Speaker biographies
Dr Rachel Iredale
Rachel has been a Senior Lecturer in the School of Care Sciences in the University of Glamorgan on a part-time basis since October 1999. She previously worked in the Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care as a Senior Fellow. Rachel took a first degree in sociology and social policy at University College Dublin and completed her Master’s degree at St. Patrick’s College Maynooth, having spent time studying at the University of Bath and the University of Tilburg in the Netherlands. Her PhD focused on the social policy implications of the new genetics in Ireland. Rachel’s research interests in Wales are mainly qualitative and centre on improving public participation in health policy making and the future impact of genetics on the health services. She organised Wales’ first Citizens’ Jury on genetic testing for common disorders in 1997 and has been involved in many health policy projects since. She is also a member of the following bodies: European Advisory Council on Women’s Health, Editorial Board of the International Journal of Consumer Studies. Rachel also works part-time as a Senior Research Fellow in the Cancer Genetics Service for Wales. Main teaching areas are public participation, women’s health, genetics and society.
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Sir Roland Jackson
Roland Jackson took up the post of Chief Executive of the British Science Association (formally known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science) in September 2002. He was educated at Oxford University, obtaining a degree in biochemistry in 1976, a doctorate in molecular immunology in 1979 and a postgraduate certificate in education in 1980. He taught science in secondary schools in Newmarket and Bristol for 9 years, ultimately as Head of Science at Backwell School, Bristol. During this period and subsequently he contributed to several national curriculum development programmes in science education, including SATIS (Science and Technology in Society), Nuffield Coordinated Science and Salters’ Advanced Chemistry. From 1989 to 1993 he was Education Adviser for the international chemical company ICI, managing the corporate programmes to support science education. He joined the Science Museum, London, in 1993 initially as Head of Education. In this and related roles he was responsible for public and schools programmes, for the interactive or ‘hands on’ galleries, and for initiatives in the use of the internet and website. He was appointed acting Head of Museum from 2001-2002. He is a member of a number of advisory bodies in the public engagement field, including: Education and Public Outreach Advisory Panel (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council); Science in Society Panel (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council); Steering Group of the Sciencewise Expert Resource Centre for Public Engagement; Education Policy Panel (Institution of Civil Engineers, as Chair).
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Ms Liz Jeavans
Elizabeth completed her MSc in Science Communication at Techniquest/ University of Glamorgan in 2005. Since then she has been working with the Physics in Society team at the Institute of Physics and currently manages a portfolio of projects aimed at making physics accessible for public audiences across the UK and Ireland. Recent projects include a series of physics facts posters displayed on inner city buses, an interactive beer mat campaign to reach young adults, and a programme of physics busking at public events to reach a family audience. Elizabeth also manages the Institute’s public engagement grant scheme which provides support for those who want to deliver their own public engagement activities.
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Dr Susan Jebb
Susan Jebb is Head of Nutrition and Health Research at the Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Research. Susan trained in nutrition and dietetics prior to her PhD at the MRC Dunn Nutrition Unit. She has a particular interest in the role of dietary factors in the aetiology and treatment of obesity and its related metabolic diseases and her research team specialise in highly controlled dietary intervention studies. She is an Honorary Officer of the European Association for the Study of Obesity and the former Chair of the UK Association for the Study of Obesity. Susan also leads the HNR Communication team who focus on the translation of nutrition science into policy and practice. Susan is Chair of the cross-government Expert Advisory Group on Obesity and Science Advisor to the Foresight ‘Tackling Obesities: Future Choices’ project. She is a member of the FSA Expert Review Panel on Nutrient Profiling. She was recently an Expert Advisor to the Cabinet Office Strategy Review on Food. In 2008 she was awarded an OBE for services to public health.
