Professor Gill Bates (UCL Institute of Neurology) has been appointed as the new Vice Dean (Research) for the Faculty of Brain Sciences, as of 1st October 2016, and we warmly welcome her to the Faculty senior leadership team.
Professor Bates joined UCL in May 2016 as Professor of Molecular Neuroscience and Co-Director of the Huntington's Disease Centre in the Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience (UCL Institute of Neurology). The research of the Bates lab is focussed on understanding the molecular basis of Huntington’s disease and developing therapeutic interventions.
Professor Bates will play a key role in shaping the Faculty’s research strategy and will work with Faculty leadership and the Office of the Vice Provost (Research) to ensure that Faculty and UCL objectives are aligned. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a genuine collegiate spirit and she is an inspiring role model to junior researchers. On her appointment, she said: “I am very excited to have been given this opportunity to play an active role in contributing to the Faculty and wider UCL research community.”
Professor Bates takes over this role from Professor Nick Wood, and will continue to build on the superb work that he has done over the past five years. Prof Wood skilfully aligned the Faculty research strategy with the UCLH/UCL BRC neurosciences themes, and contributed enormously to the successful renewal of the BRC funding. He has been a key member of the School Research Board, involved in the triage, peer review and mock interviews for large grant proposals, improving our success rate as a School, of these major grant applications. We are very grateful for all he has achieved.