Ewan Birney becomes UKRI-BBSRC Council member

EMBL-EBI Director, Ewan Birney, has been appointed as a new member of the UKRI-BBSRC Council. He will take up the appointment in April 2019. The Council will be responsible for advising and making decisions, as delegated to it by the UK Research and Innovation Board, on scientific, research and innovation matters. These responsibilities will include:

• The leadership of their discipline area or fields of activity, including the prioritisation of budgets within their delegated remits and the development of delivery plans
• Ensuring the future of skilled specialists, researchers, scientists and others essential to the sustainability of the UK’s research and innovation capacity
• Engaging with their community to develop ideas, raise awareness and disseminate strategic outputs
• Encouraging and facilitating collaborative work across the nine UKRI Councils to foster strategic relationships

"I am honoured to be a named a BBSRC Council member. BBSRC science has been a driver for many of the innovations across the UK and worldwide, and I hope to provide my perspective from genomics and data science," says Birney.

“I am delighted to welcome all members to the new BBSRC Council. BBSRC’s Council members bring both a wealth of experience and an invaluably diverse blend and range of skills gained across academia, industry and government," said Melanie Welham, BBSRC's Chief Executive. "I am confident that they will help BBSRC and UK Research and Innovation to achieve our objectives and build upon the UK's world-leading position in research and innovation.”