Inaugural Lecture: Professor Bola Grace

Professor Bola Grace has extensive experience in women’s health across industry and academia. She is Honorary Professor of Practice at University College London EGA Institute for Women’s Health, a UCL appointment for distinguished individuals working in professional practice or industry. Over two decades, she has held senior leadership roles in the Health tech sector, where she provided strategic, commercial and technical direction to highly skilled cross-functional teams on complex programmes, led cross-functional teams, pioneered innovative systems, and delivered award-winning research and products.

Professor Grace completed her part-time industry-sponsored PhD at the EGA Institute for Women’s Health with Professor Judith Stephenson and is a member of the SRH team. Professor Grace’s research in women’s health bridges several areas including digital health, reproductive epidemiology, inclusive innovation and the application of datascience to research and practice. Within academia, she lectures and supervises research projects. She has given presentations at numerous international congresses and authored peer-reviewed publications on digital health, reproductive epidemiology, and psychosocial aspects of health. She is an advocate for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging; mentoring and supporting underrepresented groups in STEM through several initiatives.

In addition to her undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees, Professor Grace has an Executive MBA from The University of Cambridge Judge Business School. She is a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor, an industry-into-academia appointment to enhance student learning, employability, and enterprise. She is a Senior Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health, Member of the Institute of Directors, and Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute. She sits on governing boards and is currently Chair-elect of the International Reproductive Health Initiative. Professor Grace continues to drive innovation in women’s health research and practice.