When not in the lab, Cambridge graduate Dr Choo enjoys diving with sharks. He said: “Having a cage between you and the shark is kind of cheating, so I have done it without cages in South Africa, the Caribbean, the Red Sea and Malaysia.
“There are no safety measures. You just get in the strong currents they like and the big ones have a good look at you but are quite relaxed and respectful. In some ways it is similar to science. What you are doing is just observing and I spend a lot of time at work looking at cells and molecules.
"And both swimming with sharks and starting a biotech company require an appetite for risk as there are so many ways that a firm can fail on the science and finance fronts.”
Dr Choo, who is half Greek and half Singaporean, said he was “delighted” that Plasticell, which employs 14 people, is being honoured.
In all, 249 business received awards, 92 of them for innovation.
