Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB) is delighted to announce the appointment of two new members to its Board of Trustees.

Quadram Institute Bioscience is one of the partners that forms the Quadram Institute, together with the University of East Anglia, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

The two new QIB trustees, Dr Maria Koufali and Gill Fine, have extensive expertise in academic and clinical research and innovation, and in public health and nutrition, respectively.

Chair of Trustees Dr Celia Caulcott said: “On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I’m very pleased to welcome Gill and Maria to Quadram Institute Bioscience. They each bring a unique wealth of experience to the Quadram Institute as a leader in the field of research into food science, gut microbiology, and human health.”

Gill Fine

Gill Fine is a Public Health Nutritionist with more than 40 years of experience gained in private, public and voluntary sector organisations. She has a passion for leveraging sound food and nutrition science for public health benefit and helping make healthier eating easier and enjoyable for consumers.

From 2004 to 2010, Gill was Director of Consumer Choice and Dietary Health at the Food Standards Agency. Her role was to provide strategic direction for the development of evidenced based food policies across a wide remit including nutrition, supplements, organics, additives, novel foods, food standards and general food labelling.

In April 2010, she moved to Cornwall to pursue her interests in nutrition and public health on a freelance basis. In addition to her consultancy work she has held various non-executive appointments with several charities, including the British Nutrition Foundation and Diabetes UK. She has also served on several government committees and is a longstanding member of the UK’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition.

Gill is a Member of the Nutrition Society and gained her MSc Nutrition from Queen Elizabeth College, London in 1981.

Dr Maria Koufali

Maria is Director of the Vaccine Innovation Pathway at National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and brings more than 20 years of experience in driving the development and delivery of strategy and innovation in research support services in health and life sciences. During her 14-years as leader of the Nottingham Joint Research Office Maria developed and led a sustainable research and innovation service of 300 staff and over £27M in research grant income.

Maria is highly experienced in working with a wide range of research funders, local and national government in addition to the NHS, academia, and life sciences industry sectors. As a key contributor to the development of the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board research and innovation plan, Maria worked with the research ecosystem to attract and nurture research and innovation talent and in developing infrastructure and processes for ensuring that under-represented communities gain improved access to innovation.

Maria holds a PhD in mitochondrial biology from m the Medical School, University of Dundee, and an executive MBA with Distinction from the University of Nottingham. Maria has worked in various NHS Research and Innovation and National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) regional and national roles since 2005 and most recently with Loughborough University to develop and lead a comprehensive transformation program for their Research and Innovation office.

Professor Ian Charles, Director and Chief Executive Officer of Quadram Institute Bioscience, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Gill and Maria to our Board of Trustees. Each of our trustees have unique skills and experience with much to offer the Quadram Institute Bioscience’s mission to bring real social and health benefits to our society in the years ahead and I look forward to working with them.”