Nancy is a Professor of Physiology and President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester – the first woman appointed to the role. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a former non-executive director of AstraZeneca. In 2009, she became the first president of the Society of Biology (now the Royal Society of Biology), and gave the 1998 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures on The Secrets of Life, which were broadcast on the BBC. Currently, Nancy is Chair of the EuroScience Open Forum 2016 (ESOF) Steering Committee. ESOF takes place in Manchester between 23 – 27 July.

In 2012, Nancy was appointed co-chair of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology. While, on its inaugural Power List in 2013, BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour named Nancy as the 15^th most powerful woman in the United Kingdom. She has worked tirelessly to further the public's awareness of science, and in particular, encourage women to pursue careers in science.