Find out more about our Fellows elected in 2026
Honorary Fellow
Sir Bryn Terfel
About Bryn Terfel
Sir Bryn Terfel, who was born in Pant Glas, Gwynedd, has sung in opera houses around the world, recorded with many of the leading companies and orchestras, and is the recipient of multiple awards, including a Grammy for the Metropolitan Opera’s 2013 recording of Richard Wagner’s ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’.
Sir Bryn was admitted to the Learned Society of Wales in November 2025 at a special ceremony to mark the 15th anniversary of the Society.
Fellows
Professor Colin Berry
About Colin Berry
Emeritus Professor, Cardiff University
Professor Berry’s work has focused on developing drug targets, and the biochemistry of insect control using insecticidal bacteria and the potent insecticidal proteins they produce.
He has developed novel enzyme assay methods and studied drug targets in viral and parasitic diseases. He is an expert in the structure and function of insecticidal proteins and a coordinator of the Bacterial Pesticidal Protein Resource Center, the internationally recognised system for classifying and cataloguing these proteins.
Biochemistry of insecticidal proteins
Dr Carmen Casaliggi
About Carmen Casaliggi
Reader in English Literature, Cardiff Metropolitan University
Dr Casaliggi has an international reputation and significant leadership in the field of eighteenth and nineteenth-century literary and visual studies.
She has authored numerous internationally excellent and world leading publications in flagship series, including three monographs.
Nineteenth-century literary and visual studies
Christopher Catling
About Christopher Catling
Secretary (Chief Executive), The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales
Christopher Catling has been chief executive of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales since 2014; a campaigner on behalf of the continued community use of places of worship in Wales; researcher into the economic and health benefits of pilgrimage; author of best-selling travel guides focusing on cultural destinations; director of the Marc Fitch Fund; founding director of the Heritage Alliance in England; and widely read commentator on heritage and conservation matters.
Heritage
Professor Simon Creer
About Simon Creer
Professor of Molecular Ecology, Bangor University
Professor Creer is a global leader in using high-throughput sequencing to assess biodiversity across the tree of life throughout diverse biomes.
He has advanced knowledge of the spatio-temporal dynamics of environmental DNA, derived from the biodiversity of marine, estuarine, freshwater, terrestrial and airborne environments, with additional insights derived from pollinators and trophic interactions.
He aims to understand emergent properties related to environmental and human health.
Environmental DNA
Claire Curneen
About Claire Curneen
Artist; Senior Lecturer, Cardiff Metropolitan University
Claire Curneen creates figurative sculptures that poignantly reflect on humanity. Universal themes of loss, suffering, sacrifice and rebirth underpin her works; hand-built in white porcelain, their translucent and fragile qualities offer metaphors of the human condition and experience.
Born in Ireland, Curneen studied at Cork, Belfast and Cardiff, where she now lives and works.
Her works have been exhibited nationally and internationally, including in the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Ceramics; sculpture; clay/porcelain; fine-art & craft; educator/public engagement
Professor Stephen Cushion
About Stephen Cushion
Professor at the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Culture, Cardiff University
Professor Cushion has published extensively about journalism and communication. He has been commissioned by regulators such as Ofcom to produce evidence-based studies about the quality and impartiality of news.
He has had a major impact on the editorial standards of news output, such as improving the accuracy of how devolved politics is reported in UK news.
Journalism, media and communication
Dr Sonali Dasgupta
About Sonali Dasgupta
Consultant Medical Oncologist, Velindre University NHS Trust
Dr Sonali Dasgupta is the National Cancer Team Wales lead for cancer of unknown primary (CUP). She is also vice-chair for the UK CUP research group and founder of the South-East Wales regional CUP service.
Dr Dasgupta pioneered the identification of CUP as an individual cancer site group, as well as the introduction of CUP molecular profiling as standard of care within NHS.
