These are Professor James Briscoe FMedSci FRS and Professor Peter Parker FMedSci FRS, both research group leaders at the Francis Crick Institute, Professor Gordon Brown FMedSci FRS from the University of Exeter, and Alexandra Pygall, a partner with law firm Stephenson Harwood.
Chair of the Board, Professor Peter Rigby FMedSci FRS, said: “On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am delighted to welcome our new colleagues. Each brings a wealth of skills and knowledge to the Board, not only in terms of scientific knowledge and professional experience but also in leadership and governance.”
Board members’ profiles (shown left to right in image):
Professor James Briscoe FMedSci FRS
James Briscoe is a group leader and assistant research director at the Francis Crick Institute. He holds a BSc in Microbiology and Virology from the University of Warwick, UK, and undertook his PhD research at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, followed by postdoctoral research in the USA. He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2019. James established his independent research group in 2000 at the Medical Research Council's National Institute for Medical Research (now part of the Francis Crick Institute). His research interests include the molecular and cellular mechanisms of embryonic development. Read James’ full profile on the Francis Crick Institute website.
Professor Peter Parker FMedSci FRS
Peter Parker is the Chair of the Institute’s Science and Impact Advisory Committee (SIAC). Peter is a group leader at the Francis Crick Institute and Director of the CRUK King’s Health Partners Centre at King's College London. After training as a biochemist at Oxford, he moved to Dundee to study protein kinases and then moved into oncology at the ICRF in London before becoming a founder member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at UCL. He later returned as a Principal Scientist to the Imperial Cancer Research Fund before joining the newly founded Francis Crick Institute in 2015. Peter’s longstanding research interests concern protein kinases, biomarkers and targeted interventions to develop new treatments for cancer. He was elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2000 and to the Royal Society in 2006. Read Peter’s full profile on the Francis Crick Institute website.
Professor Gordon Brown FMedSci FRSE FRS
Gordon Brown is the Director of the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Exeter, and Director of the AFRICA Medical Mycology Unit at the University of Cape Town. His primary research interests are C-type lectin receptors and their role in homeostasis and immunity, with a particular focus on antifungal immunity. He established his first independent research group in 2004 at the University of Cape Town as a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellow, and moved to the University of Aberdeen in 2009 to establish the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology, which relocated to the University of Exeter in 2019. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Royal Society of South Africa. He is currently a co-chair of the Wellcome Trust Science Interview Panel and an ad-hoc member of the MRC Infection and Immunity board. Read Gordon’s full profile on the University of Exeter website. Gordon will join the Institute Board in July 2021.
Alexandra Pygall
Alexandra Pygall is a partner at international law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP, where she leads the firm's multi-disciplinary life sciences group. Alexandra specialises in intellectual property and has significant experience of advising on both transactions and disputes in the life sciences sector. She advises clients on R&D, collaboration and licence agreements as well as on the intellectual property aspects of acquisitions, IPOs, investments and general commercial arrangements. She also advises clients on disputes arising from such agreements and on intellectual property disputes (ownership, infringement and validity). Alexandra read jurisprudence at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College) and molecular science at The Open University. Read Alexandra’s full profile on the Stephenson Harwood website.