Sunday 5 July 2009

Members of the GACS

Friday 21 December 2007

Details of the membership of the General Advisory Committee on Science (GACS).

The GACS comprises 16 independent members:

an independent Chair of the GACS
the Chairs of the nine Scientific Advisory Committees (SACs) that advise the Agency (who are GACS members in an ex officio capacity)
four additional independent expert members
two lay members

The current members of the GACS are:

Professor Colin Blakemore (Chair)
Colin Blakemore, FMedSci, FI Biol, Hon FRCP, FRS, studied Medical Sciences at Cambridge and completed his PhD at the University of California in Berkeley. After 11 years in the Department of Physiology at Cambridge University, he became Waynflete Professor of Physiology at Oxford University in 1979 and continues to hold this post. From 1996-2003, he was Director of the MRC Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience at Oxford. His research has been concerned with many aspects of vision, early development of the brain and plasticity of the cerebral cortex. He was Chief Executive of the MRC from 2003 to September 2007.

Professor Blakemore was President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1997-1998 and Chairman in 2001-2004. He is committed to promoting dialogue between scientists and the public, and a frequent contributor to radio and TV, including the 13-part BBC2 series The Mind Machine. Books for the general public include Mechanics of the Mind (which won the Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science), Images and Understanding, Mindwaves, The Mind Machine, Gender and Society, and The Oxford Companion to the Body.

Professor Blakemore is former President of the British Neuroscience Association, the Physiological Society and the Biosciences Federation. Prizes received from medical and scientific academies and societies include the Robert Bing Prize for Neurology and Physiology (Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences), the Prix du Docteur Robert Netter (Académie Nationale de Médecine, France) for research on developmental disorders of vision, the Norman McAlister Gregg Award in Medical Science (Royal Australian College of Ophthalmologists), the international Alcon Prize for vision research, and the Royal Society’s Michael Faraday Prize and Medal.

Dr Ian Brown (ex officio member as Chair of the Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs, ACAF)
Dr Brown is a medically qualified registered specialist in occupational medicine and toxicology. He is also a graduate in agricultural biochemistry and nutrition and has a wide range of knowledge and experience covering occupational health, toxicology, agriculture and food safety. Dr Brown is a Consultant Physician in Occupational Medicine and Toxicology at Southampton Universities NHS Trust. He is also Chair of the Pesticide Residues Committee and a member of the Advisory Committee on Toxic Substances of the Health and Safety Commission. From 1999 to 2005 Dr Brown was a member of ACAF, and from May 2001 until May 2002 served as the Acting Chair, following the unexpected resignation of the Chair, at that time.

Professor Sarah O'Brien (ex officio member as Chair of the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food, ACMSF)
Professor O’Brien is currently Professor of Health Sciences and Epidemiology and a Consultant in Public Health Medicine at the University of Manchester. Her research interests include foodborne zoonoses. Previously she was Head of Gastrointestinal Diseases Division at the Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, where she was responsible for assessing data and generating, through surveillance and research, the evidence base for the origins and spread of gastrointestinal infection. She has published widely on these subjects.

Professor O'Brien has held a number of hospital and health authority appointments, and also lectured, in public health medicine, between 1986 and 1995. She was Consultant in Public Health Medicine at the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health between 1995 and 1998, before joining the Health Protection Agency. She is a member of the Food Standards Agency’s Epidemiology of Foodborne Infections Group. Following her role as acting Chair in 2006, she was appointed as Chair to ACMSF in February 2007.

Professor Mike Gasson (ex officio member as Chair of the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, ACNFP)
Professor Gasson is Head of the Food Safety Science Division and Deputy Director (Science) at the Institute of Food Research. He was appointed Chair of the ACNFP in 2003. He previously served on the ACNFP for nine years from 1992 to 2001, acting as vice chair for four of these, and is currently a Member of the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF). Professor Gasson has been involved in gene technology research for more than 25 years with a particular interest in the genetics of food-relevant micro-organisms. In addition, he is a former member of the European Food Safety Authority Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms.

Professor David Coggon (ex officio member as Chair of the Committee on Toxicity, COT)
Professor David Coggon OBE, is Professor of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the University of Southampton, where he works in the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Resource Centre. He has been engaged in epidemiological research for more than 30 years, concentrating mainly on occupational and environmental causes of disease. He is particularly interested in the relation of musculoskeletal disorders to physical activities and other risk factors in the workplace, and in the risks associated with chemical hazards at work and in the general environment.

