Trustees appointed to the Science Museum Group Board

Trustees appointed to the Science Museum Group Board
The Prime Minister has appointed Ann Allen, Priya Guha, Janice Lane, Toufic Machnouk and Tom Solomon, and reappointed Anya Hurlbert and Baroness Morgan as Trustees of the Science Museum Group
Ann Allen MBE, Priya Guha MBE, Janice Lane, Toufic Machnouk and Professor Tom Solomon CBE terms will commence on 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2030.
Ann Allen MBE
Ann is a chartered Surveyor currently leading a team helping to reshape the University of Leeds campus to support the ambitions of the University and the experiences of all students and staff. Prior to this, she led the University of Glasgow £1bn campus redevelopment programme. She is passionate about the built environment and how it can support cohesive and engaged communities. Previous non-executive roles include Chair of Architecture Design Scotland, Chair of Built Environment Trust and Chair of the Scottish Board of Women in Property, Trustee of the National Museum of Scotland and Board Member of Scottish Future Trust, Crown Estate Scotland and the Water Industry Commission.
Ann was awarded an MBE in 2019 for services to higher education.
Priya Guha MBE
Priya is deeply embedded in the UK and global tech ecosystem through her roles in government, investment, start-ups and corporates.
Priya has had a career centred on the intersection of science, technology, innovation and geopolitics and is a passionate advocate for the importance of science and innovation in the UK’s future and is active in supporting work to garner the benefits of the transformative potential of frontier technologies.
Amongst other roles, she is a Non-Executive Director at UK Research and Innovation, the Herald Investment Trust, Reach plc and the Digital Catapult. Priya is also a Member of the Investment Governance Board of Future Planet Capital and an Advisor to Gallos Technologies.
Priya used to be a career diplomat, most recently as British Consul General to San Francisco and previously in India and Spain. Priya was awarded an MBE in 2021 for services to international trade and women in innovation.
Janice Lane
Janice is an experienced cultural heritage leader with more than 30 years working in multi-disciplinary and multi-venue museums in England, Scotland, and Wales. Most recently, she was an Executive Director at Amgueddfa Cymru-Museum Wales for 12 years where she had responsibility for diverse portfolios including visitor experience, learning, exhibitions and public programmes, operations, heritage skills, major projects and sustainability.
Janice brings extensive experience of major museum projects, having worked on award-winning redevelopments such as Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery and Riverside Museum in Glasgow and then St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff. She also led the delivery of major exhibitions, learning and engagement programmes, working with national and international partners. She is a Getty Leadership Institute alumna and a former board member of International Council of Museums UK.
Now working as a consultant and non-executive director, Janice helps organisations understand, measure, and strengthen their social value, offering a collaborative and outcomes focused approach. She currently serves on the boards of Techniquest Science Discovery Centre, The Sherman Theatre, and Gregynog Trust, and is a Heritage Network expert panel member. From beginning her career as a teacher and museum educator, Janice remains committed to widening access to culture and improving public understanding of science.
Toufic Machnouk
Toufic is Managing Director of GBRX, the strategic technology and innovation body for Britain’s railway, and a member of the sector’s Executive Leadership Team. He leads work across government, industry and academia to accelerate the adoption of strategic technologies, including artificial intelligence, advanced computation, intelligent sensing, robotics, quantum technologies, data systems and cyber security.
Before establishing GBRX, Toufic created and led the Industry Partnership for Digital Railway, mobilising one of the UK’s largest strategic enterprise partnerships to support a multi-billion-pound national technology investment portfolio. His work has focused on building the relationships, delivery models and institutional capability required to enable large-scale technology adoption and system transformation.
Toufic is a strong advocate for public engagement with science, engineering and technology. He teaches and speaks regularly on leadership, innovation and strategic technologies, supporting the development of future capability in engineering, technology and systems leadership. He holds a degree in Design Engineering and an Executive Master of Business Administration with Distinction from the University of Bath.
