Dame Wendy is the Regius Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Web Science Institute at the University of Southampton.

She was a founding director of the Web Science Research Initiative alongside Tim Berners-Lee in 2006. She became a Dame Commander of the British Empire in the 2009 UK New Year Honours list and is a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering.

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 is the Director of Research & Influencing at Alzheimer's Society. She 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.

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.
He has previously worked for the Department of Health, Cancer Research UK and the Pirbright Institute.

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.

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 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.

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.

Dr Stella Peace is the Managing Director at Innovate UK. She 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.

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 previously held 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.

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.

Ravi Gurumurthy is Group Chief Executive Officer of BIT and Nesta, having joined in December 2019.

Ravi was previously responsible for the International Rescue Committee’s work in designing, testing and scaling products and services for people affected by crisis in over 40 countries – from reducing acute malnutrition and intimate partner violence, to expanding employment for Syrian refugees.

Prior to joining the International Rescue Committee in 2013, Ravi held a number of roles in the UK Government, including Director of Strategy at the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change and as a strategic advisor to the Foreign Secretary.