Turning science into healthcare

Genomics England aims to help everyone benefit from genomic healthcare.

Leadership Team

The Executive Leadership Team works alongside the Board of Directors to set and influence our strategic direction, while providing leadership both within the organisation and externally, as ambassadors and thought leaders.

Professor Richard Scott

Chief Executive Officer

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Dr Natalie Banner

Chief Ethics and Engagement Officer

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Catherine Byers

Chief Financial and Performance Officer

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Jackie Kinsey

Chief People Officer

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Nick Maltby

General Counsel, Company Secretary and Data Protection Officer

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Dr Augusto Rendon

Chief Bioinformatician

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Chris Schonewald

Chief of Staff and Director of Strategy

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Dr Ellen Thomas

Chief Medical Officer

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Julian Thomas

Chief Technology and Product Officer

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Board

The Genomics England Board oversees all of our activities, ratifies all major decisions and sets the overall strategy for the organisation. Genomics England has several independent advisory committees that report to the board. These include the Ethics Advisory Committee, Science Advisory Committee, Data Advisory Committee, Access Review Committee, GeCIP Board and the Audit Committee.

Baroness Nicola Blackwood

Chair

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Professor Richard Scott

Chief Executive Officer

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Dr Vikram Bajaj

Non-Executive Director

Professor Ewan Birney

Non-Executive Director

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Dr Annalisa Jenkins

Non-Executive Director

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Dr Gail Marzetti

Non-Executive Director

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Sharmila Nebhrajani OBE

Non-Executive Director

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Nicola Perrin MBE

Non-Executive Director

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Dr Keith Stewart

Non-Executive Director

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Dr Sergei Yakneen

Non-Executive Director

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Participant Panel

The Participant Panel sits at the heart of Genomics England and is made up of participants from the 100,000 Genomes Project, and parents or carers of people involved in this project. It is expanding to include patients and relatives from the GenOMICC COVID-19 study and NHS patients who give consent for their whole genome sequences and associated health data to be used for research in the Genomics England National Genomic Research Library.

The Panel acts as an advisory body to the Genomics England Board, working to ensure that the health data held by Genomics England is being looked after with respect and used in the best interests of our participants.

Kirsty Irvine

Chair of the Participant Panel

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Adam Clatworthy

Vice-Chair for Rare Conditions

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Frances Allan

Interim Vice-Chair for Cancer

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Dr Julie Anne Man

Participant Panel Member

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Paul Arvidson

Participant Panel Member

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Hazel Attua

Participant Panel Member

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Lisa Beaton

Participant Panel Member

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Claudia Beard

Participant Panel Member

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Eva Bensasson

Participant Panel Member

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Dr Helen Bulbeck

Participant Panel Member

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Clarissa Craske

Participant Panel Member

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Suziie Davis

Participant Panel Member

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Mel Dixon

Participant Panel Member

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Dr Niall Hickey

Participant Panel Member

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Hannah Humphrey

Participant Panel Member

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Ismael Kherroubi García

Participant Panel Member

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Emma Walters

Participant Panel Member

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Claire Whitehill

Participant Panel Member

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Jo Wright

Participant Panel Member

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Simon Mitchinson

Participant Panel Member

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Science Advisory Committee

As a group of UK and international scientific experts, our Science Advisory Committee advises us on the development and delivery of Genomics England's research programmes.

This committee plays a key role in shaping our research-related policies, identifying research priorities and opportunities for research partnerships, in addition to steering the overall scientific direction of Genomics England. The committee considers the interests of patients, the public, scientists and clinicians engaged in genomic research or genomic medicine.

Professor James Brenton

Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute

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Professor Patrick Chinnery

University of Cambridge

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Professor Dame Sue Hill

NHS England

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Professor Matthew Hurles

Wellcome Sanger Institute

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Professor David Lomas

Deputy Chair, Scientific Advisory Committee

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Professor Anna Schuh

University of Oxford

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Professor Samra Turajlic

Cancer Research UK

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Dr Richard Lee

The Royal Marsden

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Professor Eleftheria Zeggini

Helmholtz Munich

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Professor Bill Newman

University of Manchester

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Professor Claudia Langenberg

Queen Mary University London

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Professor Matthew Wood

University of Oxford

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Professor Segun Fatumo

Queen Mary University London

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Professor Caroline Dive

Cancer Research UK

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Professor Sarah Blagden

University of Oxford

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Professor Tim Hubbard

ELIXIR

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Ethics Advisory Committee

The Ethics Advisory Committee (EAC) provides independent ethical advice and oversight to Genomics England’s programmes, processes and partnerships. It advises the Genomics England Board on current and emerging ethics issues related to the activities of the organisation and the wider genomics ecosystem.