She holds a Cancer Research UK PhD in colorectal cancer and leads on systemic therapies, clinical trials, education, mentoring, and training.
Medical oncology
Professor Anne Davies
About Anne Davies
Professor of Law and Public Policy, Oxford University
Anne Davies teaches and researches on employment law and public law. Her recent books include Valuing Employment Rights: A Study of Remedies in Employment Law (Hart 2024) and Human Rights at Work (Hart 2024), with Alan Bogg, Hugh Collins and Virginia Mantouvalou.
She is a Fellow of the British Academy.
Employment law, public law
Professor Sarah Davies
About Sarah Davies
Professor and Head of Department, Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University
Professor Davies’ research focuses on reconstructing climatic and environmental change over a range of timescales, integrating sedimentary and documentary archives.
She is particularly interested in the interactions between people, climate and environment.
Her current research includes investigating the impacts of climate change and weather extremes on coastal landscapes and heritage.
Geography
Professor Giles Davies
About Giles Davies
Professor of Electronic and Photonic Engineering, University of Leeds
Terahertz frequency radiation occupies a fascinating position in the electromagnetic spectrum, sitting at the interface between electronics and optics. However, there are long-standing challenges to access and exploit this scientifically rich region.
Professor Davies has made outstanding contributions to the development of the terahertz quantum cascade laser, and pioneering advances in terahertz imaging, spectroscopy, and microscopy.
His work has opened up this region of the spectrum for investigation and exploitation, and underpinned the spectacular international growth of the field.
Photonics, terahertz, semiconductors, nanotechnology
Professor Leighton Evans
About Leighton Evans
Professor of Media Theory, Swansea University
Professor Evans’ research explores virtual and augmented reality, digital games, and social media, with a focus on presence, identity and culture in immersive technologies.
He has authored multiple books, shaped the new GCSE in film and digital media as a subject expert for Qualifications Wales, and won the Learned Society of Wales Dillwyn Medal for Social Sciences in 2023.
Digital media and technology studies
Professor Elwen Evans
About Elwen Evans
Vice-Chancellor, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Professor Elwen Evans KC is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
She has enjoyed a distinguished legal career, contributed to justice reform in Wales, and has held senior roles in Welsh higher education.
She is a member of Gorsedd y Beirdd and is recognised for her cultural and civic contributions. Her work has shaped legal practice, policy, and education across Wales and beyond.
Higher education and legal leadership
Dr Wendy Ewart
About Wendy Ewart
Independent Consultant in Biomedical Science
Wendy Ewart developed and delivered novel and enduring research strategies for key UK research organisations, the Medical Research Council and Imperial College Faculty of Medicine.
Working at Board level meant she influenced the direction of growth and leadership of UK Biobank and the Francis Crick Institute in the early days of their development. This work helped build the strength of the UK’s science base.
She also delivered the Wellcome Trust’s vision of an Africa-based research institute to tackle the HIV/Aids pandemic and secured over ten years of Wellcome Trust funding for population science.
Research strategy, policy, and funding
Professor Åke Fagereng
About Åke Fagereng
Professor in Structural Geology Cardiff University
Professor Fagereng has made significant contributions to understanding rock deformation, particularly the processes and conditions that prevail at the Earth’s plate boundaries.
He is most known for constraining geological controls on whether faults creep aseismically or produce big earthquakes.
He carries out his research through interdisciplinary investigations that use field geology, electron microscopy, and geochemical and geophysical methods. He applies this knowledge to an understanding of natural hazards.
Geology, tectonics, and rock mechanics
Dr Anne Freeman
About Anne Freeman
Co-founder and co-lead for Stroke Hub Wales; Retired Consultant Physician, Cardiff Metropolitan University and Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Historically, geriatric and stroke medicine were over-looked specialties. Dr Freeman took the challenge of changing this image, using her leadership roles across the UK to develop early changes in clinical care in Wales.
