You are here: Welcome » Science Media Centre

Menu

Rounding The Earth

Operation Uplift

Project List

Table of Contents

Science Media Centre

“Science Media Centre where science meets the headlines” 1)

History

Science Media Centre The Science Media Centre is a charitable company, first formed in 2002, two years after the United Kingdom House of Lords Select committee on Science and Technology's third report on “Science and Society” in 2000.

Governance Trustees

The board of Trustees is the major decision-making body of the Science Media Centre and meets at least three times a year. Trustees are distinguished in the fields of science, engineering, medicine, journalism, communications, finance, law and policy.

Jonathan Baker (Chair) Formerly Editor, BBC News, and former Professor of Journalism, University of Essex

Karen Chadwick (Treasurer) Head of Commercial Finance, Wellcome Trust

Dr Paul Brooker Formerly President Europe, Middle East & Asia Pacific EMEA, Envigo

Prof Kevin McConway Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics, The Open University

Prof Jackie Hunter Board Director, BenevolentAI, and former CEO of BBSRC

John Davidson Communications Consultant

Jonathan Brüün Chief Executive Officer, Royal College of Anaesthetists

Alex Keenlyside Partner, Bristows LLP

Joanne Manning Chief Operations Officer, Microbiology Society

Nick Hillier Director of Communications and Engagement, Academy of Medical Sciences

Alice Henchley Communications Director, Journals and Editorial, Springer Nature

Advisory Committee

The Trustees are guided by a voluntary group of advisors from the fields of science, engineering, medicine, journalism and communications, who provide expertise and advice, and also meet three times a year.

Ian Brunskill Assistant Editor, The Times

Prof Eleanor Riley Professor of Immunology and Infectious Disease, The University of Edinburgh

Shaun Lintern Health Correspondent, The Independent

Rebecca Morelle Science Correspondent, BBC News

Christine McGourty Chief Executive, Water UK, and former BBC Science Correspondent

Mark Sudbury Communications Consultant, The Knowledge Partnership, and former Director of Communications at UCL

Rob Dawson Communications Consultant, and Head of Communications, Power to Change

Prof Russell Viner Professor of Adolescent Health, UCL

Jennie Evans Director of External Affairs, British Society for Immunology

Will Moy Chief Executive, Full Fact 2)

Industry Influence

Science Media Centre expanding its empire GMWatch Published: 07 August 2009

The current successor to biotech entrepreneur, billionaire and Labour Pary donor, Lord Sainsbury, as the UK's Minister for Science and Innovation, is biotech entrepreneur, multi-millionaire and Labour Pary donor, Lord Drayson.

Like Lord Sainsbury, Paul Drayson's relationship with Labour has been mired in allegations of corruption and cronyism - not least because before going into government, Drayson owned the biotech company Powderject when it made massive profits from a Labour Government contract. Drayson was also at one time head of the BioIndustry Association, whose motto is “Promoting UK Biotechnology”.

Drayson's company, while he still headed it, was a financial supporter of the Science Media Centre - a pet project of Lord Sainsbury's. Powderject's support for the SMC dried up following Drayson's departure. Drayson has also served on a working party of another controversial pro-GM lobby-group, Sense About Science.

Drayson operates out of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). BIS has now set up a Science and the Media Expert Group.

Founder and Staff

Fiona Fox

Fiona Fox is chief executive of the Science Media Centre.Fiona Fox, the chief executive of the Science Media Centre, has a degree in journalism and many years of experience working in media relations for high profile national organisations. Her career includes stints working for, amongst others, the Equal Opportunities Committee, the National Council for One Parent Families, and CAFOD (a leading aid agency). Image 3)

The founding director of the Science Media Centre when it was established in 2002, under Fiona’s leadership the Centre has become an indispensable resource for science journalists. The Centre provides scientific context and comment from some of the UK’s top scientists for many major news stories thanks to the Centre’s media database, which has over 2300 such experts on it.

Fiona is a regular commentator on science in the media and was the only representative from the scientific community invited to give evidence at the Levenson Inquiry into press standards in the UK in 2012. She is an outspoken champion for openness in science and, as part of this, led a successful campaign in 2017 for changes to the British Government’s purdah rules, ensuring government funded scientists are free to speak out during election periods.

Fiona has received many accolades for her services to science, including an OBE, honorary fellowships of the Academy of Medical Science, the Royal Society of Biology and the British Pharmacology Society, and a special award for promoting openness in animal research. 4) 2012 archive 5)

Helen Jamison

Helen joined the SMC in 2007 as Engineering Press Officer, and was subsequently made Senior Press Officer in 2008 and Deputy Director in 2011. She is on the committee of Stempra, a UK network of science communication professionals, and has worked in the press office of the journal Nature. Helen is a scientist by training, with a biomedical science degree from the University of Sheffield and a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Oxford.