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Mr Brian Johnson
After pursuing research in population genetics and ecology, Dr Brian Johnson was until 2006 senior advisor on biotechnology to the British statutory nature conservation agencies and head of the Agricultural Technologies Group at English Nature, now ‘Natural England’. He has been closely involved in the debate on potential effects of GMOs on biodiversity and other aspects of the environment. He has written numerous articles in the scientific and popular press about biosafety, conservation and the impact of biotechnology on the environment. Dr Johnson has been a member of several advisory committees concerned with biological research and the development of more sustainable farming methods. In 2002/3 he was a member of the UK GM Science Review Panel. In 2004 he chaired the panel reviewing biosafety within CGIAR. He was a lead author of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development. Dr Johnson is an active member of the NERC Peer Review College and helped to steer the NERC Environmental Genomics Programme. Over the past 10 years he has developed an interest in the ethics and societal implications of gene technologies, has published several papers on the subject, and is currently deputy chair of the BBSRC Science in Society Panel.
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Dr Colin Johnson
Colin Johnson is a trustee of the British Science Association, and a science communication consultant. Colin was formerly CEO of Techniquest Science Discovery Centre and a Board Member of Ecsite and ASTC.
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Ms Melanie Knetsch
Melanie Knetsch is senior science in society manager at the ESRC and leads on the development and implementation of ESRC’s Science in Society strategy. In 2003 she was the lead researcher on a Hong Kong education project working with local teachers to develop their classroom research and teaching skills.
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Dr Robin Lovell-Badge
Robin Lovell-Badge obtained his PhD in Embryology at University College, London in 1978 with Martin Evans. After postdoctoral research in Cambridge and Paris, he established his independent laboratory in 1982 at the MRC Mammalian Development Unit, UCL, directed by Anne McLaren. In 1988 he moved to the National Institute for Medical Research, becoming Head of the Division of Stem Cell Biology and Developmental Genetics in 1993. He has had long-standing in how decisions of cell fate are reached during embryogenesis. Major themes of his work include sex determination, development of the nervous system, and the biology of stem cells within the early embryo, the CNS and the pituitary. He is an Honorary Professor at UCL, a Visiting Professor at the University of Hong Kong, and President of the Institute of Animal Technology, as well as a member of several advisory boards, including the Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee for the HFEA and the Council of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He is a Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (1993), a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (1999), and a Fellow of the Royal Society (2001), and received the Louis Jeantet Prize for Medicine (1995), the Amory Prize (1996), and the Feldberg Foundation Prize (2008).
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Rachel has been a Senior Lecturer in the School of Care Sciences in the University of Glamorgan on a part-time basis since October 1999. She previously worked in the Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care as a Senior Fellow. Rachel took a first degree in sociology and social policy at University College Dublin and completed her Master’s degree at St. Patrick’s College Maynooth, having spent time studying at the University of Bath and the University of Tilburg in the Netherlands. Her PhD focused on the social policy implications of the new genetics in Ireland. Rachel’s research interests in Wales are mainly qualitative and centre on improving public participation in health policy making and the future impact of genetics on the health services. She organised Wales’ first Citizens’ Jury on genetic testing for common disorders in 1997 and has been involved in many health policy projects since. She is also a member of the following bodies: European Advisory Council on Women’s Health, Editorial Board of the International Journal of Consumer Studies. Rachel also works part-time as a Senior Research Fellow in the Cancer Genetics Service for Wales. Main teaching areas are public participation, women’s health, genetics and society.
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Sir Roland Jackson
Roland Jackson took up the post of Chief Executive of the British Science Association (formally known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science) in September 2002. He was educated at Oxford University, obtaining a degree in biochemistry in 1976, a doctorate in molecular immunology in 1979 and a postgraduate certificate in education in 1980. He taught science in secondary schools in Newmarket and Bristol for 9 years, ultimately as Head of Science at Backwell School, Bristol. During this period and subsequently he contributed to several national curriculum development programmes in science education, including SATIS (Science and Technology in Society), Nuffield Coordinated Science and Salters’ Advanced Chemistry. From 1989 to 1993 he was Education Adviser for the international chemical company ICI, managing the corporate programmes to support science education. He joined the Science Museum, London, in 1993 initially as Head of Education. In this and related roles he was responsible for public and schools programmes, for the interactive or ‘hands on’ galleries, and for initiatives in the use of the internet and website. He was appointed acting Head of Museum from 2001-2002. He is a member of a number of advisory bodies in the public engagement field, including: Education and Public Outreach Advisory Panel (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council); Science in Society Panel (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council); Steering Group of the Sciencewise Expert Resource Centre for Public Engagement; Education Policy Panel (Institution of Civil Engineers, as Chair).
