Members

The Ethics and Governance Council, chaired by Professor Roger Brownsword, is made up of members coming from a variety of perspectives, including ethics, law, medicine, medical science, social science, public consultation and community and consumer involvement. An independent Appointments Committee selected the members of the Council through a process that was in conformity with the Nolan Principles of Public Life.

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Professor Roger Brownsword (Chair)

Roger Brownsword recently retired from a Chair in Law at King's College London as well as his Directorship of TELOS, an inter-disciplinary research centre (based in the School of Law) that focuses on law, ethics, and technology. In 2001- 2002 he acted as a specialist adviser to the House of Lords' Select Committee on Stem Cells and, more recently, to the House of Commons' Science and Technology Committee for its report on hybrids and chimeras in 2007. He has published more than a dozen books (including seminal texts on human dignity, bioethics, and biolaw, consent in the law, and regulation and technology) as well as some 200 papers. In addition to maintaining active links with both TELOS and King's College London, Professor Brownsword is an Honorary Professor in Law at the University of Sheffield (where he held the full range of academic appointments, including serving as Head of Law, from 1968-2003). He was a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics from 2004 - 2010 and is currently serving on a Royal Society (Brain Waves) Working Party on regulating the neurosciences.

Dr Jonathan Hewitt

Dr Jonathan Hewitt is a consultant Geriatrician for Portsmouth NHS Trust where he leads a team responsible for a large acute geriatric ward. He is a trained epidemiologist whose PhD investigated the prevalence and complications associated with diabetes in a large group of community based people aged 75 and over. With a particular interest in diabetic epidemiology and his broad experience of acute general and geriatric medicine, Dr Hewitt is pursuing a career combining service, teaching and research. He has written a number of peer reviewed publications and a book.

Professor Søren Holm

Søren Holm is Professor of Bioethics and Director of the Centre for Social Ethics and Policy at Manchester University's School of Law. He is a medical doctor and philosopher and has previously worked at the Universities of Copenhagen and Cardiff. He holds a permanent visiting chair in Medical Ethics at the University of Oslo and is a former member of the Danish Council of Ethics. He was President of the European Society for Philosophy of Medicine and Health Care from 2008 - 2010 and is joint Editor in Chief of the Journal of Medical Ethics (2005 - 2011). His main research interests are research ethics, reproductive ethics, resource allocation in health care, and the relation between philosophy of medicine and bioethics. He currently serves as a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.

Professor Kate Hunt

Kate Hunt has over 30 years experience of epidemiological and sociological research in health and health inequalities, including active involvement in the design and implementation of the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study, a longitudinal study of the social patterning of health. In recent years she has been head of a programme of research on Gender and Health at the MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow. Her current research interests include gender and health, health behaviours and health care utilisation; 'lay' understandings of health, disease and public health; and communication of information about health (e.g. immunisation) to the public (e.g. via the popular media). She is Honorary Professor in the Division of Community Based Sciences at the University of Glasgow.

Dr Sheelagh McGuinness

Sheelagh McGuinness is Lecturer in Ethics and Law at Keele University's Centre for Professional Ethics, based in the School of Law. She is Course Director of the MA in the Ethics of Social Welfare and the MA in Medical Ethics and Law and serves as Vice Chair of the University's Ethics Review Panel. With interests that span law and bioethics, her research develops an understanding of the interplay between law, ethics, and policy. She has considered issues relating to human reproduction, religious beliefs and medical law, transgender medicine, organ donation, and research ethics. A theme which has been developing throughout her work is how law and policy can accommodate matters of considerable ethical contention.

Dr Roger Moore OBE

Roger Moore is an engineer by profession with broad interest in public policy and citizen involvement. In 2006 he retired as chief executive of the NHS Appointments Commission after a varied career within academia, the Department of Health and the National Health Service. Within the Commission he established procedures, in accordance with the Nolan principles, for the recruitment and appointment of lay people as chairs and non-executives to the boards of NHS and other public bodies sponsored by the Department of Health. He was also responsible for the training of non-executives and has lectured widely on the principles of NHS governance. He has extensive experience of formulating, managing and delivering healthcare policy and within the NHS previously served as Deputy National Director of the Blood Transfusion Service where he was responsible for the national coordination of donor recruitment as well as the introduction of formal systems of quality assurance.