Tom Sheldon

Senior Press Officer Tom joined the SMC in April 2008 and handles any issues in the fields of engineering, energy and the environment that hit the headlines. He has degrees in Artificial Intelligence and Bioinformatics. He volunteered with the charity Sense About Science in summer 2007, contributing to their expose of pseudoscience and blogging for the Guardian along the way.

Claire Bithell

Head of Mental Health

Claire Bithell is Head of Mental Health at the SMC, a role dedicated to mental health research. Claire has a degree in Cell Biology and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Manchester. Winning the Daily Telegraph’s young science writer award in 2003 helped her decide to leave bench science and begin a career in science communication. Having joined the SMC for the first time in 2004, she enjoyed a brief stint managing the press office the Human Tissue Authority before returning to the SMC in 2010.

Edward Sykes

Senior Press Officer

After 15 months as Media Manager at the Australian SMC, Edward returned to the UK in 2012. Edward arrived in Australia for the Fukushima nuclear crisis after having led on issues like the swine flu pandemic in the UK, for which he gave evidence to the Hine review. He has been interviewed for BBC and Sky News on the media’s handling of scientific issues. In his other life he did a PhD in Evolutionary Biology, appearing in the Guardian Science Weekly podcast and in The Times and The Sun.

you are here: Home > about us > staff staff

Fiona Fox Chief Executive

Fiona Fox has a degree in journalism and many years of experience in working in media relations for high profile national organisations. Her career includes stints working for the Equal Opportunities Committee, National Council for One Parent Families, and CAFOD (a leading aid agency), before her current role as Chief Executive of the Science Media Centre which opened in April 2002. Other than her dedication to the SMC, Fiona was chair of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Working Group that published a report on the future of science in the media in January 2010 as part of the UK’s Science and Society strategy. She was also called to give oral evidence to the Leveson Inquiry into press standards in the UK in 2012, and writes regularly on science in the media.

Helen Jamison Deputy Director

Helen joined the SMC in 2007 as Engineering Press Officer, and was subsequently made Senior Press Officer in 2008 and Deputy Director in 2011. She is on the committee of Stempra, a UK network of science communication professionals, and has worked in the press office of the journal Nature. Helen is a scientist by training, with a biomedical science degree from the University of Sheffield and a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Oxford.

Tom Sheldon Senior Press Officer

Tom joined the SMC in April 2008 and handles any issues in the fields of engineering, energy and the environment that hit the headlines. He has degrees in Artificial Intelligence and Bioinformatics. He volunteered with the charity Sense About Science in summer 2007, contributing to their expose of pseudoscience and blogging for the Guardian along the way.

Claire Bithell Head of Mental Health

Claire Bithell is Head of Mental Health at the SMC, a role dedicated to mental health research. Claire has a degree in Cell Biology and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Manchester. Winning the Daily Telegraph’s young science writer award in 2003 helped her decide to leave bench science and begin a career in science communication. Having joined the SMC for the first time in 2004, she enjoyed a brief stint managing the press office the Human Tissue Authority before returning to the SMC in 2010.

Edward Sykes Senior Press Officer

After 15 months as Media Manager at the Australian SMC, Edward returned to the UK in 2012. Edward arrived in Australia for the Fukushima nuclear crisis after having led on issues like the swine flu pandemic in the UK, for which he gave evidence to the Hine review. He has been interviewed for BBC and Sky News on the media’s handling of scientific issues. In his other life he did a PhD in Evolutionary Biology, appearing in the Guardian Science Weekly podcast and in The Times and The Sun.

Selina Hawkins

Office and Finance Manager

Selina joined the SMC in August 2009, where she is responsible for the day-to-day logistics of running the office, co-ordinating the fundraising efforts and finances, and dealing with anything else that comes up. Graduating from the University of Cambridge in 2005 with degrees in Natural Sciences, Selina spent a year teaching English in China, before returning to Cambridge to work for several Cambridge and the University’s Community Affairs Office.

Robin Bisson

Science Information Officer

Robin volunteered at the SMC in 2011 before starting full time as in early 2012, where he is responsible for maintaining the website and expert database, writing Factsheets on breaking stories and managing the volunteer programme. Robin followed up a degree in Mathematics with a master’s in Philosophy of Science at the University of Bristol. He cut his teeth working on the press team for the British Science Festival and spent time with BBC’s Horizon programme.

Amy Lothian

Events Officer

Amy joined the SMC in June 2012 where she is responsible for running the Introduction to the News Media events for scientists. She has a degree in Cognitive Science from the University of Exeter and an MSc in Science, Culture and Communication from the University of Bath. Previously, Amy worked at the Institute of Physics and with the British Science Association where she managed the Media Fellowships and co-ordinated the Science Communication Conference. She is also a guest lecturer on the UWE MSc in Science Communication.

