People
Christabel Pankhurst Institute Executive Group
Ian Hall
Director, Christabel Pankhurst Institute Board
Ian Hall is a Professor of Mathematical Epidemiology and Statistics at the University of Manchester. With a PhD in vortex dynamics from the University of Exeter, he spent 15 years at Public Health England (now UKHSA), leading modelling efforts for outbreak preparedness, including smallpox and pandemic influenza. He is a member of the Department of Health’s SPI-M group and served as academic chair of the SAGE Social Care subgroup during the COVID-19 pandemic. Awarded an OBE in June 2024 for his contributions to public health and epidemiology, his research focuses on disease impacts in vulnerable settings, operational planning, and real-time outbreak modelling. He now brings this expertise to the Christabel Pankhurst Institute, supporting the translation of digital health tools across disciplines.
Professor Chris Taylor
Chair, Christabel Pankhurst Institute Board
Professor Taylor is University Associate Vice President for Digital Strategy and Business Engagement. He has a background in artificial intelligence (AI), computer vision and medical image analysis. His research has led to international recognition and multiple spin-outs from the University.
Anthony Wilson
Deputy Director, Christabel Pankhurst Institute Board
Dr Anthony Wilson is a consultant of anaesthesia and critical care medicine at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT). He is the Chief Medical Information Officer (Research and Innovation) at MFT where he champions the use of health data and the adoption of innovative technology to improve patient care and outcomes. His personal research interests focus on the use of wearable vital signs sensors in hospitals and he is the co-lead of MFT’s wearables laboratory.
Julia Handl
Deputy Director, Christabel Pankhurst Institute Board
Julia is a Professor of Decision Sciences in Alliance Manchester Business School. A Computer Scientist by training, she has worked extensively across disciplines, with previous positions in Manchester’s MIB, Manchester’s Faculty of Life Sciences and the University of Washington’s Department of Biochemistry. She is a member of the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS) and sits on the management board of the new Manchester-Cambridge AI CDT for Decision Making in Complex Systems, as well as Manchester’s Institute for Data Science and AI. Within the Pankhurst Institute, Julia will help to deliver the Institute’s ambitions around partnerships, translation & interdisciplinarity, and help foster a vibrant, welcoming environment and sense of identity within the Institute.
Sophia Ananiadou
Deputy Director, Christabel Pankhurst Institute Board
Sophia Ananiadou is Professor of Computer Science at the University of Manchester. Her research focuses on Natural Language Processing and Large Language Models for biomedical and clinical applications. Key areas include LLM-based information extraction, summarisation, emotion detection, and interpretability; applications include semantic search, systematic reviews, pathway reconstruction, mental-health prediction, misinformation detection, and risk assessment.
Dr Stephen Richardson
Deputy Director, Christabel Pankhurst Institute Board
Dr Stephen Richardson is Senior Lecturer in Cell and Tissue Engineering at The University of Manchester.
His research focuses on use of multi-omic approaches to characterise cartilaginous cells/tissues (primarily intervertebral disc and meniscus) during development and disease, and application of 3D bioprinting to generate biomimetic tissue analogues to study tissue formation and test stem cell-based regenerative therapies.
Professor Sami Kaski
Research Director and AI Lead
Professor Kaski is Professor of Artificial Intelligence at The University of Manchester and Aalto University, Director of the Finnish Centre for Artificial Intelligence FCAI. He is an international expert in foundations of AI, with strong interests in applications in health and care.
Professor Julie Gough
Advanced Materials Co-Lead
Professor Gough is Professor of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering at The University of Manchester. Her research interests are in tissue engineering of mechanically sensitive connective tissues such as bone, cartilage, skeletal muscle and the intervertebral disc, and nerve repair.
Dr Sabine Van Der Veer
Digital Health Inequality Lead
Dr Sabine van der Veer is a Senior Lecturer in Health Informatics at the University of Manchester. Her research is about the use of digital technology to collect patient-generated health data for improving health and care for people with long-term conditions, with a particular focus on how this impacts on health equity.
Jamie Goodwin
Business Engagement Officer
Jamie is the Business Engagement Lead for the Pankhurst Institute, supporting the delivery of the Institute’s Business Engagement and Innovation strategy by enabling collaboration between academics and external partners. The role focuses on aligning opportunities with university policy, maximising impact and value, and providing guidance on partnerships, commercial approaches, and project development, while helping to build strong, sustainable relationships that support research, innovation, and knowledge exchange.
Dr Claudia Lindner
Translation Lead
Dr Lindner is a Sir Henry Dale Fellow and Senior Research Fellow in Translational Medical Imaging at The University of Manchester. Her research interests are in the automated analysis of medical images to study, diagnose and manage musculoskeletal disorders – using methods from computer vision, machine learning and data science.
Zoë Rainey
Financial Management
Zoë is the Head of Finance for Faculty Office within the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health and is the finance lead for the Christabel Pankhurst Institute. Zoë has numerous years of financial and management experience in the UK and Internationally, within Higher Education and the private sector.
Lauren Tempelman
Research Strategy, FBMH
Lauren is a Research Development Manager supporting researchers with funding applications and research initiatives. She gained a PhD in neuroscience from The University of Manchester before working as a postdoc in biomaterials.
Lauren has supported research impact in FBMH and at university level. She is now the main contact for Health Sciences, manages our relationship with NIHR and leads on support for Innovation UK bids.