Professor Tom Solomon CBE
Tom is Director of The Pandemic Institute and Academic Vice President of the Royal College of Physicians. He is Director for the Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). He is also Chair of Neurological Science at the University of Liverpool and an honorary Consultant Neurologist at the Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust.
He studied medicine at the University of Oxford, completed a PhD on central nervous system infections in Vietnam, and a post-doctoral fellowship in the United States, before building an international career at the interface of global health and neurological and emerging infections. Under his leadership, Liverpool has become a recognised centre for health protection research and impact, contributing to control of Japanese encephalitis, Ebola, Zika, Covid-19.
He has held senior national roles for NIHR, and the Medical Research Council, chairing major funding boards and advising the UK government and international agencies on pandemic preparedness and response. He was Vice President (International) at the Academy of Medical Sciences, and is Academic Vice President of the Royal College of Physicians, where he leads the College’s communications, policy and research work. Tom is also an active science communicator, working with media and the Science Media Centre, and was awarded a CBE in 2021 for services to neurological and emerging infections research.
Trustees that have been reappointed to the Science Museum Group:
Professor Anya Hurlbert and Baroness Morgan’s second terms will commence on 1 November 2026 to 31 October 2030.
Professor Anya Hurlbert
Anya is Professor of Visual Neuroscience and Dean of Advancement at Newcastle University, where she co-founded the former Institute of Neuroscience and now steers the Centre for Transformative Neuroscience. She holds degrees from the US and UK in physics, physiology, brain and cognitive sciences, and medicine. Her 200+ scientific publications include papers in Nature, Science and Current Biology, handbook chapters, and invited reviews.
Her research interests follow two themes: fundamental and applied science of human colour vision, using psychophysics, computational modelling, and neuroimaging, with applications in colour vision deficiency, imaging, lighting, and visual art; and AI-based retinal image analysis.
She co-authored the book Color in Nature (Princeton University Press; 2024), received the Newton Medal (the Colour Group GB; 2022) and the Edridge-Green Medal (the Royal College of Ophthalmologists; 2017) amongst other awards. She is Associate Editor of the Journal of Vision, member of the Rank Prize Optoelectronics Committee, former Vice President of the Vision Sciences Society, Director of the International Colour Vision Society, former Scientific Trustee of the National Gallery and Chair of the Advisory Board of the National Science and Media Museum.
Baroness Morgan
The Rt Hon. the Baroness Morgan of Cotes (Nicky Morgan) is a former Conservative MP and Minister. She is now a member of the House of Lords and has a portfolio career with roles across the private and public sectors, including Senior Independent Director at Santander UK, Chair of the Advertising Standards Authority and Chair of the Careers & Enterprise Company.
Baroness Morgan was the elected MP for Loughborough from 2010 to 2019, she entered the House of Lords in 2020. During her parliamentary career, Baroness Morgan held several key ministerial roles, including Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (2019–2020), Education Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities (2014–2016), Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Minister for Women (2014). She was an Assistant Whip in the coalition government until her appointment as Economic Secretary to the Treasury in 2013. She was also elected Chair of the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee (2017-2019).
Before being elected she worked as a solicitor specialising in Mergers and Acquisitions.
Remuneration and Governance Code
Trustee roles are not remunerated, and therefore will not attract a pension or any other gratuity.
This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election.
Ann Allen, Priya Guha, Janice Lane, Toufic Machnouk, Tom Solomon and Professor Anya Hurlbert have declared no political activity. Baroness Morgan declared that she was the Conservative MP for Loughborough 2010-2019 and now sits as a non-affiliated Peer in the House of Lords.
Notes to Editors
DCMS has around 400 regulated Public Appointment roles across 42 Public Bodies including Arts Council England, Theatres Trust, the National Gallery, UK Sport and the Gambling Commission. We encourage applications from talented individuals from all backgrounds and across the whole of the United Kingdom. To find out more about Public Appointments or to apply visit the HM Government Public Appointments Website.