This September, we’re welcoming some new members to our Governing Body and Scientific Committee and saying farewell to some valued colleagues who are moving on to new chapters.
The Governing Body will say goodbye to Judy Armitage and Wendy Bickmore as they step back from their current roles, and welcome Muzz Haniffa, who is moving across from the Scientific Committee this month. The Scientific Committee welcomes Cliona O’Farrelly and Ewen Harrison, and wishes a fond farewell to Judi Allen.
Professor Muzlifah Haniffa, FMedSci, Newcastle University
Muzz is a leading Professor of Dermatology and Immunology and a key figure in the Human Cell Atlas initiative. She is known for pioneering the use of single cell genomics to understand the human immune system during its development, and also its use in analysing skin tissue in health and disease. Muzz leads a public engagement programme at the Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts and Culture Lab, Inside Skin, which incorporates scientific and artistic perspectives on the skin and immune system. She was a Lister Prize Fellow from 2016 to 2021.
Muzz has been a valued member of the Scientific Committee and we welcome her to the Governing Body this month.
Professor Ewen M Harrison OBE, FRCS, FRSE, FMedSci, University of Edinburgh
Ewen leads the Surgical and Critical Care Informatics group at the University of Edinburgh, where he is a Professor of Surgery and Data Science. He is also in clinical practice as a Consultant Transplant, Hepto-biliary and Pancreatic Surgeon at Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary. His work focuses on the use of data-driven, collaborative research to improve outcomes for surgical patients. He was awarded an OBE in the 2023 King’s New Year Honours for his services to the COVID-19 pandemic response.
We warmly welcome Ewen to the Scientific Committee, where he will play an invaluable role providing guidance to the Governing Body and assessing Lister Prize applications.
Cliona is a comparative immunologist and a Fellow of the Royal Society in Ireland. Her work on hepatic and uterine immunology has sparked new insights into the immune mechanisms in these organs and how they protect us against viral infection and cancer. She is a trailblazer for women in science in Ireland, having been the first woman to be awarded a PhD in Immunology in the country and the first woman to serve as President of the Irish Society of Immunology. Today Cliona is Chair of Comparative Immunology at Trinity College Dublin where she is known for her contribution to pedagogy and support of young scientists.
We are delighted to have Cliona on board the Scientific Committee, where her expertise and insight will guide the selection of future Fellows and inform the work of the Governing Body.
Professor Judith Armitage, FRS, University of Oxford
Judy is a cellular and molecular biochemist and systems biologist. Her primary interest is the way in which bacteria move through their environment using rotations of their flagellae or ‘tails’. She uses a combined approach that incorporates elements of genetics, light microscopy and biophysics. During her career, Judy’s work has fundamentally changed the way scientists understand bacteria and their behaviour, especially the protein ‘motor’ that drives their movements.
A Lister Prize Fellow from 1982 to 1985, Judy had been a member of the Governing Body since 2015 before stepping down this month. She ended this chapter in style with a keynote lecture at this year’s Annual Meeting, titled: A random walk in biology: 40 years of wondering how and why bacteria swim.
Professor Wendy Bickmore CBE, FRS, FRSE, FMedSci, University of Edinburgh
Wendy is a geneticist known for her work on the structure and organisation of chromosomes in the nuclei of human cells. She is Director of the MRC Human Genetics Unit based at the University of Edinburgh, where her lab group explores the relationship between the spatial organisation of genes and their function in disease and development. Wendy received a CBE in 2021 for her services to medical science.
Wendy was a Lister Prize Fellow between 1991 and 1996, during which time she showed that chromosomes have preferred positions in the nucleus depending on the genes they contain. Her talk at the 2024 Lister Annual Meeting, Building a complex picture of genome regulation, described recent research on the surprising geography of enhancer DNA within the non-coding genome.
Judi Allen, FRS, FRSE, FRSB, FMedSci, University of Manchester
Judi is an infectious disease immunologist and Professor of Immunobiology at the University of Manchester. She studies the interaction between the human immune system and helminthic and other parasites. She has a special interest in Type 2 immunity, a form of immune response that fundamentally differs from the classic immunity associated with inflammation, and instead reduces inflammation and supports the extra-cellular matrix in our tissues. Type 2 immunity often occurs in cases of helminthic infection, and Judi’s lab studies the phenomenon with a special focus on macrophages.
Judi will step down from the Lister Institute Scientific Committee, where she has been a valued contributor since 2018.
