BNA council and committee positions: your chance to have national role in neuroscience
26th January 2022
Our governance & people
The British Neuroscience Association is governed by members of the Association who have taken on roles in the Council and Committee, referring to the governing documents to guide them in their decisions in running the organisation. The Council and Commitee are supported by the BNA Executive staff.
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BNA Council
The Council is the main governing body of the BNA and includes the Trustees/Directors of the Association.
Council members meet at least four times per year. They are charged with defining and managing the strategic plan, setting policy and making operational decisions on behalf of the membership.
Current members of the BNA Council
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Rik Henson - President 2021-2023 |
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Tara Spires-Jones - President-Elect 2021-2023 Trustee University of Edinburgh |
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Annette Dolphin - Immediate Past-President 2021-2023 Trustee University College London |
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Zoe Kourtzi - Honorary Secretary 2019-2023 Trustee Cambridge University |
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Catherine Harmer - Honorary Treasurer 2017-2022 Trustee University of Oxford |
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Alan Palmer - Independent Trustee 2017-2022 Trustee Neuroscientst and entrepreneur (positions at UCL, University of Reading, University of Bristol; Cerebroscience Ltd, One Nucleus Ltd; Elixa MediScience Ltd; The Brain Tumour Charity; The Cancer Awareness Trust) |
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Kevin Cox - Independent Trustee 2017-2022 Trustee SynDermix AG, Biorelate Ltd, Biotaspheric, ValiRx Plc and the BioIndustry Association. . |
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Manfred Berners - Independent Trustee 2017-2022 Trustee Berners-Chapman, strategic consultancy for life science companies |
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Narender Ramnani - Research Policy 2017-2022 Trustee Royal Holloway, University of London |
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Anne Lingford-Hughes - Professional Liaison 2017-2022 |
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Volko Straub - Groups Co-ordinator 2020-2024 Trustee University of Leicester |
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Anthony Isles - Communications 2017-2022 Trustee Cardiff University |
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Sarah Guthrie - Joint Meetings Secretary and Co-Chair for the BNA2023 Programme Organising Committee University of Sussex |
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Dayne Beccano-Kelly - Joint Meetings Secretary and Co-Chair for the BNA2023 Programme Organising Committee UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff University |
BNA Committee
The BNA Council is advised and supported national committee members who, between them, have research interests spanning the breadth and depth of neuroscience and are affiliated with academic institutes and industrial centres across the UK. Appointment to a Committee post is for four years. Council members also sit on the National Committee.
Any member is welcome to raise an item for Committee meeting discussion. To do so, please contact the BNA Office at office(at)bna.org.uk, or one of the Committee members listed below.
Current members of the BNA Committee
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Crawford Winlove - Education & Engagement Secretary 2018-2022 University of Exeter |
| Membership Secretary - currently vacant | |
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Emma Soopramanien, Students & Early Careers Representative 2020-2024 |
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Emma Yhnell - Representative for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion 2019-2023 Cardiff University |
BNA Representatives
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Duncan Banks - Royal Society of Biology Animal Science Group Representative Duncan Banks represents BNA members in the ASG - a Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Royal Society of Biology, representing the broad spectrum of UK bodies actively involved in supporting, formulating policy or directly involved in research involving animals.
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BNA Executive
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Anne Cooke - Chief Executive anne.cooke(at)bna.org.uk |
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Sophie Sykes-Jerrold - Development Director sophie(at)bna.org.uk |
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Alex Campbell - Head of Communications and Marketing alex.campbell(at)bna.org.uk |
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Joseph Clift - Head of Policy and Campaigns joseph.clift(at)bna.org.uk |
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Louise Tratt - Executive Officer; Marketing & Events office(at)bna.org.uk |
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Akseli Ilmanen - BNA Placement Student |
Governing documents
The BNA's governing documents form the Association's constitution define its charitable objects, the kind of activities to be undertaken, the appointments and responsibilities of the Trustees, Council and Committee members, and the means by which the organisation is run. The Articles and Rules of the BNA were reviewed in 2016 and new versions voted in by the membership in April 2017. They can be downloaded in full here:
If you have any questions about BNA governance please contact the Association Secretary.