Professor Sir John Bell was appointed to the Immunocore Board in March 2015. Professor Bell is the Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University and Chairman of the Office for the Strategic Coordination of Health Research. He is regarded as one of the world’s most distinguished scientists in the fields of genomic and genetic research and immunology, also has significant experience in the Healthcare industry, having been a founding director at three biotechnology companies; Avidex Ltd (a precursor to Immunocore which was acquired by MediGene in 2006), Oxagen and PowderJect Pharmaceuticals plc (acquired by Chiron Corporation in 2003). He currently also serves on the boards of Roche and Genentech and had a previous role on the scientific advisory board at AstraZeneca. Professor Bell was involved in the founding of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford University, now chairs the scientific committee of UK Biobank and the Global Health Scientific Advisory Board of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and is one of three Life Science Champions for the UK, reporting to the UK Prime Minister. His research has contributed significantly to the understanding of immune activation in a number of auto-immune diseases.