Dr Louise Wood (Chair) Chair from December 2022 Expand Louise has worked at national and international levels for over 30 years in organisations dedicated to excellent science, enabling a healthier society and driving economic prosperity. As a senior civil servant she held roles in strategic leadership, operational delivery and policy-making including as Director of Science, Research and Evidence at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Deputy CEO of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Previously, Louise held several roles in DHSC’s Research and Development (R&D) directorate, including Deputy Director leading on relations with the life sciences industry, and subsequently for research infrastructure in the NHS and partner universities to support delivery of ground-breaking research to improve patient care and population health and cement the UK's reputation as a leading international centre for healthcare research and science. She spent a year on secondment at the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) as its Director of Policy and Public Affairs. Her early career was in drug safety at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, with four years membership of the Agency's Executive Board as Director of the General Practice Research Database. Louise has served as a Council Member for the Medical Research Council and member of Advisory Boards for the British Heart Foundation, LifeArc and Wellcome. She was elected an honorary fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine in 2011 and awarded a CBE for services to health research in the 2019. She has an honours degree in physiology from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in biomedical science from the University of London.
Claire Pimm Elected AGM 2025 Expand As Chief Communications Officer, Claire works alongside LifeArc’s executive team to drive and shape their strategy and enhance their profile as an independent charity. Claire has extensive experience in leading strategy and communications in large, complex organisations subject to intense public scrutiny. For ten years, she worked for the UK government, including the Cabinet Office, covering crisis response, campaigning, strategy, news and media management, digital, stakeholder engagement, and public affairs. Prior to this, Claire led strategic communications and campaigning for several national charities. She is an expert at embedding new programmes and building multi-disciplinary teams that deliver results at pace.
Ashley Ball-Gamble Elected AGM 2024 Expand Ashley is the Chief Executive of CCLG: The Children & Young People's Cancer Association, the UK and Ireland’s professional membership association for those involved in the treatment and care of children and young people with cancer, and a leading charity funding research and supporting patients and families. With a background in charity leadership, strategy and performance, Ashley strongly believes in collaborative working, bringing together a network of charities to drive research strategy and increase funding. Ashley is a founding member, and current Chair, of the Children and Young People's Cancer Coalition, a member of the NHS England Children and Young People's Cancer Clinical Reference Group and NHS Scotland Managed Service Network Board, and a number of key committees and boards related to children and young people's cancer. Ashley initiated the Children's Cancer Priority Setting Partnership, jointly funded by CCLG and The Little Princess Trust, and sat on the steering group for this work, and is active in research with particular interests in early diagnosis and in lived-experience involvement in research. In 2025, Ashley was invited to become a member of the Government's Children & Young People's Cancer Taskforce.
Emily Reuben Elected AGM 2024 Expand Co-founder and CEO of Duchenne UK. Emily graduated from Oxford University with a degree in modern history, and had a successful career as a reporter and anchor for Channel 4 News and CNN International. After her eldest son was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), she established the Duchenne Children’s Trust. The charity joined forces with Joining Jack and is now Duchenne UK. Since 2012 they have spent more than £27 million on accelerating the search for treatments and a cure for DMD, and have set up groundbreaking and award-winning collaborations, turning Duchenne UK into the UK’s largest funder of DMD research. Emily has recently joined the Association of Medical Research Charities as a Trustee. She was a founding member of the ABPI’s eight person Patient Advisory Council, a member of the MHRA’s first Patient Advisory Group on the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP), and has co-chaired the ABPI’s Patient Organisation Forum. Emily has advocated on behalf of patients around the world in meetings at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA) the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC). In 2017 Emily and her co-founder Alex Johnson were awarded a Points of Light award by the Prime Minister for their passionate work. In 2023, she was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for her services to charity and to people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in His Majesty The King’s Birthday Honours list.
Professor Bryan Williams Appointed AGM 2024 Expand Chief Scientific & Medical Officer, British Heart Foundation (BHF) Professor Bryan Williams OBE MD FMedSci joined the BHF in 2023. He oversees one of the largest funding portfolios for academic cardiovascular research portfolios globally. He has 40 years’ experience in the NHS where he works as a Consultant Physician with a specialist clinical interest in hypertension in which he is recognised as a world leading authority. Bryan is currently Chair of Medicine at University College London and was formerly Director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) University College London Hospitals (UCLH) Biomedical Research Centre. As Director of Research at UCLH he oversaw one of the most complex clinical trial programmes in the NHS (2012-2023). He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and in the 2023 Clarivate listings was recognised as one of the worlds' most influential scientists in his field. He has published extensively in major medical and scientific journals and has contributed to many pivotal clinical trials in hypertension and cardiovascular medicine. Bryan is a Trustee for Blood Pressure UK and In2Science, a charity supporting mentoring for talented young people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds to increase their chances to study science at the UK’s leading universities. He was awarded an OBE in the 2024 New Year’s honours list, for his services to medicine.