Ms Tracey Phillips

Tracey Phillips has over 20 years experience as a business and management consultant working in the private and public sectors. Originally established as a consultant to design and implement quality management systems, her experience now includes business plan development, start-up support, stakeholder engagement and implementation and audit of health and safety, environmental and other regulatory standards. Her professional work focuses on public policy, in particular in the fields of public health, social welfare and community cohesion. She is currently a member of the National Community Forum and belongs to the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence PSHE public health guidance development group. She also works in the voluntary sector, recently acting as Chair of the Central Manchester Primary Care Trust Board Local Area Group, involving strategic input to the development and implementation of public health policy for Manchester.

Professor Martin Richards (Vice Chair)

Martin Richards is Emeritus Professor of Family Research and former Director of the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, which he founded in 1967. Since his retirement he has continued to conduct research at the Centre and to teach Ph.D. and M.Phil students. His research as a social scientist focuses on parent-child relationships, aspects of family life and genetics and reproductive technologies. Professor Richards is currently a member of the Ethics and Law Committee of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. He was previously a member of the Human Genetics Commission and of two Working Parties of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.

Mr Andrew Russell

Andrew Russell recently retired from his role as Chief Executive of the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (ASBAH). As Chief Executive he had responsibility for ensuring good governance and also managed the Association's research programme. He has substantial experience of campaigning on policy issues and, with an interest in user representation, he established and helped manage a forum of disabled adults dedicated to training people in independence skills. He also has experience in user involvement in services policy and management. He previously Chaired the Neurological Alliance, a coalition of over 50 national charities which campaigns for improved medical services for people with all neurological conditions and he is currently a 'patient and public involvement' Board member on the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, a partnership of organisations working to establish the UK as a world leader in clinical research, by harnessing the power of the NHS.

Mrs Margaret Shotter

Margaret Shotter has considerable experience in research ethics in both the UK and Canada. She served as a member of the Multi-centre Research Ethics Committee for Scotland for several years before moving to Vancouver. At the University of British Columbia (UBC) she provided advice to the Vice President of Research on ethical and regulatory aspects of research involving human subjects at the University and all its affiliated research institutions. She was responsible for the management of UBC Research Ethics Boards, and for ensuring compliance with applicable regulatory standards in the review of human subject research. During her career as a biostatistician at the University of Edinburgh, she became especially interested in the inter-relationship between scientific merit and ethical aspects of research. Margaret Shotter serves as a lay member of three Expert Advisory Groups which are sub-committees of the Commission on Human Medicine.

Professor Heather Widdows

Heather Widdows is Professor of Global Ethics at the Centre for the Study of Global Ethics, University of Birmingham. With a background in Moral Philosophy, she works on the conceptual issues of Global Ethics. Her research interests include: the foundations of moral value from a philosophical perspective; communication across belief-systems and value frameworks in the context of liberal democracies; and bioethical issues, particularly, reproductive, research and genetic ethics. In 2005 she was a visiting fellowship at Harvard University, where she worked on liberal values and issues of moral neo-colonialism. She was sole leader on the Property Regulation in European Science, Ethics and Law Project which compared models of regulation in such issues as patenting of the human genome and property in human tissue. Professor Widdows is Chair of the Global Studies Association and Editor of the Journal of Global Ethics.

Professor Paolo Vineis

Paolo Vineis is Chair of Environmental Epidemiology at Imperial College London. His research interests include the development and application of biomarkers to environmental and cancer epidemiology. He has been working for many years on the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, where he is Principal Investigator for the Torino (Italy) centre. He also acts as coordinator of EPIC's lung cancer and lymphoma working groups. With an interest in ethical issues he has published several papers on the implications of genetic testing and sits on Italy's College of Physicians' ethics committee.

Ms Adrienne Hunt (Secretary)

Adrienne Hunt provides the administrative and executive support to the Council. Trained as a biochemist, she spent several years working on the Human Genome Project. During this time she was responsible for project and personnel management, including the co-ordination of the sequencing of human chromosomes 22 and 9. More recently, she worked in academia undertaking research on the ethical issues raised in the context of public health interventions and conducting an investigation of the law and practice relating to use of patents by governments with a focus on the provision of health care.

