Published: 7 July 2025

Today, AMRC’s Expert Review Audit committee will begin the review phase of the audit. The committee will assess member charities’ expert review processes against our membership criteria and principles of expert review.

Occurring every five years, the audit ensures AMRC charities continue to meet our high standards for decision-making in research funding, supporting the best research and researchers.

The committee is made up of an independent chair and 20 members: 18 from AMRC charities, one representative from the Medical Research Council and one from the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

When selecting the committee members AMRC considered a range of factors and aimed to make the committee as balanced and diverse as possible. These factors included the charity’s annual research spend, the disease areas of their portfolios, the funder type they represent, and their individual experience.

Simon Denegri OBE, Chair of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration Clinical Trials Unit Network Executive Group and previous Executive Director of the Academy of Medical Sciences, will chair the committee:

“I am pleased to be asked to Chair AMRC's Expert Review Audit Committee. AMRC member charities are a unique feature of the UK's health research ecosystem contributing massively to health research for patient and public benefit.

“The use of expert review by medical research charities is vital to ensuring public confidence in their work and as the basis of charity partnerships with Government, funding agencies and other organisations.

“This five-year audit will ensure their expert review practices are up-to-date and in good order. My thanks go to the committee for giving their time and insight to this important exercise.”

By March 2026, charities will be contacted individually about their audit outcome, in addition to receiving supporting feedback. Those that pass will receive a certificate and Expert Review Audit 2025 pass logo to display on their website and other resources.

Nicola Perrin, AMRC CEO commented:

“This audit enables us to support our members in taking stock of their processes, provide guidance on how these processes reflect current best practice and recognise excellence in expert review among our charities.

“AMRC membership is seen as a mark of quality, giving confidence to potential partners and allowing our members to fund in collaboration with various government initiatives.”

Notes

Committee members:

• Tania Wheeler, Research Manager, Action for A-T
• James Leiper, Director of Research, British Heart Foundation
• Simon Vincent, Chief Scientific Officer, Breast Cancer Now
• Dan Burkwood, Director of Research Operations and Communications, Cancer Research UK
• Sagair Hussain, Director of Research, DEBRA
• Aoife Regan, Director of Charitable Programmes and Impact, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity
• Lynn Turner, Head of Research, Guts UK
• Elaine Davies, Director of Research Operations, Kidney Research UK
• Susanna Roberts, Senior Research Manager, Medical Research Foundation
• Sarah Collinge, Head of Funding Operations, Medical Research Council
• Emma Gray, Assistant Director of Research, MS Society
• Kate Adcock, Director of Research and Innovation, Muscular Dystrophy UK
• Maria Hassard, Assistant Director, Research Programmes Application and Funding, National Institute for Health and Care Research
• David Dexter, Associate Research Director, Parkinson’s UK
• Simon Grieveson, Assistant Director of Research, Prostate Cancer UK
• Ralph Holme, Director of Research, Royal National Institute for Deaf People
• Emma Thompson, Head of Research, The Brain Tumour Charity
• Vasanthi James, Head of Programmes, The Eve Appeal
• Sanjay Thakrar, Director of Research, Vivensa Foundation
• Lorraine Monteiro, Associate Director, Funding Management, Wellcome

All members comply with AMRC’s conflict of interest policy and committee Terms of Reference.

For further information visit our Expert Review Audit 2025 webpage.