Ellison Institute expands team of field-leading experts

19 February 2025

The Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) has announced its founding team of world-leading scientists, engineers, policy experts and entrepreneurs.

EIT's mission is to develop and deploy solutions to some of humanity's most enduring challenges. They are taking a new approach to scientific discovery, one that aligns research and industry more closely than current models. This means creating end-to-end commercial solutions that translate scientific ideas into global impact.

Cutting-edge scientific collaboration is at the heart of the institute’s work across four humane endeavours: health and medical science, food security and sustainable agriculture, climate change and clean energy, and government innovation in the era of artificial intelligence.

Combining the best ideas with experimental computational technology, experts at EIT will work together on shared programs - from developing new therapeutic molecules and cells to treat disease, to developing a solution for diagnosing infectious diseases, detecting antimicrobial resistance, preventing pandemics, and developing new crop varieties to improve nutrition and resilience. Cross-cutting platforms and capabilities will enable and enhance these programs, including a world-class Artificial Intelligence team.

The Institute is led by Professor Sir John Bell, the distinguished immunologist who served as Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford from 2002 to 2024, alongside executives with decades of industry experience, including COO Lisa Flashner, Head of Strategy Tamsin Berry and CFO Charlie Foreman.

The scientists and experts who have joined EIT’s founding team to lead on its programs and platforms are:

Generative biology:

‍Professor Jason Chin - Founding Director of the Generative Biology Institute (GBI), will lead the work to develop technologies enabling genome writing and AI-driven prediction of DNA sequences for specific functions. GBI’s vision is to develop the foundation for engineering biology, to unlock impact across EIT’s humane endeavours, from medical science to sustainable agriculture and clean energy.

Artificial Intelligence:

‍Dr. Danilo J. Rezende - Principal Scientist, will lead the research team in EIT’s Artificial Intelligence Platform, whose mission is to pioneer the next generation of AI breakthroughs, empowering EIT's Programs and beyond to advance AI for the benefit of society.‍
Professor Chris Holmes and Professor Cecilia Lindgren – Co-Directors of EIT's Artificial Intelligence Platform, will lead the Institute’s AI research. Their work will span applied machine learning and fundamental frontier AI science research, both with the potential to unlock major value across EIT’s four humane endeavours.‍
Dr. Matej Macak - Director of Applied Machine Learning, will lead the Artificial Intelligence Platform’s Applied Machine Learning team, focussing on implementing AI and machine learning approaches to deliver impact across EIT’s programs.‍
Dr. Laura Gilbert CBE - Head of AI for Government Programs within the Applied Machine Learning team, will design, develop and execute AI and machine learning solutions across the AI for Government Programs in the Artificial Intelligence Platform, in close collaboration with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture:

‍Professor Steve Kelly - Chief Scientific Officer of the Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture Program, will lead the work on sustainable improvements in food production that will help feed our growing population while simultaneously mitigating the impact of agriculture on biodiversity and climate change. The program will leverage advances in plant breeding, AI, and global collaborations to accelerate the development and distribution of the seeds and technologies that will enable the world’s farmers to support society into the next century and beyond.

Pathogens:

Dr. Emma Stanton - CEO of EIT Pathogena, will lead the work to develop an end-to-end solution for diagnosing infectious diseases, detecting antimicrobial resistance and preventing outbreaks from escalating into pandemics. This pioneering Program aims to reduce preventable deaths worldwide.
‍Professor Gil McVean - Principal Scientist of EIT Pathogena, will lead research on pathogens. A global leader in genomics and computational biology, he will collaborate with world leaders in infectious diseases, and oversee the development of clinical diagnostic tools to combat endemic and epidemic diseases.

Economics:

‍Professor Andrew Scott - Senior Director of Economics, will focus on the economics of longevity, ageing and prevention. He will work on developing the technology, tools and techniques, as well as the models and evidence needed, to ensure that a 21stcentury health system addresses challenges caused by past gains in life expectancy.

Medicine, Oncology and Preventative Care:

Dr. Lennard Lee – will lead EIT’s clinic for oncology and preventative care to drive innovation and healthcare excellence, deploy state of the art research trials, establish healthcare partnerships, develop new cancer vaccines and therapeutics, and inspire a movement towards a technology-integrated future of medicine.

The EIT team is based in The Oxford Science Park, and will expand into a new interdisciplinary research and development facility currently under construction across the Science Park and Littlemore. Set for completion in 2027, and designed by Lord Norman Foster, this state-of-the-art facility will house 30,000m² of laboratories including a Robotics Lab, IoT Sensor Lab, Drug Design Lab and more. It will also house an oncology imaging and preventative care clinic.

Several of the scientists on the founding team also hold academic positions at the University of Oxford, representing the first group of Alliance Faculty that forms part of the long-term strategic alliance between EIT and the University announced in November 2024.

Larry Ellison, Founder of EIT, and Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of Oracle Corporation, said:"We are bringing together pioneering minds from across science, engineering and policy who share our vision of transforming breakthrough research into global solutions. This exceptional founding team will work at the intersection of multiple disciplines - from healthcare to climate action - with the resources and freedom to pursue bold ideas that can reshape our world."

Professor Sir John Bell, EIT President, said:“Rapid innovation is needed now to face society’s biggest challenges. At EIT we continue to build a team of world-class experts with the shared goal of developing technologies that will have a global impact on human health and the health of our planet. Our growing faculty of leading scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs will work together harnessing high performance computing capabilities, deploying long term capital investment and benefitting from our state-of-the-art facilities to deliver our ambitious science and technology programs.”

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