		UK Biobank Ethics and Governance Council

Home How we operate Meetings and reports Members FAQs Recent activity Press relations An independent council funded by the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council		Members The Ethics and Governance Council, chaired by Professor Roger Brownsword, is made up of members coming from a variety of perspectives, including ethics, law, medicine, medical science, social science, public consultation and community and consumer involvement. An independent Appointments Committee selected the members of the Council through a process that was in conformity with the Nolan Principles of Public Life. ---------------------------------------- Professor Roger Brownsword (Chair) Roger Brownsword recently retired from a Chair in Law at King's College London as well as his Directorship of TELOS, an inter-disciplinary research centre (based in the School of Law) that focuses on law, ethics, and technology. In 2001- 2002 he acted as a specialist adviser to the House of Lords' Select Committee on Stem Cells and, more recently, to the House of Commons' Science and Technology Committee for its report on hybrids and chimeras in 2007. He has published more than a dozen books (including seminal texts on human dignity, bioethics, and biolaw, consent in the law, and regulation and technology) as well as some 200 papers. In addition to maintaining active links with both TELOS and King's College London, Professor Brownsword is an Honorary Professor in Law at the University of Sheffield (where he held the full range of academic appointments, including serving as Head of Law, from 1968-2003). He was a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics from 2004 - 2010 and is currently serving on a Royal Society (Brain Waves) Working Party on regulating the neurosciences. Dr Jonathan Hewitt Dr Jonathan Hewitt is a consultant Geriatrician for Portsmouth NHS Trust where he leads a team responsible for a large acute geriatric ward. He is a trained epidemiologist whose PhD investigated the prevalence and complications associated with diabetes in a large group of community based people aged 75 and over. With a particular interest in diabetic epidemiology and his broad experience of acute general and geriatric medicine, Dr Hewitt is pursuing a career combining service, teaching and research. He has written a number of peer reviewed publications and a book. Professor Søren Holm Søren Holm is Professor of Bioethics and Director of the Centre for Social Ethics and Policy at Manchester University's School of Law. He is a medical doctor and philosopher and has previously worked at the Universities of Copenhagen and Cardiff. He holds a permanent visiting chair in Medical Ethics at the University of Oslo and is a former member of the Danish Council of Ethics. He was President of the European Society for Philosophy of Medicine and Health Care from 2008 - 2010 and is joint Editor in Chief of the Journal of Medical Ethics (2005 - 2011). His main research interests are research ethics, reproductive ethics, resource allocation in health care, and the relation between philosophy of medicine and bioethics. He currently serves as a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. Professor Kate Hunt Kate Hunt has over 30 years experience of epidemiological and sociological research in health and health inequalities, including active involvement in the design and implementation of the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study, a longitudinal study of the social patterning of health. In recent years she has been head of a programme of research on Gender and Health at the MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow. Her current research interests include gender and health, health behaviours and health care utilisation; 'lay' understandings of health, disease and public health; and communication of information about health (e.g. immunisation) to the public (e.g. via the popular media). She is Honorary Professor in the Division of Community Based Sciences at the University of Glasgow. Dr Sheelagh McGuinness Sheelagh McGuinness is Lecturer in Ethics and Law at Keele University's Centre for Professional Ethics, based in the School of Law. She is Course Director of the MA in the Ethics of Social Welfare and the MA in Medical Ethics and Law and serves as Vice Chair of the University's Ethics Review Panel. With interests that span law and bioethics, her research develops an understanding of the interplay between law, ethics, and policy. She has considered issues relating to human reproduction, religious beliefs and medical law, transgender medicine, organ donation, and research ethics. A theme which has been developing throughout her work is how law and policy can accommodate matters of considerable ethical contention. Dr Roger Moore OBE Roger Moore is an engineer by profession with broad interest in public policy and citizen involvement. In 2006 he retired as chief executive of the NHS Appointments Commission after a varied career within academia, the Department of Health and the National Health Service. Within the Commission he established procedures, in accordance with the Nolan principles, for the recruitment and appointment of lay people as chairs and non-executives to the boards of NHS and other public bodies sponsored by the Department of Health. He was also responsible for the training of non-executives and has lectured widely on the principles of NHS governance. He has extensive experience of formulating, managing and delivering healthcare policy and within the NHS previously served as Deputy National Director of the Blood Transfusion Service where he was responsible for the national coordination of donor recruitment as well as the introduction of formal systems of quality assurance. Ms Tracey Phillips Tracey Phillips has over 20 years experience as a business