Professor Coggon studied mathematics and medicine at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford in the 1970s. After junior hospital posts in General Medicine at Nottingham City Hospital, he joined the MRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit in Southampton in 1980. In 1984, he was awarded a PhD on occupational causes of cancer, and in 1993, he received a DM for his work on the epidemiology of stomach cancer. He completed his specialist training in Occupational Medicine in 1987, and in 1997, he was awarded a personal chair by the University of Southampton. In 2005, he joined the newly formed MRC Epidemiology Resource Centr

Professor Coggon is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and of its Faculty of Occupational Medicine, where he was Academic Registrar from 1993-96, and will be President during 2008-11. In 1998, he became a founder Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He was Ernestine Henry lecturer at the Royal College of Physicians in 1996, Ferguson-Glass lecturer at the Australasian Faculty of Occupational Medicine in 1998; Alexander Howard Memorial lecturer at the RCP Faculty of Occupational Medicine in 2000, Simms lecturer at the Royal College of Physicians in 2001, and Colt Foundation Memorial lecturer at the RCP Faculty of Occupational Medicine in 2004. During 1998–2000 he served on the COT Working Group on Organophosphates and the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (both DH). He has also been a member of the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (DWP) and the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (DETR), and an expert advisor for the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. From 2000 to 2005 he was Chair of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (Defra), and from 2001-2007 he chaired the Depleted Uranium Oversight Board (MOD). He is currently a member of the Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation (HPA), and of the Plant Protection Products and Residues Panel at the European Food Safety Authority. He was awarded an OBE in 2002.
Professor Coggon is committed to promoting better public understanding of scientific risk assessment, and believes strongly in the value of open and accessible discussion about known and suspected environmental health hazards.

Professor Coggon joined the COT as a member on 1 April 2007, and became Chair of the Committee on 1 April 2008. His appointment will expire on 31 March 2011

Professor David Phillips (ex officio member as Chair of the Committee on Carcinogenicity, COC)
Professor Phillips was appointed as a member of the COC in April 2000 and as Chairman in April 2006. He is also a member of the COM. He is head of a research team at the Institute of Cancer Research and has internationally recognised expertise in carcinogen-DNA interactions, human biomonitoring and in molecular epidemiology. He has extensive research interests in mechanisms of carcinogenesis, with particular emphasis on environmental factors involved in cancer causation. He is editor-in-chief of the journal Mutagenesis.

Professor Peter Farmer (ex officio member as Chair of the Committee on Mutagenicity, COM)
Professor Farmer is Professor of Cancer Biomarkers, Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine, Cancer Biomarkers and Prevention Group, Biocentre, University of Leicester. He was appointed as Chair of COM in November 2001 and is also a member of COC. His main research interests are in the investigation and use of chemical induced DNA and protein adducts in carcinogen/mutagen risk assessment and the development of biomarkers for cancer risk assessments. He has an international reputation in this area and is involved in several Eurpoean Union collaborative research activities. Professor Farmer has recently been reappointed for a final four-year term as Chair of COM.

Professor Alan Jackson (ex officio member as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, SACN)
Professor Jackson BA MA BChir MB MD is Professor of Human Nutrition, Director, Institute of Human Nutrition, University of Southampton, and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Nutrition, Southampton University Hospitals, Southampton. He trained in paediatrics at the University of Cambridge and University College, London, UK. He was director of the Tropical Metabolism Research Unit in the University of the West Indies, carrying out research on metabolic adaptation to undernutrition. His current work explores the extent to which modest differences in maternal diet and metabolic competence influence fetal development, predisposing to chronic disease in adulthood.

Professor Jackson was appointed as the first Chairman of SACN in April 2000. He was previously a member of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (COMA) for ten years and was a Consultant Adviser to the Chief Medical Officer on Nutrition from 1989 to 2002. Professor Jackson is a member of the EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies.

Professor Chris Higgins (ex officio member as Chair of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee, SEAC)
Professor Higgins is Vice Chancellor and Warden of Durham University. He has previously held positions at Imperial College London, the University of Dundee, the University of Oxford and the University of California, Berkeley, USA. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of the European Molecular Biology Organisation and is a Founder Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. Professor Higgins was appointed as the Chair of SEAC on 1 August 2004. He was reappointed on 1 August 2007 for a second term.

