All ministers and senior officials on GOV.UK

Natalie Armstrong is Professor of Healthcare Improvement Research at the University of Leicester, where she is also Implementation Lead for the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration – East Midlands (ARC-EM). Natalie is experie…

Neil Hyatt was appointed to the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management in November 2019. Neil is a Professor of Nuclear Materials Chemistry at the University of Sheffield and Head of Department of Materials Science & …

Neil was appointed Deputy Director for Health Workforce for the north of England at PHE in 2014. Career highlights: Head of profession for health at the Department for International Development ( DFiD ) long career working i…

Nick Hardwick became Chair of the Parole Board in March 2016. He also has a part-time role as Professor in Criminal Justice at the School of Law, Royal Holloway University of London. From 2010 to 2016 he was HM Chief Inspect…

Professor Nick Jennings was Chief Scientific Adviser for National Security from 2010 to 2015. Nick is an internationally-recognised authority in the areas of agent-based computing and intelligent systems. He is currently Reg…

Professor Nuala McGrath was a Commonwealth Scholarship Commissioner from January 2017 to January 2023. She is also Professor of Epidemiology and Sexual Health at the University of Southampton.

Professor Parmjit Jat is a Commonwealth Scholarship Commissioner. Parmjit is also a Professor of Molecular Cellular Biology at University College London (UCL) and Medical Research Council (MRC) Investigator within the MRC Pr…

Professor Patricia Thornley was appointed Chief Scientific Adviser in the Department for Transport ( DfT ) in January 2026. Patricia Thornley is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering with 28 years’ experience working …

Paul Cosford joined PHE on 12 October 2012. Prior to this, Paul led the national and local delivery of health protection services within the Health Protection Agency ( HPA ) from September 2010, and was acting Chief Executiv…

Professor Paul Cullinan qualified in medicine from Guy’s Hospital (University of London) in 1982. He trained in respiratory medicine in England, and in epidemiology and biostatistics at McGill University in Montreal. He work…

Paul Jackson was a Commonwealth Scholarship Commissioner from 2021 to 2024. He is Professor of African Politics and Director of Research for the College of Social Sciences at the University of Birmingham.

Professor Paul Johnstone joined Public Health England ( PHE ) in December 2012. Career highlights: Director of Public Health for the NHS in the North of England, and Regional Director of Public Health for Yorkshire and the H…

Professor Paul Monks CB was the Chief Scientific Adviser ( CSA ) for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero ( DESNZ ) from February 2023 to October 2025. Paul delivered independent and impartial science and engineer…

Paul has worked in a variety of public health roles in government, the NHS and academia before joining PHE in 2013. Before taking up the interim London regional director role, Paul split his time between being Deputy Directo…

Professor Wiles has spent much of his career as an academic criminologist at a number of UK universities and is currently a governor at Sheffield Hallam University and a trustee of the National Centre for Social Research. Un…

Penny Harvey is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (UK), and an elected member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Penny has an ex…

Professor Peter Bryant is Chief Executive Officer of the World Nuclear Transport Institute ( WNTI ), a not-for-profit that represents the global industry on the safe, secure and sustainable transport of radioactive materials…

Professor Peter Cooke was appointed as Vice Chairperson of the Independent Living Fund’s board of trustees in March 2006. Peter is Emeritus Professor of Automotive Management at the University of Buckingham Business School, …

Peter Dolton is a Professor of Economics at Sussex University and Senior Research Fellow at the London School of Economics. His research interests are in the labour economics, applied econometrics and the economics of educat…

Professor Peter Freer-Smith was appointed Chief Scientist at the Forestry Commission in 2009 Peter studied for his first degree at Stirling University gaining a first class degree in Biological Sciences. His PhD was on the i…

Professor Peter Halligan was Chief Scientific Adviser for Wales (CSAW) from March 2018 until February 2022. Professor Halligan is a distinguished psychologist and neuroscientist. Since moving to Wales from his native Ireland…

Professor Peter Liss is a Professorial Fellow in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia. His research interests are in ocean-atmosphere interaction particularly involving trace gases. He served…

Peter White OBE MD FRCP FRCPsych is Emeritus Professor of Psychological Medicine at Queen Mary University of London. He was a consultant liaison psychiatrist at St Bartholomew’s hospital and co-led the chronic fatigue syndro…

Professor Phil Blythe is Professor of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) at Newcastle University. Prior to joining the Department for Transport he was Director of the Transport Operations Research Group for 13 years. Phil’s…

