Dr Laura Blackburn

The PHG Foundation is a health policy think tank with a focus on policy to support the application of advances in genomics and related fields for individual and population health.

Laura is PHG Foundation's Head of Science, and is responsible for the delivery of the scientific expertise and analysis that underpins the Foundation's work. She also contributes to the development of our strategic partnerships with other organisations who have an interest in science and health policy. Current projects include exploring the opportunities and challenges highlighted in our 2018 report 'The personalised medicine technology landscape' with a range of stakeholders, contributing to the Foundation's work on clinical applications of genome editing and working with key contacts to understand the key implementation challenges influencing the use of circulating tumour DNA technologies and developing policies to mitigate these.   

Laura has a background in Zoology and extensive science writing and communication experience from previous roles including at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute. An interest in the challenges involved in translating research into the clinic led Laura to her role at PHG Foundation. Before becoming Head of Science Laura contributed her expertise in explaining complex scientific concepts and policy implications to projects on emerging technologies and assists with our public affairs work.