Dan Burkwood Elected AGM 2023 Expand Director of Research Operations and Communications, Cancer Research UK Dan Burkwood is currently Director of Research Operations and Communications at Cancer Research UK. He has over 15 years of experience in research funding at CRUK and currently leads a department responsible for the charity’s research funding and evaluation, as well as research communications and engagement. Prior to this, Dan worked for the Big Lottery Fund providing support for grant holders.
Tom Nutt Elected AGM 2023 Expand CEO, Meningitis NowDr Tom Nutt has been CEO of Meningitis Now since 2017. Prior to working for this charity, Tom was Chief Executive of Healthwatch Essex and has held several roles in health and care policy. He was also previously an academic historian based at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he lectured and researched socio-economic and demographic history.
Adam Cobham Appointed December 2022 Expand Adam is a Chartered Accountant and spent 10 years with Deloitte before moving into Financial Services. Over the following 13 years he held a number of senior Finance roles with Lloyds Banking Group and then Virgin Money before moving into his current role at Worldwide Cancer Research in 2019. Adam served as trustee and treasurer for Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations Council (EVOC), a charity supporting, developing and promoting the interests and work of voluntary and community organisations across the city of Edinburgh from 2015-22. Adam is currently the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Office at Worldwide Cancer Research where he is responsible for Finance, HR, IT, CRM systems and reporting and Information Governance.
Daniel Pavin Appointed December 2022 Expand Daniel is a partner at the international law firm Covington & Burling LLP, advising on a wide range of commercial transactions involving intellectual property, technology and data. He has extensive experience advising on life sciences licensing, collaborations and other strategic agreements, including collaborations between industry and medical research institutes and other not-for-profits. His work includes advising a range of not-for-profit organisations in the sector on a pro bono basis. He has a particular focus on digital transformation in the life sciences and healthcare sectors, including digital health transactions, and data-driven and AI drug discovery and development projects, and is a co-lead of Covington’s global Digital Health Initiative. Daniel is also a mentor on a scheme for aspiring solicitors from diverse backgrounds.
Hilary Evans Elected AGM 2020 Expand Chief Executive, Alzheimer's Research UK As Chief Executive of Alzheimer's Research UK Hilary has led the transformation of the charity to one of the leading medical research charities in the UK - seeing the charity more than triple its income in three years and therefore significantly enhanced the organisations ability to fund ground-breaking new projects. She has led major public campaigns aiming to shift public perceptions of dementia and break down the stigma around these diseases. Before joining Alzheimer’s Research UK, Hilary worked at Age UK, improving the lives of people in later life both in the UK and internationally. Hilary also brings experience of working in Government and with the pharmaceutical industry in corporate affairs roles. Hilary holds an honorary doctorate in medicine from The University of Exeter.
Henny Braund Elected AGM 2020 Expand Chief Executive, Anthony Nolan Henny joined Anthony Nolan, the blood cancer charity, in 2009 as Chief Executive and set out a bold ambition to improve both outcomes and quality of life for stem cell transplant patients. Research is key to her strategic direction; with findings from the Anthony Nolan Research Institute informing the strategy for growing the stem cell register, and extensive research into patient experience and involvement guiding policy campaigns and investment in post-transplant care services across the UK. Henny has also driven the pioneering joint funding of IMPACT, the UK’s first clinical trials network for stem cell transplants and chairs the oversight committee. As a strong advocate for Life Sciences, she has overseen the launch of Anthony Nolan’s Cell and Gene Therapy Services, which provide cellular products for use in R&D – helping to accelerate research into new treatments, whilst also growing and diversifying our income for reinvestment She is a current Board member of the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) and Trustee for The Mix. Prior to Anthony Nolan, Henny held the role of Resources Director at Shelter, the housing charity, and draws on 25 years’ experience in the charity sector. Henny was named as the Charity Times Charity Principal of the Year in 2013 and has steered the charity to several awards including Charity Times’ Charity of the Year in 2012.
Elizabeth Robertson Elected AGM 2020 Expand Director of Research, Diabetes UK Elizabeth is responsible for ensuring Diabetes UK is driving forward understanding, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diabetes, through investing in the best research minds and projects. Before joining Diabetes UK, Elizabeth was the first Director of Research for Breast Cancer Now, formed from the merger of Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Campaign in April 2015. Prior to the merger, she was the Director of Research, Policy and Information at Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Previous roles include Director of Operations at Cancer Research UK, Dean of the Graduate Research School at Teesside University and Post-doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Biology at York University. Elizabeth completed her PhD at Queen Mary, University of London and Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy from London Business School in 2014. Elizabeth is a Trustee of Quadram Institute Bioscience and King’s College Hospital Charity and a former Trustee of the national volunteering charity, TimeBank.