Longitude Committee

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. He 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.

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.

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.

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. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Academy of Medical Sciences.

The Vodafone Foundation funds projects which use mobile communication technologies to address some of the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges and to enhance people’s quality of life. Prior to becoming its Director, Andrew was an adviser to the Sustainable Development unit at the UK Department of Trade and Industry. He has extensive experience in corporate responsibility, community investment and public affairs, assisting organisations as diverse as the BBC, the Commission for Racial Equality and Thames Water.

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, she 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.

As a boy, Dr Roger Highfield OBE FRSB FMedSci 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 or co-authored ten books and had thousands of articles published in newspapers and magazines.

Dr. Timothy Jinks is the Head of Drug Resistant Infections Priority Program leading Wellcome Trust’s strategic plan to address antimicrobial resistance. He also serves as Wellcome Trust’s Non-Executive Director of the antiviral drug development company Reviral Ltd. In his preceding role in Wellcome’s Innovations Division, he was responsible for a portfolio of over a dozen early stage product development projects covering therapeutics, diagnostic and devices spanning across therapeutic areas such as infectious diseases and oncology. Prior to joining the Trust in 2012 he has over a decade of industry experience, most recently as a consultant providing business development, licensing and commercial research services.

Gisela Abbam, FRSA, is the Chair of the General Pharmaceutical Council. The General Pharmaceutical Council is the independent regulator for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises in Great Britain.

Formerly, Gisela was Chair of the British Science Association. The British Science Association’s vision is a world where science is at the heart of culture and society.

Gisela is a global thought leader and Senior Executive who is passionate about making a difference in people’s lives. She is also a global advocate for the prioritisation of Health. She has worked in collaboration with governments, the World Health Organisation, the United Nations, the World Bank and other multilateral organisations to improve health outcomes for people across the world.

Gisela is the winner of the 2019 Black British Business Person of the Year by the BBBAwards. Previously, she was the Director of Strategic Partnerships and a Company Officer for Abt Associates, whose mission is to improve the quality of life and economic well-being of people worldwide.

Gisela was also previously the Global Executive Director for Government Affairs & Policy for GE Healthcare. She developed the global function. She was responsible for the strategic direction of government affairs and policy for GE Healthcare, the $18 billion business unit of GE that provides transformational medical technologies to health customers in over 100 countries.

Gisela has written over 45 white papers on various public policy issues and regularly presents at International conferences.

Ravi joined Nesta in December 2019, having previously founded and led the Airbel Innovation Lab at the International Rescue Committee where he was responsible for designing, testing and scaling products and services for people affected by crisis in over 40 countries, from reducing acute malnutrition to expanding employment for 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 Department of Energy and Climate Change and strategic advisor to the Foreign Secretary. During this period, Ravi led a number of major social and environmental reforms including the development of the world’s first legally binding carbon emissions targets and the integration of children’s services.

Ravi has also worked as a researcher at the think-tank Demos and in local government in London.

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.

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.

Angela is interested in the use of natural science evidence in formulating public policy and has co-developed the Oxford Martin School Restatements: an activity which restructures and presents the evidence underlying an issue of policy concern or controversy in a short, uncharged, intelligible form for non-technical audiences.

Angela established Mathematical Biology at the Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council’s Institute for Animal Health in 1994. Before this, Angela was a Royal Society Research Fellow at Oxford University and a Research Fellow at the Institut Pasteur in Paris.

In 2009 Angela was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. She has been awarded the Gabor Medal in 2011 and the Weldon Memorial Prize in 2018. She received her damehood in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

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.

She is a keen runner and passionate foodie.