Helen Thorne

Helen Thorne has been on the Board of Northumbria University since June 2016.

Helen is the Director of External Relations at UCAS, which provides information, advice and admissions services to people looking to enter higher education or purse other educational opportunities.

In 2010 she worked at the Russell Group of Universities as Head of Policy, and prior to this Helen worked for the UK’s Research Councils for 17 years in a variety of management roles. She led the Research Councils UK team for 5 years from its inception, promoting partnerships and joint working between the Councils and established and led the Research Councils UK office in the United States, strengthening collaboration between UK and US universities.

With a degree in biology from the University of York, Helen began her career in pesticides regulation and managing food safety research for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

She was awarded an MBE in 2007 for services to the administration of science.