She also created structured undergraduate medical education, later adopted in all Welsh District General Hospitals, and developed postgraduate multidisciplinary and medical education by co-authoring eight books for junior doctors in the UK and abroad.
She also co-founded Stroke Hub Wales and continues activity in research and education.
Stroke medicine, research, innovation, education
Professor Helena Gaunt
About Helena Gaunt
Principal, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama
Professor Gaunt is a musician and widely-published thought-leader on music education and the performing arts.
A professional oboist for many years, and founding member of the Britten Sinfonia, she is now Principal of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and chairs the Advisory Board of the National Music Service in Wales.
Music and performing arts
Professor Cinzia Giannetti
About Cinzia Giannetti
Professor in Digital Manufacturing, Swansea University
Professor Giannetti has been an UKRI EPSRC Fellow (2018–2021), secured substantial research funding, and led major UK initiatives advancing AI-driven digitalisation.
Her pioneering work on the application of AI to manufacturing has enhanced the efficiency and sustainability of industrial processes across multiple sectors.
She also contributes to national advisory bodies, including the EPSRC Strategic Advisory Team and the Welsh Innovation Network steering group.
Digital engineering and manufacturing
Professor Jonathan Gillard
About Jonathan Gillard
Professor of Statistics and Data Science, Cardiff University
Professor Gillard’s work spans statistics, optimisation, and operational research.
He has developed methods that improve real-world decision-making in healthcare, government, and industry. He has led major collaborations with the NHS and the Office for National Statistics.
He is Academic Chair of Welsh Crucible and the first Head of the School of Computational and Mathematical Sciences at Cardiff University.
Statistics and data science
Professor Adam Hedgecoe
About Adam Hedgecoe
Professor & WISERD Director, Cardiff University
Professor Hedgecoe’s research explores the social shaping of modern biomedicine.
For thirty years, he has examined the role that clinical genetics plays in medical decision making. This includes thinking about how genetic tests shape the boundaries of disease, the challenges of personalised medicine, and the complexities raised by modern genomic sequencing techniques.
Related to this is his work on the regulation of biomedical research, and the way research ethics committees shape perceptions of what is or is not ethical.
Sociology of science and medicine
Professor Mary Heimann
About Mary Heimann
Chair in Modern History Cardiff University
Professor Heimann is a historian, writer and leading expert on Victorian Catholicism, Czechoslovakia, and Cold War Christian-Communist relations.
She is best known as the author of Catholic Devotion in Victorian England (Oxford University Press) and Czechoslovakia: The State that Failed (Yale University Press).
She directs the Central and East European Research Centre in Cardiff and is widely sought for expert opinion by international funding bodies, academic publishers, the press, media, universities, and Central European diplomats and policymakers, including NATO’s Partnership for Peace.
European, British and ecclesiastical history
Professor Judy Hutchings
About Judy Hutchings
Professor in Psychology, Bangor University and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Professor Hutchings has worked in Wales as an NHS clinical child psychologist since 1976 and, since 1988, as a researcher at Bangor University.
She develops, delivers and evaluates parenting and school-based programmes to support children’s social and emotional development. Her research has contributed to early intervention policy in Wales, the UK and in Global South countries.
She has held grants of £5m+, supervised many post-graduate students and published extensively on effective delivery of interventions for parents and schools.
National / international services for children
Professor Sharon Huws
About Sharon Huws
Professor of Animal Science and Microbiology, Queen’s University Belfast
Professor Huws is the interim director for the Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast. The Institute spans numerous disciplines that tackle food system challenges for the good of human and planetary health; it was ranked joint-first in research excellence in agriculture, food and veterinary sciences in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
Her research focuses on enhancing sustainable livestock production within the remit of ensuring planetary and human health.
Microbiology, animal science, agriculture, climate
Professor Melanie Jones
About Melanie Jones
Professor of Economics at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University
Professor Jones is an empirical economist who uses quantitative methods to understand labour market inequality in Wales and the UK, particularly relating to gender and disability. She publishes this evidence in international journals and uses it to inform policy and employer practice.