and management consultant working in the private and public sectors. Originally established as a consultant to design and implement quality management systems, her experience now includes business plan development, start-up support, stakeholder engagement and implementation and audit of health and safety, environmental and other regulatory standards. Her professional work focuses on public policy, in particular in the fields of public health, social welfare and community cohesion. She is currently a member of the National Community Forum and belongs to the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence PSHE public health guidance development group. She also works in the voluntary sector, recently acting as Chair of the Central Manchester Primary Care Trust Board Local Area Group, involving strategic input to the development and implementation of public health policy for Manchester. Professor Martin Richards (Vice Chair) Martin Richards is Emeritus Professor of Family Research and former Director of the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, which he founded in 1967. Since his retirement he has continued to conduct research at the Centre and to teach Ph.D. and M.Phil students. His research as a social scientist focuses on parent-child relationships, aspects of family life and genetics and reproductive technologies. Professor Richards is currently a member of the Ethics and Law Committee of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. He was previously a member of the Human Genetics Commission and of two Working Parties of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. Mr Andrew Russell Andrew Russell recently retired from his role as Chief Executive of the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (ASBAH). As Chief Executive he had responsibility for ensuring good governance and also managed the Association's research programme. He has substantial experience of campaigning on policy issues and, with an interest in user representation, he established and helped manage a forum of disabled adults dedicated to training people in independence skills. He also has experience in user involvement in services policy and management. He previously Chaired the Neurological Alliance, a coalition of over 50 national charities which campaigns for improved medical services for people with all neurological conditions and he is currently a 'patient and public involvement' Board member on the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, a partnership of organisations working to establish the UK as a world leader in clinical research, by harnessing the power of the NHS. Mrs Margaret Shotter Margaret Shotter has considerable experience in research ethics in both the UK and Canada. She served as a member of the Multi-centre Research Ethics Committee for Scotland for several years before moving to Vancouver. At the University of British Columbia (UBC) she provided advice to the Vice President of Research on ethical and regulatory aspects of research involving human subjects at the University and all its affiliated research institutions. She was responsible for the management of UBC Research Ethics Boards, and for ensuring compliance with applicable regulatory standards in the review of human subject research. During her career as a biostatistician at the University of Edinburgh, she became especially interested in the inter-relationship between scientific merit and ethical aspects of research. Margaret Shotter serves as a lay member of three Expert Advisory Groups which are sub-committees of the Commission on Human Medicine. Professor Heather Widdows Heather Widdows is Professor of Global Ethics at the Centre for the Study of Global Ethics, University of Birmingham. With a background in Moral Philosophy, she works on the conceptual issues of Global Ethics. Her research interests include: the foundations of moral value from a philosophical perspective; communication across belief-systems and value frameworks in the context of liberal democracies; and bioethical issues, particularly, reproductive, research and genetic ethics. In 2005 she was a visiting fellowship at Harvard University, where she worked on liberal values and issues of moral neo-colonialism. She was sole leader on the Property Regulation in European Science, Ethics and Law Project which compared models of regulation in such issues as patenting of the human genome and property in human tissue. Professor Widdows is Chair of the Global Studies Association and Editor of the Journal of Global Ethics. Professor Paolo Vineis Paolo Vineis is Chair of Environmental Epidemiology at Imperial College London. His research interests include the development and application of biomarkers to environmental and cancer epidemiology. He has been working for many years on the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, where he is Principal Investigator for the Torino (Italy) centre. He also acts as coordinator of EPIC's lung cancer and lymphoma working groups. With an interest in ethical issues he has published several papers on the implications of genetic testing and sits on Italy's College of Physicians' ethics committee. Ms Adrienne Hunt (Secretary) Adrienne Hunt provides the administrative and executive support to the Council. Trained as a biochemist, she spent several years working on the Human Genome Project. During this time she was responsible for project and personnel management, including the co-ordination of the sequencing of human chromosomes 22 and 9. More recently, she worked in academia undertaking research on the ethical issues raised in the context of public health interventions and conducting an investigation of the law and practice relating to use of patents by governments with a focus on the provision of health care. 215 Euston Road London NW1 2BE UK T +44 (0)20 7611 8888 F +44 (0)20 7611 8545