Dr Sarah Perkins

BBSRC Executive Director, Strategic Planning, Evidence and Engagement

Dr Sarah Perkins is Executive Director, Strategic Planning, Evidence and Engagement at the Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Sarah studied for a degree in pharmacology and a PhD in chemoprevention. She has a wealth of experience of the UK research landscape having held senior roles in research council, university, and regional partnership settings. Early in her career she spent time working at the Medical Research Council in both research programme management and strategic planning roles, before moving to the Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London. Here her role evolved to Programme Director of Research for both the Faculty and partner NHS Trust.

She has spent periods of time on secondment to Higher Education Funding Council of England to assist with the Research Excellence Framework impact assessment and with the University of Hong Kong. Most recently Sarah was Director of the GW4 Alliance, building strategic, influential relationships with industry, policymakers, funders, and government to deliver collaborative, multidisciplinary projects at scale.

As Executive Director, Sarah has responsibility for:

  • strategic planning
  • evidence and evaluation
  • policy
  • stakeholder engagement, including oversight of our strategic partner universities and BBSRC strategically supported institute relationships
  • Institutes Assessment Exercise

Last updated: 21 September 2023

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