MRC appoints new board chairs
Monday 3 October 2011
Three new research board chairs have been appointed by the MRC’s Council. They will take up their positions from 1 April 2012 and will serve until the end of March 2014.
Most funding decisions at the MRC are made by four research boards, once the proposals they receive have been assessed by external reviewers. Each of the boards is responsible for one of the major areas of medical science that together make up the MRC portfolio. They hold their own research budgets, and review and manage the science within their specialist areas.
Professor Hugh Perry is to chair the Neurosciences and Mental Health Board, taking over from Professor Chris Kennard. He is Professor of Experimental Neuropathology at the University of Southampton where he studies the contribution of inflammation to neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. Professor Perry is also a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.
The Molecular and Cellular Medicine Board (MCMB) will be chaired by Professor Stephen Hill, Professor of Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Nottingham, who replaces Professor Paul Luzio. Professor Hill is a Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society and was a member of the MCMB from 2006 and the board’s deputy chair from 2008 to 2011. His research interests include studying how proteins in the cell membrane, G protein-coupled receptors, interact with drugs at the molecular level.
Professor David Lomas is to chair the Population and Systems Medicine Board, stepping into the shoes of Professor Stephen Holgate. He is a Professor of Respiratory Biology at the University of Cambridge and previously served on the MRC’s Physiological Systems and Clinical Sciences Board (now disbanded). Professor Lomas is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Honorary Consultant Physician at Addenbrooke’s and Papworth Hospitals. His area of expertise lies in a collection of diseases called serpinopathies, examples of which include liver cirrhosis and dementia.
The fourth research board, the Infections and Immunity Board, is chaired by Professor Doreen Cantrell (Dundee).
Professor Sir John Savill, chief executive of the Medical Research Council, said: “I would like to issue a warm welcome to our new board chairs. I look forward to working with them next year and to working together to shape the next stage of the MRC’s vital work to improve human health. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank once again the current chairs; Paul Luzio, Chris Kennard and Stephen Holgate for their immense contribution to the MRC, their ongoing work and dedication to their role.”