This contribution has been recognised in her appointment as editor of an academic journal and as an ESRC grant assessment panel member.
She is passionate about promoting economics and holds several high-profile advisory roles to support this.
Economics
Professor Dafydd Jones
About Dafydd Jones
Chair in Biochemistry, Cardiff University
Born, raised and educated in the South Wales Valleys, Professor Jones won a scholarship to study biochemistry at Aberystwyth University.
During a placement year in the USA, his passion for protein structure and engineering was confirmed. He went to Cambridge to undertake a PhD with Professor Richard Perham in the Department of Biochemistry.
After a spell in the biotech sector, he took up a place at Cardiff University where he continues to develop novel approaches to engineering proteins.
Biochemistry; biophysics; chemical biology
Professor John Langley
About John Langley
Emeritus Professor, University of Southampton
Professor Langley is internationally recognised for pioneering hyphenated analytical techniques (GC-MS, HPLC-MS, SFC-MS) and specialises in their application across chemistry, chemical biology, and oilfield chemistry.
He led the development of academic open-access mass spectrometry platforms and is a strong advocate for shared access to scientific infrastructure and exceptional facilities.
He has mentored and trained the next generation of analysts, as PhD supervisor, tutor and through training courses in the UK, Europe and Asia.
Analytical chemistry (chromatography – mass spectrometry)
Ben Lewis
About Ben Lewis
Director of the Open University in Wales
Ben Lewis has worked in policy, management and leadership roles for the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the Electoral Commission, Cardiff University and the Open University in Wales.
He has also been Chair of his professional representative body and was seconded to Welsh Government as a specialist policy adviser.
His focus has been on social inclusion and participation in higher education, student support, and mental health.
Higher education, health management and leadership, mental health and higher education
Dr Iwan Llewelyn-Jones
About Iwan Llewelyn-Jones
Senior Lecturer and Director of Music Performance, Bangor University
Dr Llewelyn-Jones is recognised as one of Wales’s leading pianists and music educators.
He is a graduate of Oxford University, the Royal College of Music, Cardiff University and the Université de Paris-Sorbonne, and has performed internationally at major venues including Wigmore Hall and the Sydney Opera House.
He has made an outstanding contribution to Welsh musical life and education, not least as Director of Music Performance at Bangor University and Artistic Director of the Wales International Piano Festival
Music performance, pedagogy and scholarship
Professor Neil Loader
About Neil Loader
Professor of Physical Geography, Swansea University
Professor Loader is a physical geographer experienced in the development and application of stable isotope techniques for geochronology and the study of paleoenvironmental change.
He specialises in the interrogation of natural archives, such as tree rings, peat, and pollen. He uses these to reconstruct climatic change beyond the period of instrumental observations and to study the response and resilience of forest ecosystems to contemporary environmental change.
Physical geography, science-based archaeology
Professor Apala Majumdar
About Apala Majumdar
Professor of Applied Mathematics, Manchester University
Professor Majumdar is an expert in the mathematics of materials science, specialising in continuum mechanics and applied analysis.
She has made powerful contributions to the mathematics of liquid crystals, its rigorous underpinnings, and the modelling of liquid crystal and soft matter applications.
She has led international and interdisciplinary research networks, with collaborators across four continents.
Furthermore, she is a passionate advocate of EDI and has led national and international EDI initiatives.
Applied mathematics, mathematical modelling, continuum mechanics, applied analysis, interdisciplinary mathematics
Dr Emma McKinley
About Emma McKinley
Senior Research Fellow, Cardiff University
Dr McKinley is an experienced marine social scientist who leads work on ocean literacy and human-ocean relationships, using these insight to support effective ocean governance.
She is the academic lead of the Severn Estuary Partnership, founder of the Marine Social Science Network, sits on the UK’s National Decade Committee for the UN Ocean Decade, and the IOC-UNESCO Group of Experts on Ocean Literacy.
