Call for biomedical collaboration as ‘window of opportunity’ looms
23 May 2025
Biomedical and health research body the Academy of Medical Sciences has called upon industry, universities and the NHS to collaborate better in the run up to next month’s 10 year health plan and spending review announcements.
In its Future-proofing UK Health Research: 2025 Update Report, the academy has emphasised the need for breaking down traditional barriers within the sector.
The organisation warned the timing represented a ‘rare 10-year window of opportunity’ to achieve better health outcomes.
President Professor Andrew Morris said: “As we saw during the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK can achieve remarkable results when our health research sector collaborates effectively.”
The report, which draws on the academy’s 2023 review and draws upon symposium discussions involving more than 40 health sector leaders, recommends pooling resources and expertise to maximise funding impact and accelerate research.
Meanwhile, the academy also announced it has elected 54 scientists to its existing 1,450-strong fellowship. They will be formally admitted at a ceremony on 9 July.
Two of the new intake – professors Cristina Lo Celso (Imperial College London) and Professor Sam Behjati (Wellcome Sanger Institute and University of Cambridge) – are former recipients of the organisation’s Foulkes Foundation medal, honouring rising stars of the biomedical field.
The full list of Academy of Medical Sciences fellows elected in 2025 includes:
Professor Rickie Patani, Francis Crick Institute
Dr Vishal Gulati, Recode Ventures
Professor Chris Chiu, Imperial College London
Professor Cristina Lo Celso, Imperial College London
Professor Guy Rutter, Imperial College London
Professor Sejal Saglani, Imperial College London
Professor Helen Ward, Imperial College London
Professor Benjamin Blencowe, King’s College London
Professor Philip Newsome, King’s College London
Professor Andrew Shennan, King’s College London
Professor Jernej Ule, King’s College London
Professor Moffat Nyirenda, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Dr Jill Richardson, Merck, Sharpe & Dohme
Professor Clare Bambra, Newcastle University
Professor Robert Taylor, Newcastle University
Dr Melanie Saville, PATH
Professor Jonathan Grigg, Queen Mary University of London
Professor Claudia Langenberg, Queen Mary University of London
Professor Anna Gloyn, Stanford University
Professor Anna David, University College London
Professor Christina Pagel, University College London
Professor Jonathan Schott, University College London
Professor Roz Shafran, University College London
Professor Danail Stoyanov, University College London
Professor Gregory Towers, University College London
Professor David Werring, University College London
Professor Melanie Calvert, University of Birmingham
Professor Dion Morton, University of Birmingham
Professor John Terry, University of Birmingham
Professor Nicholas Timpson, University of Bristol
Professor Clare Bryant, University of Cambridge
Professor Frank Reimann, University of Cambridge
Professor Mina Ryten, University of Cambridge
Professor David Horn, University of Dundee
Professor Inke Näthke, University of Dundee
Professor Melita Gordon, University of Edinburgh
Professor Robert Semple, University of Edinburgh
Professor Caroline Wright, University of Exeter
Professor Kathryn Abel, University of Manchester
Professor Anthony Day, University of Manchester
Professor Matt Sutton, University of Manchester
Professor Sube Banerjee, University of Nottingham
Professor Charalambos Antoniades, University of Oxford
Professor Simon Draper, University of Oxford
Professor Matt Higgins, University of Oxford
Professor Dame Molly Stevens, University of Oxford
Professor Naomi Wray, University of Oxford
Professor James Catto, University of Sheffield
Professor Deborah Dunn-Walters, University of Surrey
Professor Jaime Miranda, University of Sydney
Professor Bernadine Idowu, University of West London
Professor David Kent, University of York
Professor Amar Rangan, University of York
Professor Sam Behjati, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
The new intake matches last year’s for the percentage of women (41%), while black, Asian and minority ethnic representation now stands at 20%.
