CaSE is run day-to-day by a small team led by our Executive Director, Dr Sarah Main.

The CaSE Board, chaired by Dr Bob Sorrell, helps to set the strategic direction of CaSE and is responsible for the good governance and financial management of the organisation. As CaSE is both a charity and a company limited by guarantee, the CaSE Board are Trustees of the charity and non-executive directors of the company.

The CaSE Advisory Council comprises experienced advisors who provide expertise across all areas of CaSE’s work.

CaSE Staff

  • Professor Sarah Main

    Executive Director

    Professor Sarah Main is the Executive Director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering and represents the interests of CaSE members in the media and in high-level discussions with Government Ministers, Parliamentary Committees, Chief Scientific Advisors and senior civil servants. She engages with industry, charity and academic leaders across the UK science base.

    Sarah trained as a molecular biologist and became an independent researcher, working with Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council in London and Cambridge, where she held the Charles and Katherine Darwin Research Fellowship at Darwin College, University of Cambridge. She later worked in strategy and funding at the Medical Research Council, and in Government on leverage of investment from public funding of science and research for a Treasury review of public spending.

    Sarah has been a member of advisory groups for influential policy reviews, including the Centre for Social Justice's report, The Great British Breakthrough - Driving Productivity Growth in the UK, launched by the Chancellor of the Exchequer; and the Reid review of Government Funded Research and Innovation in Wales, commissioned by the Welsh Government. 

    Sarah is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, a Trustee of the British Science Association and of the Foundation for Science and Technology. She is an Honorary Professor at the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy at University College London and a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor at the University of Westminster.

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  • Dr Daniel Rathbone

    Assistant Director

    Daniel joined CaSE in January 2019 as Assistant Director. In this role he is head of policy for CaSE, shaping its policy agenda with the support of the Executive Director. Daniel has a background across the physical sciences and completed his PhD at Imperial College London, developing computer simulations of the behaviour of powders and grains. He has previously worked for the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee and the House of Commons Library.  
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  • Henry Gates

    Membership Engagement and Development Manager

    Henry joined CaSE in February 2020 as Membership Engagement & Development Manager. In this role, he will be working with the CaSE Membership to help deliver CaSE's aims and objectives. Prior to joining, Henry worked as a Regional Engagement Officer for the Chartered Institution for Highways and Transportation and has a Masters in Chemical Engineering from Loughborough University. 

  • James Tooze

    Policy Officer

    James joined CaSE in July 2017, providing an additional resource to assist all aspects of CaSE’s policy work. Prior to joining, James worked as a Policy Researcher for the Society of Chemical Industry. He studied for an undergraduate degree in Chemistry, before completing a Masters in Science Communication and Public Engagement at the University of Edinburgh.
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  • Nick Hall

    Communications Manager

    As Communications Manager Nick is responsible for managing external communications on behalf of CaSE, through its events, media work, web presence, online output and communications with members and collaborators, as well as supporting CaSE’s parliamentary and political engagement. Nick studied history at Warwick University before working as a Parliamentary Researcher in Westminster.
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The Discovery Decade

  • Kim Shillinglaw

    Chair of the Discovery Decade project

    Kim Shillinglaw has 30 years experience in the Media industry, running commercial companies for EndemolShine, as Controller of BBC2 and BBC4, and as Head of Commissioning for Science and Natural History among other roles. As well as creating and overseeing multi-award winning content from Blue Planet II to Horrible Histories, she has a long standing interest in research and innovation across both public and private sectors. She has been a Trustee of NESTA and EngineeringUK, was architect of the BBC’s highly successful Year of Science and Make It Digital campaigns, chaired the BBC’s Commercial Income Taskforce, and has advised the Science Museum, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the Edinburgh TV Festival. Alongside her role at CaSE, Kim sits on boards at Ofcom, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the Raspberry Pi foundation. She’s also a Non-Exec Director at UKRI’s Natural Environment Research Council and Natural England. 

    For more information about the Discovery Decade project see here.

  • Ben Bleasdale

    Director of the Discovery Decade project

    Ben joined CaSE in August 2021 and oversees the day-to-day operations of the Discovery Decade project. The project aims to attract a new, broader base of public supporters who can help make R&D investment a political priority. He’s previously held roles at the Wellcome Trust, Academy of Medical Sciences and the Medical Research Council, having completed a PhD at Imperial College London in virology

     

CaSE Board

  • Professor Sir Ian Boyd

    Professor Sir Ian Boyd is a Professor in Biology at the University of St Andrews. He was Chief Scientific Adviser at Defra from 2012 to 2019. He has been a director of the Scottish Oceans Institute at the University of St Andrews and the Sea Mammal Research Unit. He is a marine and polar scientist and worked for the British Antarctic Survey from 1987 to 2001. He has served on two Research Councils and several Royal Society committees. He is a Trustee of the National Oceanography Centre and Chair of the UK Research Integrity Office. He has the Bruce Medal for Polar Science, the Polar Medal, the Scientific Medal of the Zoological Society of London and was knighted for services to science and economics in government in 2019.

