Member organisations EDIS members and their commitments
EDIS is now closed to new membership applications until 2023. If you are interested in applying for membership next year, please read the prospective new members information document and our terms of reference.
EDIS member organisations must meet the criterion outlined below:
Be active in the area of science or health research or a closely related field, or be an institution or organisation active in supporting the objectives of EDIS.
All members have nominated a named sponsor for EDIS within their organisation. This person has sufficient seniority and the clear ability to advocate for change at a decision-making level within their organisation.
Members agree to support the objectives of EDIS and contribute resources. Members are expected to participate fully in EDIS, including to share knowledge, lessons learned and best practices with EDIS and with other member organisations.
Membership
EDIS member organisations are active in the area of science or health research or a closely related field. They can also be institutions or organisations active in supporting the objectives of EDIS.
For more information, please read the prospective new members information document and our terms of reference.
EDIS member organisations must be active in the area of science or health research or a closely related field, or be an institution or organisation active in supporting the objectives of EDIS.
Wellcome
Core Support and Host
Wellcome is committed to making science and research open to anyone. In collaborating with others through EDIS, we look forward to creating progress in diversity and inclusion and ultimately improving health for everyone.
The Academy of Medical Sciences
“The Academy of Medical Sciences is committed to working towards diversity and equality of opportunity both in the organisation, practices and work of the Academy, and in the wider academic workforce. We are delighted to be a member of the EDIS network, to connect and collaborate with others to support equality, diversity and inclusivity across biomedical and health sciences.”
Association of Medical Research Charities
"It is vital that we reflect diverse voices in the medical research charity workforce. As research funders, medical research charities can play an important role by clarifying the standards they require others to adhere to when awarding grants. What EDIS has started is long overdue and therefore timely."
- Aisling Burnand, Chief Executive
Applied Microbiology International
“AMI believes that microbiology will thrive best when it is diverse and inclusive. We look forward to working with EDIS and others to ensure that there are no barriers to us using all of our collective talents to address some of our greatest challenges in science and health.”
- Dr Clare Taylor, General Secretary and Chair of the Policy Subcommittee
Association of Research Managers and Administrators
"At ARMA, we’re committed to lifting our EDI Policy off the page and embedding it, not only in all that we do, but into our very DNA as a membership organisation. Being a member of EDIS gives us a context to work to, goals to strive for and a like-minded and supportive community to belong to."
- Lorna Wilson, Director, ARMA and Senior Sponsor
AstraZeneca
“At AstraZeneca, we celebrate our differences. We unleash our collective potential by including diverse thinking when we innovate together. When we come together as a team in this way we make a bigger difference to the world – bringing life-changing medicines to patients.”
- Penny James, VP, IMED Operations
Babraham Institute
“Excellent science is at the heart of the Babraham Institute. Equality, diverisity and inlcusion are critical to accessing the best ideas, the greatest talent and ultimately to doing world-leading research. With EDIS, we hope to achieve the changes needed to make the scientific community open to everyone.”
- Dr Cheryl Smythe, equality4success Chair
The Biochemical Society
“The Biochemical Society is committed to ensuring equal opportunities in the molecular biosciences. We believe that a lack of diversity and inclusivity across the scientific community represents a loss of potential talent to the UK and beyond.”
The British Heart Foundation
“The British Heart Foundation’s Strategy to 2030 highlights our ambition for everyone—regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, or location—to have access to the best available treatment and care, and to fund world-class research to save and improve lives. From the equality and diversity in our organisation to the research we support and the wider inequalities in health, we are committed to doing our part. By joining EDIS, we hope to learn, develop, and help to drive the change needed to make cardiovascular science and health open to, and for the benefit, of everyone”.
- Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive
British Pharmacological Society
“An inclusive culture – one where everyone feels valued and that they belong, irrespective of difference – is fundamental to building a thriving and diverse pharmacology community. The British Pharmacological Society pledges to work with the wider scientific community to remove barriers to participation, progress and collaboration.”.
The British Toxicology Society
Cancer Research UK
"To meet our mission of beating cancer, Cancer Research UK aims to build inclusive and positive research environments where the widest variety of people are attracted to, retained and working in cancer research. We also aim to fund research of the highest quality that is relevant to and, where appropriate, involves a diverse population of research participants. We are therefore pleased and excited to be a member of the EDIS network, where we hope to identify and share best practices for achieving an inclusive culture, a vibrant cancer research workforce, and for tackling cancer inequalities."
Daphne Jackson Trust
“Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are central to the work of the Daphne Jackson Trust and the ethos of its Fellowships. We are very pleased to be working with EDIS to drive the agenda forward. It is time for organisations to work together, share best practices and common goals and to strive for a world where there are no barriers or prejudices and equality of opportunity for all.”
The European Bioinformatic Institute
“As a European intergovernmental organisation that sits at the junction of science and engineering, EMBL-EBI is committed to advancing equality, diversity and inclusion in the fields of bioinformatics, genomics and the life sciences. We hope to collaborate with organisations that are leading in this field, and develop best practices to encourage people from all backgrounds to consider and pursue a career in the life sciences.”
Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research
“The Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for at the University of Bristol is named after the first woman to be listed on the British Medical Register. We believe that there is real opportunity to use and develop an evidence-based approach to equality, diversity and inclusion in scientific careers and in research participation.”
