food safety and animal health. Her journey began in a food factory lab, where she developed skills in microbiological testing and quality assurance. She then moved into contract food laboratories, expanding her expertise across a diverse range of testing.
Nearly 10 years ago Maxine moved into primary production and animal feed testing, including some veterinary diagnostic testing. In 2022, she completed a Master of Research (MRes) in Applied Biomedical Sciences, focusing her thesis on Mycoplasma gallisepticum in pheasants in Great Britain—a comprehensive review of current literature, practices, and diagnostic methodologies.
Setting up the Avilabs laboratory represents a rare and exciting opportunity to establish a laboratory, shaping its infrastructure, workflows, and culture to meet the highest standards of scientific and operational excellence. Maxine brings a unique blend of technical knowledge, leadership, and a passion for supporting the agricultural community. This extensive and varied background not only equips her with the technical knowledge required to establish a laboratory, but also the operational know-how essential to lead the development of a lab that delivers precision and reliability.
Paula Arrowsmith – Senior Analyst
Paula began her laboratory career seven years ago, initially working in a primary production laboratory before transitioning into a contract laboratory. This move broadened my exposure to a diverse range of analytical tests.
Among the various techniques she has performed over the years, serotyping stood out as an area of interest, working step by step to identify the isolate within the different groups of Salmonella. Over the years, Paula has gained experience across nearly all microbiology bench-level procedures, and she has enjoyed mentoring and training colleagues in these methods.
Paula’s proudest achievement is being offered and accepting my role here at Avilabs and progressing into the senior analyst role. Helping to set up a lab is a dream come true. The move to Avilabs has enabled me to expand my responsibilities into the quality assurance domain, extending her understanding from beyond bench work into the framework of regulatory compliance.
Paula is looking forward to working in a close-knit team where they’re not just growing bacteria—they’re growing culture, and good vibes one Petri-dish at a time.
John Jordan – Senior Analyst
With over twenty years of experience in the laboratory sector, John brings a wealth of knowledge primarily focused on serving the poultry industry. After earning a 2:1 degree in Biology in 2000, John embarked on a career that has spanned both corporate and smaller laboratories.
His journey has included primary production testing and veterinary diagnostics, and John therefore has hands-on experience with a wide range of testing methodologies.
One particular favourite of his is egg and worm testing, as it’s like gazing into a new dimension. John has particularly enjoyed setting up this method in the new Avilabs laboratory.
During his career, John has come to value the more personal, adaptable and customer-focused nature of smaller laboratories, that foster stronger client relationships. With this emphasis in mind, it’s a dream come true for him to be part of establishing the new laboratory in Rodenhurst.
Learn more about the testing solutions our expert team provides.