  • Dr Stephen Breslin

    Stephen has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Glasgow Science Centre since 2012. Stephen’s background is in engineering and he holds a BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Electrical Engineering, both from the University of Strathclyde. 

  • Jeremy Clayton

    Jeremy was appointed Director of the Government Office for Science in 2003 and from 2011 became responsible for science funding and policy within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, now the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. His brief included EU and global science and innovation issues. He retired from the Civil Service in 2016 and is now a Council member at the University of East Anglia and a Governor of the Walcot Foundation (which seeks to boost life chances in Lambeth).

  • Dr Mark Downs

    Mark has been Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Biology since its inception in 2009. Mark joined the RSB from the RNID, where he was the Executive director for Science and Enterprise. Prior to that he spent three years as the UK’s lead policy official at the Department of Trade and Industry for a range of EU-led environmental legislation. Earlier in his career he held responsibility for bilateral and multilateral trade policy at the British Embassy in Japan. He has a Ph.D in Biotechnology.

  • Perdita Fraser

    Perdita has a portfolio of board roles across the private, public, charity and university sectors, with a specific interest in innovation, sustainability, partnerships and skills. Roles include chair of National Numeracy, NED at National Lottery Community Fund and the University of Edinburgh. A former JP Morgan investment banker, she has 15+ years experience in US and UK cleantech and 30 years’ involvement with several youth/employability charities. 

  • Kim Graham

    Kim is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Enterprise at Cardiff University. She has previously held leadership positions for grant funders and organisations, including the role of Deputy Chair for the MRC Non-Clinical Career Development and Training Panel and panel member for REF 2014 UoA4.  Kim is a member of the UKRI MRC Council, the Wales Science and Innovation Advisory Council and the HEFCW Research Committee. Kim gained her PhD at St John’s College, Cambridge University in 1995. .   

  • Sinead Hesp

    Sinéad is a solicitor and in 2018 was appointed Director of Legal Affairs and Board Secretariat at the University of Manchester where she has oversight of all legal matters at the University and leads a team of solicitors and governance specialists.  Sinéad joined the University of Manchester in 2010, initially focussing on employment law and later developing a wider involvement, particularly on governance matters. Prior to joining the University, Sinéad worked for over 10 year as a solicitor in private practice with Mills and Reeve, LLP.  Sinead holds an MA in Law from the University of Cambridge.

  • Jane Hughes

    Jane is a communications consultant and journalist. She joined the Francis Crick Institute as Director of Communications and Public Engagement in 2018 after several years leading communications and engagement teams in health campaigning organisations. Before moving into communications, she worked as a BBC correspondent, covering health and medical research for a number of years.  

  • Catherine Johns

    Catherine was appointed as CEO of Kielder Observatory in 2019. She is a former Vice-Chair of the United Kingdom Science Park Association and a Board Director of the International Association of Science Parks (IASP), where she founded Women in IASP, to promote the profile of women in the science park industry. 

  • Professor Andrew Jones

    Professor Andrew Jones is Professor Andrew Jones is Vice-Chancellor and President of Brunel University. He is an inter-disciplinary social scientist with a background as an economic geographer. Andrew is a trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Academy of Social Science and holds several UKRI appointments.

  • Ron Mobed

    Ron has held executive positions in information and analytics companies including seven years as CEO at Elsevier and five years as President/COO at IHS. He is currently a Non-Executive Director at Aveva PLC, a FTSE100 global leader in industrial software, notably to the energy sector, a Non-Executive Director at Ordnance Survey and a Supervisory Board Member at Fugro N.V., the world’s leading geo-data specialist. 

  • David Parfrey (Treasurer)

    David Parfrey is Executive Chair for Anglia Innovation Partnership LLP (AIP LLP ), the LLP responsible for bringing the Norwich Research Park vision to life. He was previously Executive Director, Finance & Campus Operations for the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

  • Professor Mark Price

    Mark Price is Professor of Aeronautics and former Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Engineering and Physical Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast. A Chartered Engineer he worked in the Aerospace and Software industries before turning to academia. He is currently Chair of the EPSRC Manufacturing the Future Strategic Advisory Team and a Trustee of the James Kane Foundation.

  • Dr Bob Sorrell (Chair)

    Robert is an independent Technology and Policy Advisor.  Prior to that he was was BP’s Vice President for Research & Innovation for BP’s global Formulated Products (Fuels and Lubricants) Technology, and also BP’s technology policy advisor for the UK and EU. Robert joined BP in 1987 from Durham University having earlier completed his PhD at Cambridge University.

  • Professor Lesley Yellowlees CBE

    Lesley Yellowlees is an Inorganic Chemist with interests in renewable energy, public engagement of science and promoting women in science. Lesley was Head of the School of Chemistry and then Vice Principal and Head of the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. She was President of the Royal Society of Chemistry from 2012-14, their first woman president in 175 years. She was awarded an MBE in 2005 for services to science, a CBE for services to Chemistry in 2014 and elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2012.

  • Register of Interests

    CaSE requires Board members to disclose any private interests they have which may conflict, or may be perceived to conflict, with CaSE's business. Click here to see the current list of disclosures.

CaSE Advisory Council