Author: Elizabeth Nixon

Head of the Department of Brain Sciences

Professor Allan Young MB, ChB, MPhil, PhD, FRCP (Edin.), FRCPC, FRCPsych has accepted appointment as Head of the Department of Brain Sciences for a five-year term, starting from 1 September 2025. 

Professor Young is currently Chair of Academic Psychiatry and Head of the Division of Psychiatry in the Department of Brain Sciences, having rejoined Imperial earlier this year from King’s College London. He previously held roles at Imperial as Chair of Psychiatry and Director of the Centre for Mental Health between 2010 and 2013. He has also held academic appointments at Oxford University, Newcastle University, and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. 

Professor Young’s research interests focus on the cause and treatments for severe psychiatric illnesses, particularly mood disorders. He has received research grants from many funding agencies and has over 800 peer-reviewed publications, including several books about psychopharmacology and affective disorders.   

He has held a number of leadership roles in professional and scientific societies and is currently Vice-President of the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CINP). He is past President of the International Society for Affective Disorders and of the British Association of Psychopharmacology, and the Inaugural Chair of the Special Committee for Psychopharmacology of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He is also a former trustee of the patient and family charity Bipolar UK, and a current trustee of the Drug Safety Research Unit (DSRU). 

Vice-President (Corporate Engagement)

Professor Nigel Brandon has been appointed as Vice-President (Corporate Engagement).

He will take on this role in October 2026 after he stands down as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering in September 2026.

The Vice-President (Corporate Engagement) is a new role that will focus on developing Imperial’s relationships with executive leaders in key knowledge- and technology- intensive sectors to yield new educational, research, innovation and philanthropic opportunities.

Working in collaboration with senior leaders and teams across Imperial to deliver on their strategic plans, he will support the development of new partnerships and act as an ambassadorial role for their stewardship.

This new role will be focused on ensuring organisations have access to the best Imperial has to offer, from our world-leading research and education, innovation and enterprise and consultancy.

In addition to Nigel’s tenure as Dean, he is a Professor of Sustainable Development in Energy. Previously he was Vice Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Engineering as well as Founding Director of the Sustainable Gas Institute and the Energy Futures Lab.

The search for a new Dean of the Faculty of Engineering will commence in the coming months.

Provost and Deputy President

Professor Peter Haynes has been appointed as Imperial’s new Provost and Deputy President.

Currently our Vice-Provost for Education and Student Experience, Peter’s new role will have responsibility for all of Imperial’s academic affairs, working with colleagues across our community to ensure excellence in education, research and translation activities, and furthering our reputation as a world-leading university.

Peter will take up his role on 1 October 2025, succeeding Professor Ian Walmsley who is leaving Imperial in September.

Peter is already well known to our community. Prior to becoming Vice-Provost in October 2022, he was Head of the Department of Materials for seven years. In 2012, he was appointed Professor of Theory and Simulation of Materials, a joint appointment between the Departments of Materials and Physics. He was awarded the Maxwell Medal and Prize for Computational Physics by the Institute of Physics in 2010 and was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2021.

His research interests focus on the development of new methods for performing first-principles quantum-mechanical simulations and their application to materials science, nanotechnology and biological systems. You can read his academic profile online.

Director of Communications

Nick McDermott has been appointed Director of Communications and will join Imperial in September.

Reporting to the Vice-President (Strategic Engagement and Communications), in this role Nick will lead the development and execution of communications that support Imperial’s mission, brand, and strategic objectives. He will oversee both internal and external communications, ensuring consistency, clarity, and impact across all channels.

Nick joins Imperial from NHS England, where he currently acts as Director of Communications, responsible for the largest communications team in the public sector – supporting the delivery of health service’s priorities and building public confidence in the NHS.

Prior to joining the NHS, Nick was a leading health and science journalist. He spent nine years as health and science editor at The Sun, overseeing their pandemic coverage, and making complex research and policy accessible to millions of readers daily. He was previously science and environment reporter at The Daily Mail, and part of an award-winning investigations team.

Vice-President (Strategic Engagement)

Amanda Wolthuizen has accepted appointment as Vice-President (Strategic Engagement), with effect from 28 October 2024.  

Reporting to the President, in this role Amanda will be responsible for the development and implementation of Imperial’s Strategy, Science for Humanity. This includes the development of our international strategy and operations, and the implementation of Imperial’s government relations and stakeholder engagement strategy.   

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Director of the Fleming Initiative

Professor Alison Holmes OBE FMedSci has accepted appointment as the inaugural Director of the Fleming Initiative, with effect from 1 October 2024.   

A partnership between Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, the Fleming Initiative is focused on driving solutions to antimicrobial resistance that are co-designed with patients, the public, and policy makers and underpinned by a rich and diverse evidence base. 

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Senior Consul and Proconsuls

Professor Jonathan Mestel, Professor of Applied Mathematics in the Department of Mathematics, has been reelected as Senior Consul for a second year, from 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024.  

Professor Liz Lightstone, Professor of Renal Medicine in the Department of Immunology and Inflammation and Consul (Clinical) for the Faculty of Medicine until 31 August 2023, has been elected as Proconsul for the period 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2026. 

Professor Martin McCall, Professor of Theoretical Optics in the Department of Physics and Consul for the Faculty of Natural Sciences and the Education Office until 31 August 2023, has been elected as Proconsul for the period 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2026. 

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