– Professor Rachael Gooberman-Hill, Director
ELRIG
“A key value of ELRIG is to be an inclusive organisation, serving a diverse scientific community, as well as taking a leadership stance on EDI discussions within the UK’s drug discovery network. With the assistance of EDIS members to help craft EDI guidelines, ELRIG is well placed to run accessible scientific conferences and influence corporate partners to consider EDI at work, as well as contribute to the discussion of other EDI issues in the life sciences and drug discovery communities.”
The Francis Crick Institute
“The Crick is committed to creating equality of opportunity and promoting diversity and inclusivity in pursuing scientific excellence. With EDIS we look forward to collaborating to support equality, diversity and inclusivity across the wider biomedical and health research community.”
GlaxoSmithKline
“At GSK we’re committed to accelerating our progress on inclusion and diversity and believe when we combine our knowledge, experiences and styles together, the impact is incredible. We look forward to working with EDIS and other organisations to accelerate the progress of equality, inclusion and diversity across science and health.”
Health Data Research UK
“At Health Data Research UK, we proactively work to nurture a creative, inclusive and open culture, supported by our institutional values of transparency, optimism, respect, courage and humility. Diversity in our workforce, as well as those who benefit from the work we do with health data, is central to our mission. We are delighted to be working with EDIS and its network of members to learn from the community and share our own experiences on this journey.”
LifeArc
“At LifeArc, we respect, value and celebrate difference. We know that an equitable and inclusive workplace, where diverse views are actively encouraged, will lead to greater innovation, better decision making and enhance the quality of the work we deliver to make: ‘life science life changing’.
We are excited to be developing our ED&I agenda because it’s ethically the right thing to do and because of the opportunities it presents. Being part of EDIS allows us to learn from and collaborate with others to effect positive change in LifeArc and beyond.”
MedCity
“As the life sciences cluster organisation for London, we want to use our influence across the ecosystem to forge diverse collaborations and provide inclusive opportunities through our programmes and projects. As a convener between academia, industry, investors and healthcare, we can help stimulate initiatives to drive change. Joining EDIS is key to this mission, providing a platform for knowledge sharing and amplifying the positive impact of diversity within life sciences.”
– Jo Pisani, Chair
Medical Research Foundation
"The Medical Research Foundation’s success depends on its ability to embrace diversity, attract the best researchers from the widest pool possible, and draw on the skills, understanding and experience of all of its people. We cannot change the research and research funding system ourselves, but we can play our part in ensuring that there are fewer opportunities for bias in the work that we do. We aim to identify and adapt best EDI practice, and by being an EDIS member, we will work with others to drive the agenda forward."
Microbiology Society
“One of the Microbiology Society’s core values is that we are welcoming to anyone interested in microbes, their effects, and their uses. “We are delighted to be a new member of the EDIS network as we believe fostering and promoting greater diversity and inclusion amongst our membership will ensure we reach the full potential of microbiology research and the impact it has on our current societal issues.”
– Professor Gurdyal Besra FMedSci FRS, President of the Microbiology Society
The Physiological Society
“We champion diversity and inclusion to ensure that every member of our community has equal access to opportunity. Greater diversity is fundamental to achieving scientific excellence and we are proud to work with EDIS on developing an inclusive culture across science.”
Dr Sue Deuchars, Trustee, Conferences Committee Chair and Diversity Champion
Royal Society of Biology
“The Royal Society of Biology is committed to ensuring equal opportunities in the life sciences, and supports diversity throughout the pipeline; school; higher education and in the workplace. We acknowledge this as a collective responsibility, and in our role as a professional and membership body we will continue to encourage and advance inclusion and accessibility in our own practices and across the biosciences. We are excited to be a part of EDIS and look forward to contributing towards future activities.”
Science Council
“The Science Council is delighted to support the work of EDIS. Together with our member community, we made a commitment to EDI and social justice, centring positive and proactive change at the heart of our current strategy. We encourage, support and celebrate the people that cultivate a diverse and inclusive scientific community. As only truly diverse and inclusive cultures for all those supporting and within scientific professions will ensure we can meet the challenges faced by society on a local, national, and global scale and that can be answered by scientific endeavour.”
- Rachel Lambert-Forsyth, EDI Champion and Science Council Trustee
University of Birmingham College of Medical and Dental Sciences
“We are committed to promoting and embedding equality, diversity and inclusion in everything we do, while dismantling structures and reforming practices that maintain inequality and discrimination. To exploit the full range of talent at our disposal in delivering research important to the communities we represent, we must be truly inclusive, with involvement, design and delivery representing the diversity in our local population. We are therefore delighted to be part of EDIS’ community of practice.”
– Prof David Adams, Head of College of Medical & Dental Sciences
Wellcome Sanger Institute
(Genome Research Limited)
“We are committed to fostering an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive, and diversity is celebrated. Science is a major social and cultural force and we need the best minds to maximise its benefits, which can only be achieved by growing and drawing on a diverse talent pool.”
Wellcome Connecting Science
(Genome Research Limited)
“EDI is good for science in general because the most diverse and inclusive groups produce the best research, but its perhaps even more important in genomics research. Everyone has a genome, so be definition genomics is relevant to everyone – genomics training and engagement must therefore strive to include everyone.”
– Dr Julian Rayner, Director