Professor Sir Roger Jowell (ex officio member as Chair of the Social Sciences Research Committee, SSRC)
Professor Sir Roger Jowell is the founding director for the Centre for Comparative Social Surveys at London City University from where he also directs the European Social Survey (ESS). Before joining London City University, he was the founder-director of the National Centre for Social Research, the UK's largest social research institute, which he ran from 1969 to 2001 and initiated several well-known time series, such as the British Crime Survey, the Health Surveys for England (and Scotland) and the British Social Attitudes survey.

Professor Janet M Bainbridge OBE (expert member)
A Professor of Biotechnology and Food Science, Janet is a former Dean of Science and Technology at the University of Teesside. She currently delivers a portfolio of consultancy and non-executive roles. She was a senior specialist adviser (Government and Europe) to One Northeast from 2003-2007 and is currently Chair of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Scientific Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification (Contained Use), a member of the Borderline Substances review group (MHRA); the New and Emerging Infections Panel and a trustee of the charity Sense About Science.

Since April 2007, Professor Bainbridge has been a Board member of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and chairs the R&D sub-group of that Board. She is designate Chair of the Potato Council Limited. She has recently been appointed to the BBSRC Sustainable Agriculture Panel. Former appointments include Chair of the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP; 1997-2003), Member of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Council, member of the Advisory Committee on releases to the Environment (ACRE); member of the Chief Scientists GM Expert Group and chair/member of several Foresight Committees.

Professor Jeya Henry (expert member)
Professor Henry is Professor of Human Nutrition at Oxford Brookes University and Visiting Professor at the Chinese University, Hong Kong. He acts as a consultant to the World Health Organisation, Unicef and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations on all aspects relating to nutrition assessment, food safety and nutrient requirements. He is editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition. Professor Henry was a member of the Board of the Food Standards Agency from 2000-2003. His current research interests include the management and treatment of childhood obesity, the evaluation and use of low and high glycaemic index foods, the development of high energy food for refugee feeding, nutrition and dietary needs of the elderly.

Professor Anne Murcott (expert member)
Professor Murcott holds Honorary Professorships in Sociology at the Universities of Leicester, Nottingham and City University, London and is Professor Emerita at London South Bank. Her research includes pioneering work in the sociology of food, a field in which she has been active nationally and internationally for 25 years. She is the author of numerous articles, has edited and co-authored half a dozen books, and served as editor of The Sociology of Health & Illness. From 1992-1998 she was Director of the ESRC Research Programme The Nation’s Diet: the social science of food choice. Professor Murcott was a member of the Food Standards Agency Advisory Committee on Research from 2002 to 2007.

Professor Duncan Maskell (expert member)
Professor Maskell has been Head of the Department of Veterinary Medicine since 2004 and Professor of Farm Animal Health, Food Science and Food Safety since 1996 at the University of Cambridge. He leads a research group working on all aspects of bacterial diseases with particular emphasis on the major food-borne pathogens salmonella and campylobacter. He was a Member of BBSRC Agri-food Committee from 1997-2003, and its Chair from 2000-2003, and a Member of the Food Standards Agency Advisory Committee on Research from 2002 to 2007. Professor Maskell is a non-executive Director of the Moredun Research Institute.

Mrs Pamela Goldberg (lay member)
Mrs Goldberg has been Chief Executive of the charity Breast Cancer Campaign since 1997. Breast Cancer Campaign's mission is to beat breast cancer by funding innovative world-class research to understand how breast cancer develops, leading to improved diagnosis, treatment, prevention and cure.

She was involved in establishing the charity's first Scientific Advisory Board and developing its first research strategy as well as setting up governance guidelines for the Trustee Board. Pamela is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) Higher Education Funding Group (and a former member of the AMRC Council). She is committed to ensuring that patients and the general public are given information that is evidence based and that scientific results are communicated effectively to the general public.

Pamela was one of the founders of the Breast Cancer Forum bringing together all charities with an interest in breast cancer. She is a Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce).

Mrs Leen Petré (lay member)
Leen Petré is currently Principal Manager of the Media and Culture Department at the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB). Before that she was RNIB's European Campaigns Manager (2000-2004). Leen holds a degree in Political and Social Sciences and an MA in European Studies from the University of Leuven. After graduating, Leen built up ten years of work on a range of international and European consumer issues, including food standards.

Since 2005, Leen Petré has been Chair of the Consumer expert group on digital switchover (appointed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, DCMS) and consumer representative on the DCMS/Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) Ministerial group on digital switchover. Leen is a Fellow of the RSA.

A register of GACS members' interests is available below.

More information on other scientific committees can be found at the link below.

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Members of the GACS

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