Nancy Rothwell obtained a first class degree in Physiology in 1976, a PhD in 1978 and a DSc in 1987 from the University of London. Her early research identified mechanisms of energy balance regulation, obesity and cachexia. In 1984 she was awarded a Royal Society Research Fellowship and relocated to Manchester in 1987. Nancy was awarded a Chair in physiology in 1994, then a prestigious Medical Research Council, Research Chair in 1998. Her current research focuses on the role of inflammation in brain disease and has identified the role of the cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1) in diverse forms of brain injury. Her recent studies have begun to elucidate the mechanisms regulating IL-1 release and its action, and her group has conducted the first early clinical trial of an IL-1 inhibitor in stroke. She has recently served as president of the British Neuroscience Association, a council member of MRC, BBSRC and Cancer Research UK.

Nancy currently oversees a research group of about 25 scientists, with significant external funding, and is Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Manchester. She is a member of the Royal Society Council, Vice President of the Royal Society, Chair of the Royal Society Education Committee, President of the Society of Biology and a non-executive director of AstraZeneca. In 2003 she won the prestigious Pfizer Research Prize, in 2004 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and in 2005 was honoured with a DBE.

Nancy takes a strong and active interest in public communication of science and regularly gives talks to schools and the public and contributes to television, radio and press, particularly on sensitive issues in science. In 1998 she delivered the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, televised by the BBC.

Professor Nick Petford

Nick Petford joined Bournemouth University as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise in 2006.

Nick is widely known for his expertise in magmatic systems and volcanology. His research work embraces field investigations and mathematical modelling in the flow of molten rock, or magma slurries, on earth and other planets, and the mechanical stability of volcanoes. He is currently working with colleagues at NASA on the physics of ice magma.

Nick is a former Royal Society University Research Fellow and Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge as well as a highly cited author, having published over 60 peer review papers and over 200 conference abstracts, book reviews and other articles. Most recently he began research work on the fluid dynamics of blood flow and 3D structure of drainage apparatus in the human eye with colleagues in the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Research and Education (CoPMRE) at Bournemouth.

Nick has been actively involved in the work of University Alliance relating to research policy and particularly their publication 'Concentration and diversity: understanding the relationship between excellence, concentration and critical mass in UK research', which was published at the end of 2009. University Alliance represents 22 major dynamic, business-like universities at the heart of the sector that deliveryworld-leading research with impact and are actively business-focussed. Allliance universities educate over 27% of all UK students and achieve some of the highest graduate-level employment rates. These universities offer a research informed, academic learning environment and a culture of entrepreneurialism, equipping graduates for the 21st century.

Alliance universities are: Aberystwyth University, Bournemouth University, University of Bradford, De Montfort University, University of Glamorgan, University of Gloucestershire, Universityof Hertfordshire, University of Huddersfield, University of Lincoln, Liverpool John Moores University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Northumbria University, Nottingham Trent University, the Open University, Oxford Brookes University, University of Plymouth, University of Portsmouth, University of Salford, Sheffield Hallam University, University of Wales Institute Cardiff, University of Wales, Newport, University of the West of England, Glasgow Caledonian University.

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