The expertise and experience of the members includes, but is not limited to:

Participants
Clinical Genetics/Genomics
Bioethics
Medical Law
International/global ethics
Data Ethics

The current focus of the committee is consent as a lifelong relationship, with a focus on transitions in life course including young people turning 16 and adults losing, or having fluctuating, capacity.

Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery

Chair of the Ethics Advisory Committee

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Francis Crawley

Executive Director, Good Clinical Practice Alliance

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Professor Angus Clarke

Cardiff University

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Anne Croudass

Cancer Research UK

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Professor Adam Hedgecoe

Professor of Social Science, Cardiff University

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Associate Professor Ruth Horn

Associate Professor in Ethics, Ethox

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Hannah Humphrey

Participant Panel Member

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Ismael Kherroubi García

Participant Panel Member

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Dr Mavis Machirori

Senior Researcher, Ada Lovelace Institute

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Dr Pete Mills

Executive Director at the PHG Foundation

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Nicola Perrin MBE

Non-Executive Director

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Dr Nadeem Qureshi

University of Nottingham

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Professor Rameen Shakur

Professor of Genomics and Precision Cardiovascular Medicine

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Nechama Wieder

PhD Candidate in Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford

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Access Review Committee

The Access Review Committee’s (ARC) role is to provide an independent examination and response to requests for access to genomic and health data held in the National Genomic Research Library (NGRL). These requests come from academic researchers, clinicians, and commercial researchers.

There is a set application process for these individuals to go through to access the data. The ARC reviews these applications to check that they are in line with the aims of the NGRL protocol and to assess whether they are in the interest of both the public and the participants.

Joining the Access Review Committee

Genomics England is not currently looking to recruit new members to its Access Review Committee.

What the Access Review Committee does

The ARC provides advice to Genomics England on data access policy and provides independent decision-making for access to genomic and health data in the NGRL.

Requests come from academic researchers, clinicians, and commercial organisations. The ARC oversees these requests and has an ongoing monitoring function to ensure access to data leads towards benefits for patients and meets the expectations of participants whose data is held in the NGRL.

As a member, you’ll help to ensure we strike the right balance of safeguarding data while enabling it to be used to drive life-saving diagnostics and treatments for patients.

Members of the ARC

The ARC includes participants whose data is held in the NGRL, alongside members with expertise in clinical genomics, data access, preclinical research, participant involvement, and data security. We are keen to continue having a diverse, vocal and collaborative committee to help us in this mission.

Dr Christine Patch

Chair of the Access Review Committee

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Natasha Dunkley

Head of Digital Strategy, Welsh Government

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Helen White

Vice-Chair for Cancer

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Clarissa Craske

Participant Panel Member

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Dr Simon Stockley

General Practitioner

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Dr Shereen Tadros

Consultant in Clinical Genetics, GOSH

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Danielle Wilson

Centre and Research Commercialisation Manager, Imperial College

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Kirsty Irvine

Chair of the Participant Panel

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Research Network Committee

The Research Network Committee oversees the operation of the Research Network and includes a range of representatives from across the Research Network communities. Three places on the Research Network Committee are reserved for the representatives of the Participant Panel and they contribute and vote as any other member of the Research Network Committee. The individual Participant Panel representatives are free to rotate attendance at the Research Network Committee according to their availability.

Dr Nicky Whiffin

Co-Chair

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Professor John Sayer

Co-Chair

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Dr Helen Bulbeck

Participant Panel Member

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Mel Dixon

Participant Panel Member

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Professor Dame Sue Hill

NHS England

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Dr Catherine Taylor

Clinical representative

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Dr Letizia Vestito

Early Career Researcher representative

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Professor Claude Chelala

Data Science representative

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Dr William Macken

Early Career Researcher representative

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Eva Bensasson

Participant Panel Member

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Research Network Community Leads

Our Research Network Community Leads spearhead, represent and advise the 8 cross-functional communities that make up our Research Network. Championing their respective community interests, the leads engage with Genomics England to identify strategic research and funding opportunities.

The Community Leads drive collaborations, skill-sharing and meaningful interactions between members of their communities, streamlining the way genomic research is carried out.