Chair
Professor Rob Dineen
Academic and clinical neuroradiologist at the University of Nottingham and Honorary Consultant Neuroradiologist at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
We are pleased to announce that we have made some new appointments to our AT Society Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).
The SAB brings together these independent scientists, clinicians and industry representatives specialising in a range of areas of relevance to AT including molecular biology, immunology, cancer research, clinical pharmacology & trials, neuroscience, neurology and genetics, as well as people with lived experience of AT.
The SAB exists to provide independent scientific advice to the AT Society on our research priorities. Members of the Board volunteer their time and expertise to ensure that we invest our funds in research as wisely as possible and in line with the charity’s mission.
Membership of the Board is limited to 3 years fixed term, followed by a maximum 3-year extension period, and so at the end of 2025, we sadly said goodbye to Dr William Whitehouse, Prof Anke Hensiek and Prof Laurence Pearl who all stepped down from their positions on the SAB. We are extremely grateful to them for helping to advise and support the AT Society’s research programme in recent years.
Professor Jessica Downs
Deputy Head of Division of Cell and Molecular Biology and Professor of Epigenetics and Genome Stability at the Institute of Cancer Research in London.
Dr Winnie Ip
Consultant Immunologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London and Principal Investigator for AT clinical trials
Dr Rita Horvath
Professor of Neurogenetics and Honorary Consultant in Neurology at the University of Cambridge
Dr Svetlana Khoronenkova
Non-Clinical Lecturer in Women’s Cancer, University College London
Erik Thomassen
Lay member and parent to a child with AOA1, and Research & Innovation Development Manager at the University of Leeds.
In attendance but without voting rights
Professor Penny Jeggo
Emeritus in molecular biology, Sussex University and scientific advisor and Trustee to the AT Society.
In attendance but without voting rights
Dr Julie Greenfield
Director of Research at Ataxia UK and Research Coordinator for the AT Society
New to the Board for 2026
Dr Nienke van Os
Nienke is a neurologist and paediatric neurologist, at the Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, with expertise in the field of movement disorders.
New to the Board for 2026
Dr Ramsay Bowden
Consultant Clinical Geneticist at the UK national adult AT clinic, Royal Papworth Hospital, and researcher at the University of Cambridge.
In recent years, the AT Society’s primary research focus has been on understanding and treating the neurological problems caused by AT and the loss of the ATM protein. This is the feature of AT which has the greatest impact on everyday life for people with AT. The SAB are currently reviewing the research strategy and will be assessing research funding opportunities once this has been completed. They will ensure that research proposals are assessed objectively and impartially. Review by this group is seen as an essential element of the decision-making process, and, as part of our commitment to the integrity of the review process, the Society has a clear Code of Conduct policy , which all members of the SAB adhere to. The Terms of Reference of the SAB can be found here