Governance

Richard studied medicine at Cambridge University and The London Hospital Medical College, graduating in 1994. Following surgical training in London, Oxford, and the South West of England, he was appointed to a consultant post in 2009.

His academic interests centre around the design, conduct and analyses of very large randomised trials and include the use of lipid-lowering and anti-thrombotic therapy to reduce vascular risk, as well as the largest ever trial of carotid surgery. He is also co-director of the University of Oxford’s MSc in Clinical Trials, which is training the next generation of clinical trialists to design and deliver practice-changing RCTs. He is a member of the MHRA Interim Devices Working Group, has chaired DMCs and sat on Steering Committees for several NIHR funded trials.

His interest in the History of Medicine was sparked at Cambridge, where he read History and Philosophy of Science for his Part II, and he is a member of the Board of Visitors of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

He is particularly excited to bring these skills and experience to the Board of Trustees, and to help share this unique collection with a wide and diverse audience.

Ian Eardley qualified from Sidney Sussex College and Addenbrooke’s Hospital Cambridge in 1981, undertaking surgical and urological training in Portsmouth, Cambridge and Norwich. He became a Consultant Urologist in St James’s Hospital in Leeds in 1993, where he has developed a general urological practise with particular interest in sexual dysfunction, genital surgery and genitourinary reconstruction. His research has included work on the quality of life after penectomy, urinary tract infection and sexual dysfunction.

He has written or co-authored seven urological textbooks and published over 175 chapters or scientific papers. He was the Director of the Office of Education for the British Association of Urological Surgeons between 2002-2006, Chairman of the Specialist Advisory Committee in Urology between 2007-2009 and a BAUS council member between 2000-2003. He was Surgical Director of the Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme 2009-2011 and is current Chairman of the Joint Committee for Surgical Training. He is an elected Member of Council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Council Lead for Training. In addition he is the Immediate Past President of the European Society of Sexual Medicine and Associate Editor of the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Edward Garnier KC is a leading silk specialising in corporate advisory and financial services work, corporate crime and international human rights as well as sanctions, defamation, privacy, confidence, malicious falsehood, contempt and related media law cases. His extensive experience in practice is underpinned by a parallel career in politics and as one of the Government’s two Law Officers: he served as an MP from 1992 until 2017 and was HM Solicitor General from 2010 to 2012. Knighted in 2012, he became a member of Privy Counsellor in 2015 and of the House of Lords in 2018. When in Government as Solicitor General, he developed and introduced into this jurisdiction from the United States the Deferred Prosecution Agreement, a means of dealing with companies who admit their offending to supplement prosecutions against individuals suspected of economic crime. He led for the Serious Fraud Office in two DPAs (Standard Bank and Rolls Royce) and for the respondent companies in 2 other DPAs. Edward has since been an instrumental in developing the failure to prevent fraud offence as part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

Kate is a senior arts professional with over 35 years’ experience gained in senior roles in museums, galleries and the performing arts. She has recently retired from the University of Cambridge, where she was Deputy Director, Engagement and Partnerships at The Fitzwilliam Museum.

Roger is a clinician and educationalist who leads the Centre for Engagement and Simulation Science at Imperial College London and the Royal College of Music–Imperial Centre for Performance Science. His multidisciplinary research into contextualised simulation and embodied knowledge builds on his personal experience as a surgeon and a general practitioner and his fascination with domains of expertise beyond medicine. Since 2019 he has been the fourteenth Professor of Anatomy at the Royal Academy of Arts.

In addition to his work with Imperial scientists and clinicians, Roger collaborates with the Victoria & Albert Museum, Science Museum, Natural History Museum and the Royal College of Art. He is a full member of the Art Workers Guild and in 2017 became the first Honorary Fellow of the City and Guilds of London Art School. From 2018-2021 he was Gresham College Visiting Professor of Medical Education. Roger’s book Expert: Understanding the Path to Mastery was published by Penguin in 2020 (paperback edition 2021) and his fortnightly iTunes podcast Countercurrent features exploratory conversations with unconventional people whose interests and careers cross traditional boundaries. www.rogerkneebone.co.uk

Hannah has an academic background in the political philosophy and art history of the long eighteenth century, studying at Queen Mary University of London, the London School of Economics and the Courtauld Institute of Art. Her career spans nearly 20 years in museums, galleries and heritage. She has been a funder for Art Fund as well as Arts Council England and is an expert in public programming, strategy development and delivering innovative national initiatives. She has delivered major exhibitions, tours and national programmes including: the 2007 bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act at the National Portrait Gallery; the 2012 Cultural Olympiad programme at the Museum of the Home; and the 2019 centenary exhibition Leonardo 500 at the Royal Collection Trust. Hannah’s first role for the Arts Council was as Relationship Manager for Museums before going back into the sector for a leadership position at the Royal Collection. She re-joined the Arts Council in January 2021 and took on the role of Director, Touring in November 2022. She is responsible for policy and investment in national and international touring for all disciplines, including collections. Hannah is leading the development of new approaches for supporting the interdependence of England’s touring ecologies of commercial, independent and publicly funded organisations.

