News9th December 2025
As a leading independent policy and research centre seeking to achieve lasting policy change, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics (NCOB) has been striving to diversify the range of perspectives and expertise within our Council.
Following an open and extremely competitive recruitment process held this autumn, we are delighted to announce five new Council members who begin their roles in December 2025.
- Emma Yhnell is an internationally recognised, award-winning educator and science communicator based at Cardiff University, where she is also Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and a Reader in Neuroscience. Emma is a National Teaching Fellow and Senior Fellow of AdvanceHE. She creatively blends interactivity and storytelling with enthusiasm to challenge the traditional image of academia and to make science more open, inclusive, and fun.
I am honoured to be joining the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, using my experience in science communication, education and equity, diversity and inclusion to shape ethical conversations that matter, while working collaboratively and continually learn in this really exciting space.”
Emma Yhnell
- Felicity Boardman is a Professor of Social Science in Medicine, Warwick Medical School where her research centres on the social and ethical implications of genomic and reproductive technologies and their use within population screening programmes. Felicity works with national bodies including the UK National Screening Committee, and is committed to ensuring meaningful public involvement and engagement in research and policymaking around emerging and innovative health technologies.
I’m delighted to be joining the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and look forward to working with colleagues across disciplines to support thoughtful, inclusive and forward-looking approaches to rapidly emerging, and complex, bioethical challenges.”
Felicity Boardman
- Julian Huppert is an academic and politician, who founded and runs the Intellectual Forum at Jesus College, Cambridge which provides space for discussion amongst academics, students, industry leaders, policymakers and members of the public. Julian served as Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 2010-2015, has chaired NHS ethics committees, and is a Director of the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, whose mission is to make the political system more accountable, democratic and transparent to rebalance power for the well-being of society.
When I was an MP, I worked with the Nuffield Council on Bioethics on their work around mitochondrial replacement therapy. More recently, I ran an event looking at their brilliantly-run Citizen’s Jury on Assisted Dying. I have immense respect for their mission to place ethics at the heart of decision-making, and it is an honour to be part of that. I look forward to contributing to their work and learning a vast amount from fellow Council members.”
Julian Huppert
- Rebecca Bennett is a Professor of Bioethics at the University of Manchester. Rebecca’s research, teaching and public engagement focus on reproductive ethics, prenatal and newborn screening – including whole genome sequencing – consent and disability. She is the author of the open-access book The Welfare of Future Children: Reproductive Ethics and Disability Screening (Bloomsbury, 2025), which seeks to bridge academic, clinical and public debates – a commitment that underpins all her work.
It is an honour to join the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. I’m passionate about ensuring that ethical debates are shaped by diverse voices and lived experience, and I look forward to supporting the Council’s mission to make ethics matter to everyone.”
Rebecca Bennett
- Suzanne Ost is a Professor of Law at Lancaster University with expertise on the law and bioethics on assisted dying, exploitation in the doctor-patient relationship, and unknown victims of crime. Suzanne is a former Editor in Chief of the Medical Law Review, and her recent policy and engagement work includes advising Jersey’s State Assembly on the draft assisted dying law. She was a Critical Friend to the NCOB’s Citizens’ Jury on assisted dying and an Expert Adviser to the Jersey Citizens’ Jury on assisted dying.
I am delighted to be taking up this role and very much look forward to helping support the delivery of the Council’s important mission to embed ethics at the centre of decision-making. I also relish the opportunity to contribute to the Council’s unique time-framed horizon scanning of topics likely to raise ethical implications in the UK, which is such a valuable tool for policymakers and researchers.”
Suzanne Ost
Council members are appointed for an initial three-year term and are involved in developing our strategic direction, topic identification and project scoping, reviewing ongoing work, and overseeing our outputs and activities.
Sarah Cunningham-Burley, Chair of the NCOB said:
I’m delighted to welcome our five new Council members. They will greatly enhance the work of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics with their diverse expertise and strong commitment to making ethics matter. I am looking forward to working with them all over the years ahead as we continue to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing societies today.”