Marine social science; ocean literacy; ocean research; stakeholder engagement
Professor Peter Merriman
About Peter Merriman
Professor of Human Geography, Aberystwyth University
Professor Merriman is a leading figure in cultural-historical geography and the multi-disciplinary field of mobility studies.
He has written extensively on theoretical approaches to space, place, mobility, and national identity.
He has also undertaken research projects on the histories of driving in Britain; Welsh and Irish port histories; the 1951 Festival of Britain; and Welsh nationalism and national identity.
Human geography; mobility studies
Professor Daniel Parsons
About Daniel Parsons
Professor in Geosciences, Loughborough University
Professor Parsons is a world-leading geoscientist specialising in sedimentary systems and climate change impacts.
His research spans fluvial to deep-marine environments, focusing on flood risk, sustainability, and alteration to the natural environment caused by human actions (‘anthropogenic disturbance’).
He has led over £50 million in funded research, shaped national and international climate adaptation policy, and championed public engagement.
As Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at Loughborough University, he drives strategic collaboration across the Midlands, advances environmental innovation, and promoting interdisciplinary research for societal benefit.
Geoscience, research, higher education leadership
Dr Claire Price
About Claire Price
Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences, Swansea University
Dr Claire Price is founder of the Merthyr Science Festival.
Her work combines research, teaching, and public engagement, with a focus on inclusive science communication.
She develops innovative tools, such as tactile 3D printed models and interactive digital resources. These help make science accessible to diverse audiences.
She has been recognised nationally for outreach and contributes widely to STEMM education in Wales.
Inclusive biomedical sciences communication
Professor Iain Quinn
About Iain Quinn
Professor of Organ and Coordinator of Sacred Music, Florida State University
Professor Iain Quinn is a cultural historian, musicologist, organist and composer of liturgical music with over one hundred publications including four monographs.
He is Professor of Organ and Coordinator of Sacred Music at Florida State University, Research Fellow in the Arts and Humanities, and Director of the annual Festival of the Creative Arts. He is an Honorary Research Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.
Musicology, sacred music, performance
Professor Charlotte Rees
About Charlotte Rees
Pro Vice-Chancellor & Executive Dean, Swansea University
Professor Rees’ research focuses on health professions education.
With over 200 publications, she was ranked a top 100 social scientist researcher in Australia in 2022 and 2023. She has secured around £5M of educational research income from prestigious UK/Australian funders.
She leads multiple evaluations of national and statewide educational interventions, with positive impacts on policy and practice.
Medical education; health professions education
Professor Yacine Rezgui
About Yacine Rezgui
Professor and Leader of the Urban Intelligence Research Centre, Cardiff University; Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Optimise-AI
Professor Rezgui specialises in performance management of urban environments (buildings, infrastructure and cities), spanning energy efficiency and life-cycle sustainability assessment.
He has 300+ refereed publications, including in Proceedings of the Royal Society A and IEEE Transactions, and an invited Nature contribution on UK science priorities.
A granted US patent underpins ‘Optimise-AI’, the award-winning Cardiff University spin-out that he co-founded. This delivers measurable energy and carbon savings for clients such as Network Rail, ScotRail and Luton Airport.
Smart cities and communities
Dr Kathy Seddon
About Kathy Seddon
Wales Cancer Research Partner, Cardiff University and Worshipful Livery Company of Wales
As Chair of the Welsh branch of the Churchill Fellowship, Dr Seddon encouraged Fellows to build on their fellowships and help others to apply.
As Master of the Worshipful Livery Company of Wales, she instigated the new post of almoner to provide support for those in need.
She set up the Royal Society of the Arts’ ‘TaffLab’ scheme to help young entrepreneurs in the Welsh Valleys.
She currently leads Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) in a pan-European project enabling shared decision making for palliative care patients.
