ABOUT US
Scientists for Labour is a Socialist Society affiliated to the Labour Party. It is open to supporters of the Labour Party interested or involved in UK science and technology.
Since its establishment in 1994, SfL has become a strong political voice for science. We aim to improve the understanding of science within the Labour Party and nationally. We are also involved in advising the parliamentary Labour Party on science policy issues.
We organise a range of events from panel discussions to networking meetings, and are always interested in hearing from potential collaborators.
Our constitution, our community standards.
Contact Us
OUR PATRONS
Ben Fernando
Chair
Sir Paul Nurse FRS
Paul Nurse is an English geneticist, former President of the Royal Society and Chief Executive and Director of the Francis Crick Institute. He was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He has been a member of the Labour Party for nearly 40 years.
Lord David Sainsbury
David Sainsbury is a businessman, philanthropist and former Minister for Science and Innovation from 1998-2006. In 2008, Sainsbury was elected as an honorary Fellow of the Royal Society and in 2011 was elected Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.
Dr Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown is a British politician who was Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010, and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1997 to 2007. He has been a consistent supporter of science and engineering throughout his career.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Niamh Sayers
Having graduated with a BSc in Pharmacology from the University of Liverpool, Niamh is now studying for a PhD in molecular endocrinology at Imperial College London, specifically studying the function and regulation GPCRs and their potential to be drug targets in endometrial adenocarcinoma. She has been an active member of the labour party for six years and has enjoyed being a part of SfL’s COVID-19 efforts.
Paul Henry
Vice Chair Membership
Paul is a Financial Technology Consultant specialising in data science. Prior to beginning his career in financial services, he completed a PhD at the University of Nottingham in sustainable chemistry. His area of research was using spectroscopy and machine learning to monitor biotechnological processes. His main political interests include environmental sustainability, particularly its social and economic impacts.
Juan Ignacio Rubio Gorrochategui
Membership Secretary
Juan has a BSc in Chemistry from Imperial College London and is currently coursing a MSc in Science Communication at the same institution. Currently, he is working in its masters thesis, which deals with the coverage of Chinese science in Western popular science media. In addition to that, he edits the online section of the science magazine I, Science, and the politics section of Felix, ICL’s student newspaper. His interests include climate change policy and the politics of popular science.
Joe Eastwood
Joe graduated from the University of Nottingham with a masters degree in mechanical engineering. He is now a researcher in the Manufacturing Metrology Team, focusing on the automation of form measurement through the application of machine learning.
Alongside sitting on the SfL committee Joe is actively involved in campaigning for the party, and is especially proud of winning his CLP’s 'best Christmas jumper' prize during the election.
Daniel Villar
Daniel is a behavioural ecologist studying for a MSc(Res) in Ecology, Evolution, and Behaviour at the University of St. Andrews, with a thesis focusing on the evolution of same-sex sexual behaviour in crickets. Daniel completed a BA in Biological Sciences at the University of Oxford in 2019. Daniel has been a member of the Labour Party since 2017, and of the UCU since 2019. His main political interest is changes in the biosphere, especially animal behaviour, due to human pressures, though as an immigrant he is also has an interest in the intersection between immigration and science.
Ben Fernando
Chair
Ben is a postgraduate researcher at the University of Oxford, with a specialty in numerical modelling of wave propagation. He has been Chair of SfL since 2018 and previously served as secretary and vice-chair for membership.
Joe Buckley
Treasurer
Joe currently works researching the theory of multivalency at UCL, with a focus on applications relating to COVID-19 and cancer. He previously worked as a software developer and holds an MRes in Fluid Dynamics from Imperial and an MSci in Chemistry with Mathematics from UCL. His other research interests are nanomedicine, chemotaxis, drug delivery and mathematical chemistry in general. He is currently chair of Tower Hamlets Local Campaign Forum and have previously been a branch secretary for Unite and a Rep for UCU.
Lloyd James
Webmaster
Lloyd researches the transport of particulate matter in fusion plasmas at Imperial College London, having graduated from Imperial with an MSci in Physics.
Judith Skiming
Judith is a full-time science teacher at a state school in Liverpool. She is currently Head of Chemistry and is passionate about STEM education and encouraging young people to study science. Prior to becoming a teacher Judith worked as an NHS doctor for six years, specialising in paediatrics. Her main political interests include education, health and science.
Adam Thompson
Vice Chair Policy
Adam is a research fellow at the University of Nottingham working in dimensional and surface metrology, focussed on developing measurement technologies for advanced manufacturing processes. In addition to sitting on the SfL committee, in his spare time Adam acts as a volunteer organiser and social media co-ordinator for his constituency Labour party (Erewash) and stood in the 2019 general election as the Labour candidate for Amber Valley.
Zainab Mohammed
Secretary
Zainab is an undergraduate Chemistry student at King’s College London. She was previously the Co-Chair of King’s College London Labour Society and the London regional coordinator for Labour Students. She first got involved in politics through a local campaign to encourage more girls to take up STEM A-Level subjects. Her academic interests include pharmaceutical policy, which she hopes to study at the Master’s level.
Rachel Evans
Rachel Evans is an undergraduate Biomedical Science student at the University of Birmingham. Her interests include T-cell immunology in the context of autoimmune disease, with a particular emphasis on SLE. She was introduced to SfL during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she coordinated and contributed to the Daily Briefings the group organised.
Rachel Sava
Rachel is a Neuroscience student at University College London, with research interests in computational neuroscience and brain-computer interfaces (BCI). She is the president of the Artificial Intelligence Society, actively involved in the Medtech and International Relations committees. Originally from Canada, Rachel is a long time supporter of the NDP and has joined the SFL committee to assist in research efforts.