About Me

I am an innovative strategic leader with a proven track record of driving meaningful and sustainable change. With a doctorate in Physics and over two decades of professional experience, I bring deep expertise in strategic leadership, cultural transformation, and stakeholder engagement within high-performing, complex environments. My strategic vision is shaped by my lived experience of the research landscape and my ability to inspire teams to achieve impactful results.

I lead with purpose, emotional intelligence, and resilience, fostering high-performing teams and a culture of collaboration, innovation, and impact. I excel at designing interconnected strategies that enhance engagement, visibility, and influence. My approach includes advising senior leaders, building influential relationships, and leveraging strategic partnerships to maximise impact.

I am skilled at connecting and inspiring diverse networks, uniting people to achieve shared goals and drive systemic change. My leadership philosophy is grounded in compassion, purpose, and data-driven decision-making.

I am committed to collaborating with partners who share a vision for impact and progress. I hold multiple advisory roles across the sector and actively welcome opportunities for partnership working.

Dr Saher Ahmed

Advisory, Strategy, Collaborations & Partnerships

Advance HE, UK

The Babraham Institute, UK

Black in Cancer

The Black Women in Science Network

Brazilian Biosciences National Laboratory at the National Centre for Research in Energy and Materials, Brazil

The University of Cambridge, UK

Cancer Research, UK

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UK

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Science and Health Group, UK

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory – European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL), UK

The Francis Crick Institute, UK

Helmholtz Munich, Germany

Institute of Cancer Research, UK

The Institute of Physics, UK

Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science and the Public

University of Cambridge, UK

The London Mathematical Society, UK

The University of Manchester, UK

Medical Research Council, UK

MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, UK

National Emergencies Trust, UK

The National Institute for Heath and Care Research, UK

The University of Nottingham, UK

The Royal Academy of Engineering, UK

The Royal Society, UK

The Royal Society of Biology, UK

The Royal Society of Chemistry, UK

Science and Technology Facilities Council, UK

UK Research and Innovation

UN Women UK Delegate, UK

Wellcome Connecting Science, UK

Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK

The Wellcome Trust, UK

Grants, Awards and Project Funding

Medical Research Council

2023

Cancer Research UK

2022

Wellcome Sanger Institute
Sanger Excellence Fellowship

2021

Wellcome Sanger Institute
Representation in Genomics PhD studentship programme

2021

Umbrella Analytics
Ethnicity Pay Gap analysis and reporting.

Secured pro-bono work, 2020

The Royal Society of Chemistry
Equality and Diversity fund

2019

Higher Education Funding Council

2012