Our Board

Board of Directors/Trustees

Our Board is responsible for the effective governance and development of Research Data Scotland, supports the directors in overseeing the delivery of our strategy, monitors key risks, and ensures resources are managed effectively.

Our Directors/Trustees and Advisors bring exceptional and diverse skills and expertise to support us in the delivery of our mission to improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing in Scotland by enabling access to and linkage of data about people, places and businesses for research in the public good.

Board of Trustees

Professor Roger Halliday

Roger Halliday is Chief Executive of Research Data Scotland. He was previously the Scottish Government’s Chief Statistician and Co-Director of ADR Scotland. Before that, he worked in the Department of Health in England as a policy analyst managing evidence for decision-making across NHS issues. He qualified with a degree in statistics in 1993 from St. Andrews University. He has worked for various UK Government Departments and at the Scottish Government in several statistical and policymaking roles. His areas of expertise are around transforming services with data, and he has experience working in the fields of health, children, learning, skills and the economy. 

Professor Paul Boyle, Vice-Chancellor

Professor Paul Boyle was appointed Vice-Chancellor of Swansea University in 2019 following his role as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester. Previously, Paul was Chief Executive of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the UK’s largest funding agency for social science research; the International Champion of Research Councils UK, with responsibility for international strategy on behalf of all seven UK research councils; and President of Science Europe, representing over 50 European funding agencies. Paul is a Fellow of the British Academy and the Academy of Social Sciences, Chair of Universities Wales’ Research and Innovation Network and a Board Member of Universities UK, who provide leadership and support to executive heads of 133 UK university institutions. 

Professor Julie Fitzpatrick, OBE

Julie Fitzpatrick was appointed Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) for Scotland in June 2021. Alongside this part-time position within the Scottish Government, Julie also remains Scientific Director of Moredun Research Institute and CEO of The Moredun Foundation.  She also holds a Chair in Food Security at the University of Glasgow’s College of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences. As CSA Scotland, Julie champions the use of science to inform policy development.  She works closely with the Scottish Science Advisory Council, of which she is an ex-officio member, to help ensure that the Scottish Government has access to the best scientific advice to inform its work across all policy areas.

Scott Heald

Scott Heald is Public Health Scotland’s lead Director for data, digital and statistics. Before that, he held a variety of statistical leadership roles in the Information Services Division (ISD) of NHS National Services Scotland. He qualified in 1994 with a degree in mathematics and statistics from the University of Edinburgh. After initially working within the field of education statistics, Scott has spent most of his career in the health and care statistics arena and has a particular passion for the use of data and statistics to drive transformative change which improves the outcomes for individuals. Scott is a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society. 

Sapna Marwaha

Sapna Marwaha is the founder of Formation Consultancy, which provides specialist support in inclusive governance, research security, and research culture. With over a decade of experience as an in-house lawyer in research and innovation organisations, she brings together specialist expertise with a record of leadership and transformation. She also is the lead author of the Complex Collaborations report, published in March 2023, which explored the UK sector response to the challenges of research security.

Professor Mark Parsons

Professor Mark Parsons is the Director of EPCC, the supercomputing centre at the University of Edinburgh. EPCC operates many of the UK’s national research computing services including the new ARCHER2 National Supercomputer. As Dean of Research Computing, he provides expert advice and guidance to the College of Science and Engineering and the University on all aspects of modern research infrastructures with a particular focus on supercomputing, AI and data infrastructure. Mark also works part-time for EPSRC at UKRI as the Director of Research Computing. He joined EPCC in 1994 as a software developer working on several industrial contracts following a PhD in Particle Physics undertaken on the LEP accelerator at CERN in Geneva. 

Professor Jill Pell

Professor Jill Pell is Henry Mechan Professor of Public Health and Director of the Institute of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Glasgow. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Jill is currently a member of Council at the Medical Research Council and a non-executive director and medical trustee of the British Health Foundation. She was awarded CBE in 2017 for services to public health research and has more than 30 years' experience of using routine data and record linkage for health research. 

Martin Sinclair

Martin Sinclair is a qualified accountant and auditor with more than 30 years’ experience as an external auditor of central government working on behalf of the UK Parliament. For 15 years, prior to his retirement in 2015, he was a Management Board Member of the National Audit Office (NAO). During that time, he led the NAO’s financial audit practice for 10 years and subsequently was Executive leader for National Affairs, a client portfolio embracing many of the major offices of State. Since then, he has worked as a consultant in public financial management and corporate governance in a number of EU candidate countries and undertaken a various trustee and non- executive roles. These have included nine years as a trustee and Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee of Asthma UK and as a Non-Executive of two major NHS Trusts in the south of England. He was also for a time Treasurer of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

Advisors to the Board

Alison Byrne

Alison Byrne joined National Records of Scotland in October 2024 as Chief Executive. In this capacity, she also holds the offices of Registrar General for Scotland, Keeper of the Records of Scotland and Keeper of the Scottish Register of Tartans. Alison is a senior civil servant who has worked in the Scottish Government for 23 years. She has held various positions, mainly in social policy in areas such as housing, regeneration, child poverty, health and looked after children. Alison is passionate about diversity and inclusion and delivering person-centred services that improve outcomes for all Scotland’s people and communities.

Dr Emma Gordon

Dr Emma Gordon is the Director of the Administrative Data Research UK (ADR UK) programme at the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC), which is opening up secure access to government administrative data across the UK, to support research and inform policy decisions. Emma joined ADR UK from HM Treasury, managing the Government Economic Service and Government Social Research profession, and prior to this was Head of Health Analysis at the Office for National Statistics (ONS). At the start of her career, Emma was a post-doctoral researcher on the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Emma sits on the Executive Committee of the International Population Data Linkage Network (IPDLN), and is the Interim Deputy Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Population Data Science (IJPDS). 

Professor Andrew Morris

Professor Andrew Morris became the inaugural Director of Health Data Research UK in August 2017, the UK’s national Institute for health data science. Its mission is to unite the UK’s health data to improve people’s lives and is supported by 12 funders. He also convenes the International COVID 19 Data Alliance (ICODA) supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Minderoo Foundation. He is seconded from his position as Professor of Medicine, and Vice Principal of Data Science at the University of Edinburgh, having taken up position in August 2014. Prior to this Andrew was Dean of Medicine at the University of Dundee. Andrew was Chief Scientist at the Scottish Government Health Directorate (2012-2017) and has served and chaired numerous national and international grant committees and Governmental bodies. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Academy of Medical Sciences.