New Chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics
17th December 2007
The Nuffield Foundation, the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust are delighted to announce the appointment of Albert Weale, Professor of Government at the University of Essex, as Chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, from 1 January 2008. He will hold the post for five years.
Professor Weale was a student at Cambridge before beginning his research and teaching career at the University of Newcastle. He became a Lecturer in Politics at the University of York in 1976 and Professor of Politics at the University of East Anglia in 1985. He moved to the University of Essex in 1992, where his academic interests focus on political principles and public policy, particularly in the areas of health and the environment. A Fellow of the British Academy and also the Royal Society of Arts, Professor Weale is co-editor of the British Journal of Political Science. He is the author of numerous articles and books, including Democracy, first published in 1999 and now in its second edition. Professor Weale chaired the Nuffield Council on Bioethics’ Working Party on xenotransplantation in 1996, and went on to become a member of Council from 1998-2004. During this time he sat on the Working Group on the use GM crops in developing countries and the Working Party on pharmacogenetics.
Professor Weale chaired the Grants Committee of the King’s Fund from 1996 to 2001, and has also chaired seminars exploring policy issues for the Health Protection Agency and the Charity Commission.
“The Nuffield Council has secured a well-gained reputation for providing intellectually rigorous policy advice, as well as encouraging debate on some of the most controversial issues we face as a society,” said Professor Weale. “I am privileged to be able to continue this work at a time when the Council has some exciting projects ahead.”
Professor Weale will succeed Professor Sir Bob Hepple QC, who has led the Council for the past five years. Professor Hepple chaired the Council’s Working Party on behavioural genetics in 2002, before being appointed Chair of the Council at the beginning of 2003. More recently he headed the Working Group on the forensic use of bio-information.
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics was established by the Trustees of the Nuffield Foundation in 1991 to identify, examine and report on the ethical questions raised by recent advances in biological and medical research. Since 1994, it has been funded jointly by the Nuffield Foundation, the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust. The Council provides independent advice to policy makers and aims to stimulate debate in bioethics. Recent reports have considered issues raised by public health policy, the forensic use of bioinformation, the treatment of premature babies, and animal research.
Notes for Editors
For further information
Catherine Joynson
Communications & External Affairs Manager
Nuffield Council on Bioethics
28 Bedford Square
London WC1B 3JS
Tel: +44 (0)20 7681 9619
Mob: +44 (0)7747 635863
Email: cjoynson@nuffieldbioethics.org
Web: www.nuffieldbioethics.org
Members of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics
- Professor Roger Brownsword
- Professor Sir Kenneth Calman KCB FRSE
- Professor Sian Harding FAHA
- Professor Peter Harper
- Rt Reverend Lord Richard Harries DD FKC FRSL
- Professor Ray Hill FMedSci
- Professor Søren Holm
- Professor Tony Hope
- Mr Anatole Kaletsky
- Dr Rhona Knight FRCGP
- Professor Alison Murdoch MD FRCOG
- Dr Bronwyn Parry
- Professor Hugh Perry FMedSci
- Professor Nikolas Rose
- Professor Peter Smith CBE FMedSci
How the Council is funded
The Council was entirely funded by the Nuffield Foundation from 1991-1994. Since 1994, the Council has been jointly funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust on a five-year rolling system. The funding bodies do not seek to influence the Council's choice of which topics to examine. The five-year system allows the Council and the Secretariat flexibility to plan future work while maintaining intellectual independence and financial stability. Towards the end of each five-year period, a process of external review is a condition of continued support. Funding for the Council has been confirmed for the period 2007-2012.