Philip Marsden (appointed in April 2014) is a competition lawyer with a particular interest in abuse of dominance, innovation incentives, consumer welfare, and international competition issues. He is Professor of Law and Eco…

Professor Rachel Mills is the Senior Vice President (Academic) at King’s College London, leading on academic strategy and delivery in the Vice Chancellor’s senior team. She is responsible for shaping the academic vision and …

Richard Dickens became a Low Pay Commissioner on 1 May 2014. He is Professor of Economics and Head of the Department of Economics at the University of Sussex. He is a leading academic on labour markets and the minimum wage a…

Richard Disney is a Visiting Professor of Economics at University College, London and a Research Fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He was previously a member of the NHS Pay Review Body (2003-09). His fields of inte…

Professor Richard Prager is the Chief Scientific Adviser at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Before joining MHCLG, Richard was Head of the Department of Engineering at Cambridge University and Acade…

Ricky Burdett is Professor of Urban Studies, and director of LSE Cities and the Urban Age Programme a Visiting Professor in Urban Planning and Design at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University a member of council o…

Professor Robin Mason is Chair of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom. Robin is also Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) and Professor of Economics at the University of Birmingham; and a decision-ma…

Professor Robin May took up his post as Chief Scientific Adviser at the Food Standards Agency in July 2020. See Robin’s full biography.

Professor Roderick Smith was DfT’s Chief Scientific Adviser from January 2012 to May 2014. The Chief Scientific Adviser makes sure that the department’s policies and operations, and its contributions to wider government issu…

Roger Brownsword has been a member of the UK NSC since 2010. He is an expert in law, regulation and technology, biolaw and bioethics, and commercial and contract law. He holds professorial positions in law at King’s College …

Roger Cashmore was appointed Chairman of the UK Atomic Energy Authority on 30 July 2010 and reappointed on 30 July 2013. Career highlights: he is a Fellow of the Royal Society and in 2010 led the Royal Society working group …

Professor Rosie Hails MBE DSc hc FRSB was appointed chair of the Defra Biodiversity Expert Committee in April 2023 for 3 years. Rosie is an ecologist and Nature and Science Director at the National Trust, holding honorary ch…

Rowland Kao was appointed Chair of Defra’s Science Advisory Council in January 2025 for 3 years. Rowland is Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology and Data Science, University of Edinburgh. Rowland is a mathematical biologist …

Russell Viner was the Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for Education from January 2023 to January 2026. He is a paediatrician and professor at the University College London (UCL) Great Ormond St. Institute of Chil…

Sallie has over 30 years’ experience of working in the areas of environment, natural resources and agriculture, both in the UK and internationally. Sallie’s focus is on ensuring science, evidence and analysis are at the hear…

Sarah Brown became a Low Pay Commissioner on 26th March 2015. Her term ends on 10 November 2021. She is a Professor of Economics at the University of Sheffield and a director of the Institute for Economic Analysis of Decisio…

Professor Sarah Hawkes is a Commonwealth Scholarship Commissioner. Sarah is Professor of Global Public Health at University College London, Director of the Centre for Gender and Global Health at UCL and co-Director of Global…

Professor Sarah Sharples is Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department for Transport. She is a Professor of Human Factors in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham and from 2018 to 2021 was Pro-Vice-Chan…

Sergi Pardos-Prado is Professor of Comparative Politics and Research Director of the Politics and International Relations department at the University of Glasgow. He was previously Associate Professor in Politics at Merton C…

Professor Sharon Peacock FMedSci CBE is the Executive Director and Chair of the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) consortium . The COG-UK consortium has been created to deliver large-scale and rapid whole-genome virus sequencing…

Sharon Wright is Professor of Social Policy at the University of Glasgow and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. She researches lived experiences of delivering and receiving social security benefits in the UK and Sco…

Professor Sheila Rowan was appointed Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland in June 2016. This is a part-time position within the Scottish government. Sheila also remains Director of the Institute for Gravitational Research, …

Sian Taylor-Phillips is Professor of Population Health at the University of Warwick, specialising in evaluation of medical tests and screening programmes. She leads Warwick Screening, a team of researchers which synthesises …

Simon works as Chief Engagement and Innovation Officer and Professor at the University of Warwick Medical School, and as Group Director for Research and Development for the ‘Foundation Group’ made up of four NHS trusts which…

Simon Redfern is Professor of Mineral Physics at the University of Cambridge. His research focuses on the behaviour of minerals and aqueous fluids at high temperatures and pressures. He has previously led large research proj…

Alex has made contributions to medical science in various fields, is accredited in pathology and internal medicine and trained initially in medicinal chemistry. His commercial experience includes cancer drug development and …