I am an innovative strategic leader, with a proven track-record of designing and implementing successful world-leading Research Equity strategies and policies that lead to tangible outcomes and results. With a strong academic background and lived experience of the research landscape – my doctorate is in Physics – I have more than two decades of professional experience and wealth of experience of driving cultural transformation across high-performing complex environments in order to drive meaningful and sustainable change.
My approaches are underpinned by high emotional intelligence, empathy, resilience and tenacity. I have experience of designing and driving rich, inter-connected inclusion strategies; providing advice, counsel and coaching to senior leaders; building authentic relationships and global partnerships, and empowering and building functional knowledge and capability across teams.
I have strong connections to a rich network of experts and specialists and experience of securing significant financial capital to resource initiatives. I take a compassionate, people-centred, purposeful and evidenced-based approach to driving practice-change.
I hold multiple committee membership and advisory roles across the sector and welcome requests 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
Reports and Publications
- “Targeted approaches to supporting people with Black heritage backgrounds in academia and research” (Sanger, Nexus Evaluation Ltd, 2024)
- “Equality, Diversity and Inclusion – Targeted action to increase inclusion at the Wellcome Sanger Institute” (E-Life, 2024)
- “Exploring the experiences of minoritised groups at life sciences conferences in the UK: new perspectives and actions to improve inclusivity in the sector” (Wellcome Open Research, 2024)
- “Sanger Excellence Fellowship Review” (Sanger, Nexus Evaluation Ltd, 2023)
- Genome Research Limited Gender Pay Gap Reports (Sanger, 2023)
- Blog post on Reflections on Race and Equity on Research (Sanger, 2021)
- Athena SWAN Silver submission (Sanger, 2020)
- “Embedding Gender Equality into Institutional Strategy” (Global Health, Epidemiology and Genetics, 2017)
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