Professor Rifat Atun
Professor of Global Health Systems, Harvard School of Public Health
Rifat Atun is Professor of Global Health Systems at Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University, and Director of the Global Health Systems Cluster. In 2006-13, he was professor of International Health Management at Imperial College London, where he led the Health Management Group and remains a Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Medicine.
In 2008-12 Professor Atun served as a member of the Executive Management Team of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Switzerland as the Director of the Strategy, Performance and Evaluation Cluster.
Fiona Carragher
Director of Research & Influencing, Alzheimer’s Society
Fiona joined Alzheimer’s Society in January 2019. She plays a pivotal role in the Society’s vision to create a world without dementia: leading their world-class research programme and striving to strengthen their position as the national charity leader on dementia health and social care policy.
A Consultant Clinical Biochemist by background, Fiona has worked in multi-professional teams for two decades at a range of large hospitals, including the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Edinburgh) and Kings College Hospital (London) – with a focus on providing high quality, innovative services.
Prior to joining the Society, Fiona was the Deputy Chief Scientific Officer for NHS England. Here, she provided leadership for 50,000 healthcare science professionals, and expert advice to the health system on science, innovation, and diagnostics – most notably in establishing the UK Antimicrobial Resistance Diagnostics programme and the system wide Action Plan on Hearing Loss.
Fiona is a passionate advocate for women in health and led the establishment of the first Women in Science and Engineering fellowship programme in the NHS.
She has also joined the board of Kent and Medway Health and Social Care Partnership NHS Trust as a Non-Executive Director.
Andrew Cohen
Head of BBC Science Unit
Andrew Cohen is Head of BBC Studios’ award-winning Science Unit with teams based in London and Glasgow, producing hit shows such as Stargazing Live, Trust Me I’m a Doctor, Horizon and Sky at Night. As an Executive Producer he has been responsible for a wide range of high-profile science programmes, including BBC ONE’s Forces of Nature, Human Universe, Planet Dinosaur, Inside The Human Body and the multi-award-winning Wonders Of The Solar System.
As Editor of the Horizon strand (2005-2010) Andrew commissioned and Executive Produced over 100 films for BBC2 and has also Executive Produced a number of science series for CBBC. He has won numerous awards including RTS, Broadcasting Press Guild, Peabody and BANFF. He is also the co-author of five best-selling science books.
Dame Sally Davies
UK Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance
Professor Dame Sally Davies was appointed Chief Medical Officer in 2010. She was a key figure in the development of the National Institute for Health Research, and is a member of the UK Health Innovation Council. Sally also chairs the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, and is a fellow of the Royal Society. She was appointed Master of Trinity College, Cambridge in October 2019.
In 2013, she was listed as the sixth most powerful woman in the UK by BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. She is the author of the recent book on antimicrobial resistance, “The Drugs Don’t Work”.
Professor David Delpy
Chair, Strategic Advisory Board, UK National Quantum Technologies Programme and Emeritus Professor of Biomedical Optics, UCL
Professor Delpy originally studied physics and after two years in industry, spent 35 years at University College London (UCL) developing techniques for monitoring newborn infants. He is best known for developments of NIR Spectroscopy and Imaging of brain oxygenation. Many companies have marketed devices developed by him and his team.
After seven years as Research Vice Provost, he left UCL in 2007 to become the CEO of the EPSRC, stepping down in 2014. He was then Chair of the Defence Scientific Advisory Council from 2014 to 2017 and is currently Chair of the Strategic Advisory Board for the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme and Emeritus Professor of Biomedical Optics at UCL.
David is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Academy of Medical Sciences.
Dame Wendy Hall
Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton
Dame Wendy is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton and Dean of the Faculty of Physical and Applied Sciences. She was Head of the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) from 2002 to 2007.
In 2006, Wendy became one of the founding directors of Web Science Research Initiative, alongside Tim Berners-Lee. She became a Dame Commander of the British Empire in the 2009 UK New Year Honours list, and was recently elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Roger Highfield
Science Director, Science Museum Group
As a boy, Roger was inspired by the science of the Space Race in the 1960s, and went on to secure a doctorate in physical chemistry from Oxford University. He was the Science Editor of The Daily Telegraph for two decades and the Editor of New Scientist between 2008 and 2011.
Today, he is the Science Director at the Science Museum Group and a Council Member for the UKRI MRC.
Roger has written and co-authored ten books and had thousands of articles published in newspapers and magazines.
Dame Angela McLean
Government Chief Scientific Advisor
Professor Dame Angela McLean DBE FRS is the Government Chief Scientific Adviser having taken up the role in April 2023. She is also Head of the Government Science and Engineering Profession. Prior to this Angela was the Chief Scientific Adviser for the Ministry of Defence.
Until April 2023, Angela McLean was a Professor of Mathematical Biology in the Department of Zoology at Oxford University and a Fellow of All Souls College. Angela’s research interests lie in the use of mathematical models to aid our understanding of the evolution and spread of infectious agents.
Dr. Stella Peace
Interim Executive Chair, Innovate UK
Dr Stella Peace is a purpose driven leader who is passionate about the role of science and technology to create transformational innovations. Throughout her career, Stella has led diverse teams with technical expertise spanning the Life Sciences.
Stella’s business career started at Unilever where she drove development of innovations for global food brands. This included time living and working in Japan and France. Her final role was Vice President Science and Technology for Foods and Refreshment. Following her time at Unilever, Stella joined Nomad Foods to lead R&D and was Chief R&D and Quality Officer until 2023.
Stella’s academic background is in Chemistry with a PhD in Polymer Chemistry.
Lord Martin Rees
Astronomer Royal
Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow, OM, Kt, FRS is a Fellow of Trinity College and Emeritus Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics at the University of Cambridge. His decorated career in science, covering topics as diverse as black holes and the development of ‘multiverse’ theory, led to his elevation to a life peerage in the House of Lords, where he sits as a crossbencher.
Martin holds the honorary title of Astronomer Royal, as well as being a visiting Professor at Imperial College, London and Leicester University. Lord Martin is the Chair of the Longitude Committee.
Dr Mike Rogers
Director of Research and Innovation
Mike is an experienced research funding and policy professional. Prior to joining the Association in January 2025, Mike worked at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) for over eight years.
In his roles at NIHR, Mike was responsible for the development of a new global applied health funding programme, NIHR RIGHT. He was also the lead for their joint funding activities with the Medical Research Council during the Covid-19 pandemic, for which he was awarded an MBE in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours.
He has previously worked for the Department of Health, Cancer Research UK and the Pirbright Institute.
Mike holds a BSc (Hons) from Sheffield and a PhD from Kent, both in microbiology. Prior to leaving the lab he undertook post-doctoral work in microbiology at Queen Mary University of London, CABI Bioscience and Imperial College London.