Lilian Hunt

Lilian received their PhD in Genetics from UCL whilst at The Francis Crick Institute. It was here that they helped bring together Wellcome, The Francis Crick Institute and GSK as founders of EDIS (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Science and Health) in 2016, and have developed the coalition since. Lilian has previously represented EDIS on the National Institute for Health Research’s INVOLVE Diversity and Inclusion working group, with a focus on inclusive patient and public involvement in health research. They champion inclusive research design and practice within Wellcome and EDIS member organisations and sit as an Advisory Board Member for The Health Foundation’s ‘Developing the long-term research agenda for COVID-19’ programme.

Lilian has spoken extensively on the topics of diversity and inclusion in science and health research to a variety of audiences, notably for the Science Museum, the Social Innovation Exchange and as part of the UN’s He for She Arts Week. Lilian runs the EDIS programme of work including managing the coalition, supporting its members, developing its strategy and delivering events and projects. They also sit within Wellcome’s Culture, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (CEDI) team where they led on the development of Goal 3 of Wellcome’s new CEDI strategy: Inclusive research design and practice. Lilian draws on their research experience, lived experience as a queer person in science and EDI knowledge to drive an evidence-based approach to inclusion for research culture, design and content to drive equitable health outcomes.