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Ms Liz Jeavans
Elizabeth completed her MSc in Science Communication at Techniquest/ University of Glamorgan in 2005. Since then she has been working with the Physics in Society team at the Institute of Physics and currently manages a portfolio of projects aimed at making physics accessible for public audiences across the UK and Ireland. Recent projects include a series of physics facts posters displayed on inner city buses, an interactive beer mat campaign to reach young adults, and a programme of physics busking at public events to reach a family audience. Elizabeth also manages the Institute’s public engagement grant scheme which provides support for those who want to deliver their own public engagement activities.
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Dr Susan Jebb
Susan Jebb is Head of Nutrition and Health Research at the Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Research. Susan trained in nutrition and dietetics prior to her PhD at the MRC Dunn Nutrition Unit. She has a particular interest in the role of dietary factors in the aetiology and treatment of obesity and its related metabolic diseases and her research team specialise in highly controlled dietary intervention studies. She is an Honorary Officer of the European Association for the Study of Obesity and the former Chair of the UK Association for the Study of Obesity. Susan also leads the HNR Communication team who focus on the translation of nutrition science into policy and practice. Susan is Chair of the cross-government Expert Advisory Group on Obesity and Science Advisor to the Foresight ‘Tackling Obesities: Future Choices’ project. She is a member of the FSA Expert Review Panel on Nutrient Profiling. She was recently an Expert Advisor to the Cabinet Office Strategy Review on Food. In 2008 she was awarded an OBE for services to public health.
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Mr Brian Johnson
After pursuing research in population genetics and ecology, Dr Brian Johnson was until 2006 senior advisor on biotechnology to the British statutory nature conservation agencies and head of the Agricultural Technologies Group at English Nature, now ‘Natural England’. He has been closely involved in the debate on potential effects of GMOs on biodiversity and other aspects of the environment. He has written numerous articles in the scientific and popular press about biosafety, conservation and the impact of biotechnology on the environment. Dr Johnson has been a member of several advisory committees concerned with biological research and the development of more sustainable farming methods. In 2002/3 he was a member of the UK GM Science Review Panel. In 2004 he chaired the panel reviewing biosafety within CGIAR. He was a lead author of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development. Dr Johnson is an active member of the NERC Peer Review College and helped to steer the NERC Environmental Genomics Programme. Over the past 10 years he has developed an interest in the ethics and societal implications of gene technologies, has published several papers on the subject, and is currently deputy chair of the BBSRC Science in Society Panel.
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Dr Colin Johnson
Colin Johnson is a trustee of the British Science Association, and a science communication consultant. Colin was formerly CEO of Techniquest Science Discovery Centre and a Board Member of Ecsite and ASTC.
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Ms Melanie Knetsch
Melanie Knetsch is senior science in society manager at the ESRC and leads on the development and implementation of ESRC’s Science in Society strategy. In 2003 she was the lead researcher on a Hong Kong education project working with local teachers to develop their classroom research and teaching skills.
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Dr Robin Lovell-Badge
Robin Lovell-Badge obtained his PhD in Embryology at University College, London in 1978 with Martin Evans. After postdoctoral research in Cambridge and Paris, he established his independent laboratory in 1982 at the MRC Mammalian Development Unit, UCL, directed by Anne McLaren. In 1988 he moved to the National Institute for Medical Research, becoming Head of the Division of Stem Cell Biology and Developmental Genetics in 1993. He has had long-standing in how decisions of cell fate are reached during embryogenesis. Major themes of his work include sex determination, development of the nervous system, and the biology of stem cells within the early embryo, the CNS and the pituitary. He is an Honorary Professor at UCL, a Visiting Professor at the University of Hong Kong, and President of the Institute of Animal Technology, as well as a member of several advisory boards, including the Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee for the HFEA and the Council of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He is a Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (1993), a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (1999), and a Fellow of the Royal Society (2001), and received the Louis Jeantet Prize for Medicine (1995), the Amory Prize (1996), and the Feldberg Foundation Prize (2008).
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