Dr Suzy Lishman CBE is a consultant histopathologist at Peterborough City Hospital with an interest in colon cancer and patient safety. Suzy has been giving talks to the public for many years to debunk the myths about pathology. Her most popular event, the Living Autopsy, has been seen by thousands of people in person, and over 2 million online. Suzy held her first Living Autopsy at the Hunterian Museum in 2008.

Tim is Executive Director of Science at the Natural History Museum and provides leadership on all scientific activities. The direction of NHM science, across all its diverse disciplines, is informed by its collections, of over 80 million specimens, and a commitment to addressing some of the biggest issues facing humanity and the planet.

Tim represents the NHM as Member of Imperial Court. A former Wellcome Senior Research Fellow (1996-2005), Individual Merit Researcher (2005-2021), and C.A. Wright medallist (British Society for Parasitology, 2009) Tim has published over 250 research articles and book chapters. His research focuses on evolutionary parasitology of helminths, and biomedical applications of molecular systematics.

Imelda is a Reader in Comparative Medicine. Her research focuses on diseases affecting humans and animals to identify common treatments. Current research falls in two areas: developmental disorders and cancer.

Dr. Fiona Myint qualified in medicine from Guy’s Hospital, University of London. She trained in general and vascular surgery in London and was appointed as a consultant at the Royal Free Hospital in 2000, also working at the North Middlesex University Hospital and the Whittington Hospital. She is an honorary clinical senior lecturer (Honorary Clinical Associate Professor) at University College London (UCL) and a current elected Member of Council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Her leadership roles have included Clinical Lead in general surgery, chair of core surgery for London, chair of the Dental and Surgical Examinations Committee of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Undergraduate Teaching Lead at Royal Free Hospital, and Vascular Module lead at UCL Medical School.

She has a strong background in undergraduate and postgraduate education and holds a Master’s in Clinical Education from The Institute of Education. She has been a Royal College surgical tutor, Training Program director for both core surgery and higher surgery, and a member of the UK general surgery Specialty Advisory Committee (SAC). She currently sits on the UCL Medical School undergraduate teaching Committee, the Intercollegiate Committee for Basic Surgical Examinations, and as an invited member of the Joint Committee for Intercollegiate Examinations. More recently she has taken on the role as a program director for the Harvard Medical School Surgical Leadership Program.

She writes questions for and is an examiner in undergraduate and postgraduate surgery. Her involvement in educational quality assurance has included roles as an appraiser, and as an assessor for individuals at certification level and for departments and institutions at accreditation level. Her contribution to education has resulted in her recognition as a Senior Fellow of The Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and a Fellow of the RCS Academy of Surgical Educators (FRASE).

Dr. Yewande Okuleye is a polymath with a transdisciplinary background spanning science, fine art, the history of medicine, literature, and health humanities. Her scholar-activist research, deeply rooted in systems design, critical pedagogy, and participatory research, enables her to develop innovative frameworks tackling contemporary wicked problems. In the 1990s, while working as a chemist on natural plants at The Body Shop, she was inspired by Anita Roddick's activism principles, which continue to influence her work.

Yewande’s collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach operates on both national and global stages. Her PhD and postdoctoral research on the medicalisation and commercialisation of licensed and non-licensed medical cannabis exemplify her ability to navigate and influence diverse sectors, including policy, patient-centred research, marginalised communities, and academia.

A heart-centred leader committed to reclaiming, reviving, and recognizing marginalised lived realities and histories, Yewande brings over twenty-five years of experience in the cultural heritage sector. She has co-produced transformative projects and conversations within prestigious cultural institutions. As a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a published poet (in Anne-Thology: Poems Re-Presenting Anne Shakespeare, 2023), her critical creative praxis weaves visual, sound, text, and performance to facilitate immersive experiences and engaged conversations about misrepresented, silenced, and difficult histories. Her dedication to inclusivity and empowerment has been acknowledged through numerous university grants and fellowships, underscoring her impact in driving change based on respect, empathy, service, and trust.

David Ward served as President in 2017 and 2018, and is Emeritus Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Leicester Royal Infirmary, having retired from the NHS in 2014. He qualified at King’s College Hospital, did general surgical training and then trained in plastic surgery at East Grinstead and at several London units, before being appointed in Leicester in 1990 with a special interest in head and neck reconstruction.

In 2006 he was elected to the Royal College of Surgeons of England’s Council, followed by election first as Junior Vice President and then as Senior Vice President. He has been a member of BAPRAS’s Council, training programme director, SAC member, chair of the intercollegiate committees running the MRCS (ICBSE) and the FRCS (JCIE), an examiner and assessor for the MRCS, FRCS and FRCS (Plast), and a member of the GMC’s Professional Conduct and Fitness-to-Practise Committees.