Patient voices in palliative care
Dr Sara Shinton
About Sara Shinton
Director, UKRI Future Leaders Fellows Development Network, University of Edinburgh
Dr Shinton’s career began in Wales, in research, but she has worked all over the UK and Europe developing generations of researchers.
She leads national strategic initiatives to develop better research leaders, more inclusive research cultures and to create opportunities for under-represented groups.
She has secured millions of pounds of research and consultancy funding and is especially committed to the creation of opportunities for, and recognition of, research and innovation enablers.
Leadership, culture, early career researchers
Professor Phil Smith
About Phil Smith
Consultant Neurologist, CVUHB and Cardiff University
Professor Smith has produced around 175 peer-reviewed papers, three books and was senior author on the ‘Standard and New Antiepileptic Drugs’ trials, which shaped NICE epilepsy guidelines and prescribing.
All this comes despite his full-time NHS commitments. His genetics research, through international consortia, has yielded publications in Nature Genetics and Science.
He chaired the NICE ‘Heart Valve Disease guideline’, transforming NHS pathways. Professor Smith also expanded the global reach of Practical Neurology, as its Co-Editor-in-Chief, and his leadership in assessment includes the ‘UK Progress Test Consortium’.
Neurology, epilepsy, medical education/assessment
Professor Richard Thomas
About Richard Thomas
Head of School of Culture and Communication, Swansea University
As a late entrant to Higher Education, Professor Thomas has embedded his private sector experience into his work as a scholar.
At Swansea University, he has remained research active despite holding key senior leadership positions.
In challenging times for the sector, he shapes policy, innovating and developing talent so that both staff and students can thrive in a positive and progressive working environment.
Higher education leadership and management, journalism studies, sports writing, research methodologies, political communication
Professor Marianne van den Bree
About Marianne van den Bree
Professor of Psychological Medicine, Cardiff University
Professor van den Bree investigates how genes and life experiences influence mental health across the lifespan. This includes how mental and physical health interact.
She studies large groups of people, including those with rare genetic mutations that increase risk of learning and mental health difficulties.
Professor van den Brie combines clinical studies with brain imaging, genetics, and laboratory research.
She collaborates with experts across fields and works closely with communities and stakeholders to ensure her findings benefit real-world health and wellbeing.
Genetics, mental health, multimorbidity, environmental risk factors, epidemiology
Professor Yingli Wang
About Yingli Wang
Professor in Logistics and Operations Management, Cardiff University
Professor Wang is a world-leading expert in the digitisation of supply chains, with over two decades of research experience.
She has collaborated with more than 100 organisations across the public, private and third sectors to apply advanced digital technologies that enable sustainable and circular supply chain outcomes.
She has delivered significant social and community impact through her parallel work tackling food poverty in Wales by scaling up the alternative food supply chain initiatives and developing digital tools to map food provision.
Logistics and supply chain digitalisation
Professor Yvonne Wren
About Yvonne Wren
Professor of Speech and Language Therapy, Cardiff Metropolitan University
Professor Wren’s research has led to earlier and more accurate identification of speech, language, and communication needs in children. This helps professionals intervene more effectively and at critical developmental stages.
She has contributed to the development and evaluation of screening tools, has influenced national clinical guidelines and has supported bilingual and culturally appropriate approaches to assessment and therapy.
Through her collaborations with the NHS and education sectors, her work has improved service design, delivery, and outcomes for children and families.
Speech and communication science
Professor Peng Zhou
About Peng Zhou
Professor of Economics; Director of Cardiff Confucius Institute; Director of Welsh Institute for Research in Economics and Development, Cardiff University
Peng Zhou has led Wales-focused projects on fiscal devolution and land value taxation, the economic evaluation of independent-living adaptations, and the health needs of homeless people.
His recent research focuses on technological innovation, social inequality, and environmental sustainability.
Economics; innovation; sustainability; public policy; higher education leadership