FST JOURNAL

Life Science – what will the new UK sector plan hold?

On Wednesday 12^th November, we joined forces with ARC | Advanced Research Clusters to deliver a discussion evening exploring Life Sciences. In July 2025, the government published the Life Sciences Sector Plan which aims to drive both economic growth and health innovation in the NHS. Our expert panel included Steve Bates OBE, Executive Chair at the Office for Life Sciences; Baroness (Nicola) Blackwood, Chair of Genomics England; Tony Wood, Chief Scientific Officer at GSK; and Professor Sir John Bell FRS, Emeritus Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford. Together they discussed the current state of UK life sciences, the UK’s relative strengths and weaknesses, and the various challenges to deliver the ambitious aims set out in the plan. You can watch the event back in its entirety here.

Opportunities and challenges in Science and Tech

Liverpool Hope University played host for the 2025 Foundation Future Leaders’ Conference in November, which was well attended and explored the barriers to successful Science and Technology in the UK, and the role of "place" in decisions on funding, (particularly through the UK devolution lens). Expert speakers ranged from senior figures across academia, policy and industry and there was a keynote address from Professor David Nutt, Chief Scientific Officer at Gaba Labs Research and former Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Misuse of Drugs. 

Following on from the conference, our FFL 2025 cohort are preparing for their grand finale outing to CERN (Geneva) and ESRF/ILL (Grenoble) in January. The call for applications for the Foundation Future Leader Programme 2026 is now closed, and the successful candidates will be chosen and announced soon.

Moving on: Foundation Chief Executive steps down

Our fantastic Chief Executive of seven years, Gavin Costigan who came to us from senior civil service and policy roles in Government and Southampton University will soon be moving on. Among many accomplishments during his time here, he established the ever-popular Foundation Future Leaders' Programme, which continues to grow in strength every year. Gavin will remain with us until March 2026, so there is plenty of time to celebrate and see him off in style. Interviews for his successor are currently underway.

Supporting diversity-led, mission driven research

The Foundation is now an external partner for the new DiveIn Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) at the University of Glasgow, which is focused on bringing together diverse teams to tackle interdisciplinary, mission-driven challenges at the forefront of research. The Foundation’s role will be to help the PhD students understand the policy implications of their research projects and how to work with policy colleagues. Our Chief Executive, Gavin Costigan, presented a policy-related challenge at the first ever Annual Industry Showcase for the CDT on 11 November in Glasgow.

News in brief

What’s on next year?

After a busy Autumn and a brief break from public events in December, we will be back in full swing from January 2026 with two exciting events. Full details of speakers and booking information will be available on our website soon.

• 25 Feb: Adapting to climate change- how prepared is the UK?
• 18 March: From publication to public action- the case for responsible activism

Deep dive into science policy with the Foundation’s podcast

We have had some exciting new guests on our podcast this Autumn-Winter season, taking listeners on a deep dive into their area of expertise. From quantum technologies to UK fertility trends, to Net Zero housing; our latest episodes cover a broad scope of topics. Listen to Quantum experts Professor Sir Peter Knight (Imperial College) and Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE)’s Dr Rob Lock or to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Association (HFEA) Director of Compliance, Rachel Cutting delve into their work and horizon scan, here.

Science and Technology in the Daresbury Laboratory

On 20^th November, the Foundation Future Leaders visited the Daresbury Laboratory, a science and technology campus near Liverpool that is part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). As well as discussions of the research carried out on site and tours of the laboratories, the Foundation Future Leaders met early career staff based at Daresbury and discussed building careers within science and technology.