Nuffield Council appoints new members

Simon is a Senior Associate of Involve. He has extensive experience in the fields of public participation, accountability and transparency, scientific and technology innovation and organisational change. He has worked at the local and national level in Africa, Asia, and Europe. His current focus is on developing more effective ways for citizens to be involved in the development and application of technological innovations. Simon is a Fellow WWF UK and Programme Director for Sciencewise.

Melanie Challenger

Melanie is a writer and researcher, across environmental history and philosophy. Her books include ‘On Extinction’, and the forthcoming ‘How To Be Animal’. She publishes and presents ideas that bring together environmental ethics, bioethics, and natural history. Melanie also works in the creative arts. Her first collection of poems received a Society of Authors Eric Gregory Award and was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. As a librettist, she collaborates with Mark Simpson, and their choral work ‘The Immortal’ received the South Bank/Sky Arts Award for classical music. Their first opera, ‘Pleasure’, starring Lesley Garret, toured with Opera North, Royal Opera, and Aldeburgh Music in 2016.

Frances Flinter

Frances is Emeritus Professor of Clinical Genetics at Guy's & St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, where she was also the Caldicott Guardian for 12 years. Her special interests include pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and inherited kidney diseases. She previously served on the Human Genetics Commission, and was the elected President of the Clinical Genetics Society from 2009-11. Frances was a member of the Council's Working Party on mitochondrial replacement therapies.

Elaine Gadd

Elaine is a former Consultant Psychiatrist, with extensive experience in national and international bioethics policy. Working at the Department of Health, she contributed to bioethical policy development on a wide range of issues. She led bioethical negotiations for the UK in the Council of Europe, UNESCO and the United Nations and has chaired the Council of Europe’s Steering Committee on Bioethics. She now has a judicial role in the First-tier Tribunal.

Anne Kerr

Anne is Professor of Sociology at the University of Leeds. She has a background in Science and Technology Studies and Medical Sociology, researching professional, patient and public encounters with innovative health technologies, including assisted conception, reproductive genetics, regenerative medicine, and genomic medicine for cancer. She has written widely on her research with colleagues from across the social and bio-sciences, focusing on how patients, researchers and clinicians craft the opportunities and risks of biomedicine.

Michael Reiss

Michael is Professor of Science Education at UCL Institute of Education, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and a Priest in the Church of England. He was a member of the Farm Animal Welfare Council/Committee (2004-12), Director of Education at the Royal Society (2006-08), a member of the GM Science Review Panel (2002-04), Specialist Advisor to the House of Lords Select Committee on Animals in Scientific Procedures (2001-02) and Chair of EuropaBio’s External Advisory Group on Ethics (2000-01).

Mehrunisha Suleman

Mehrunisha is a post-doctoral researcher at the Centre of Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge. Her research involves an ethical analysis of the experiences of end of life care services in the UK from Muslim perspectives. She has worked with Sir Muir Gray on the Department of Health’s QIPP Right Care Programme and was co-editor of the NHS Atlas of Variation for Diabetes and Liver Disease. She is an expert for UNESCO’s Ethics Teacher Training Programme and was awarded the 2017 National Ibn Sina Muslim News Award for health. She has an ‘Alimiyyah degree in traditional Islamic studies, which she was given under the supervision of Shaykh Akram Nadwi at Al Salam Institute in 2013.