Fiona Lethbridge

Press Office Assistant

Fiona joined Science Media Centre in July 2012 as Press Office Assistant. Fiona followed up a degree in Zoology with a PhD in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Edinburgh, where she was also editor of BioPOD; a science podcast, and was a member of Press Gang; a voluntary team liaising with researchers and the University Press Office. She also had a long-standing music show on Edinburgh’s student radio station, Fresh Air, and dabbled in stand-up comedy with Bright Club. 6)

Funding

The Science Media Centre’s funding model is designed to reflect its position as an independent press office that is not linked to any specific institution or institutional agenda. As such the Centre seeks donations from a wide variety of organisations with an interest in the accurate reporting of science in the media. We have over 100 funders including scientific bodies, science-based companies, science publishers, universities, patient research charities, media organisations, research funders and government. See below for the list.

The Centre is independent from its funders who do not gain influence over the SMC’s work in return for their financial support. To protect the Centre from any undue influence the SMC caps contributions from any one institution at 5% of prior year income. The SMC’s Trustees and Advisory Committee have agreed on two exceptions to the 5% upper limit: the Wellcome Trust and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI’s contribution is over the 5% cap as this represents the consolidated amounts from several Research Councils which is now paid via the umbrella organisation set up in 2019.

New funders

  • Biogen
  • Cystic Fibrosis Trust
  • Department of Health & Social Care
  • Financial Times
  • InSPIre the Mind blog
  • MRC Biostatistics Unit at the University of Cambridge
  • National Oceanography Centre
  • Pirbright Institute
  • Roche
  • Science Museum
  • Institution of Gas Engineers & Managers
  • UCB Pharma Ltd

Funders April 2020 – March 2021

£2,000 and under

Personal donations from 6 individuals, each donation not exceeding £2,000

  • Alzheimer’s Society
  • Association for Clinical Biochemistry & Laboratory Medicine
  • Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC)
  • British Society for Immunology
  • Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)
  • Durham University
  • European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE)
  • Health Data Research UK (HDRUK)
  • InSPIre the Mind blog
  • Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)
  • Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM)
  • Institution of Gas Engineers & Managers
  • John Innes Centre
  • London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
  • National Oceanography Centre
  • Nuclear Industry Association (NIA)
  • Pirbright Institute
  • Quadram Institute Bioscience
  • Science Museum
  • Society for Radiological Protection (SRP)
  • The Times
  • UK Cleaning Products Industry Association (UKPCI)
  • University of Birmingham
  • University of Exeter
  • University of Glasgow
  • University of Leeds
  • University of Portsmouth
  • University of Reading
  • University of Sheffield
  • University of Warwick
  • University of York

£2,001 – £4,999

Grant from Global SMC Initiative (wholly-owned subsidiary of AusSMC) for COVID-19 Vaccine Media Hub project

  • Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB)
  • Alzheimer’s Research UK
  • Biochemical Society
  • British Ecological Society
  • British Pharmacological Society (BPS)
  • Cochrane Collaboration
  • Covestro UK Limited
  • Food & Drink Federation
  • Genomics England
  • Informa (Taylor and Francis)
  • The Institute of Cancer Research
  • Met Office
  • Microbiology Society
  • Mobile UK
  • MRC Biostatistics Unit at the University of Cambridge
  • National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL)
  • Newcastle University
  • Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
  • Physiological Society
  • Proctor & Gamble (P&G)
  • Queen Mary University of London (QMUL)
  • Queens University Belfast
  • Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH)
  • Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych)
  • Royal Society of Biology
  • The Royal Society
  • Society for Endocrinology
  • University of East Anglia (UEA)
  • University of Manchester
  • University of Nottingham
  • University of Reading

£5,000 – £9,999

£10,000 – £19,999 

  AstraZeneca
  *   DeepMind Technologies Limited
*     Department of Health & Social Care
*     Elsevier
*     [[:Food Standards Agency]] (FSA)
*     LifeArc
*     [[:Merck]] Sharp & Dohme (MSD)
*     [[:Sanofi Aventis]]
*     Society for Applied Microbiology (SFAM)
*     Springer Nature Ltd
*     [[:University College London]] (UCL)

£20,000 – £30,000

  • Diageo Plc
  • DMG Media, including Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, Metro and MailOnline
  • Full Fact – from a Google grant *
  • GlaskoSmithKline (GSK)
  • The Gatsby Charitable Foundation
  • National Institute for Health Research (NHIR)

* Full Fact were given a block grant from Google to distribute around Europe. Full Fact made the decision to give money to SMC, but the money was sourced from Google.

Over £30,000

Previous Funders

Funders list 2012 8)

1)
https://web.archive.org/web/20220101031327/https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/
2)
https://web.archive.org/web/20220105073934/https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/about-us/governance/
3)
https://web.archive.org/web/20091007152132/http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/scienceandsociety/site/science-and-the-media/
4)
https://web.archive.org/web/20220109043906/https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/about-us/staff/
5) , 6)
https://web.archive.org/web/20121213104727/http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/about-us/staff/
7)
https://web.archive.org/web/20220109231247/https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/about-us/funding/
8)
https://web.archive.org/web/20121111191855/https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/about-us/funding/
Back to top