Today (Thursday 13 March), the British Science Association (BSA) has announced that two new trustees have joined Council – the governing board of trustees for the organisation.
Professor Turi King and Dr Rachel Honeyghan-Williams, who were selected following an open recruitment process, have joined Council from 1 March 2025 and will attend their first meeting this month.
Professor Turi King
Professor King is a distinguished geneticist with an internationally recognised career where she uses genetic methods to advance research in fields including forensics, history and archaeology.
She graduated in Archaeology and Anthropology from the University of Cambridge and received her MSc and PhD in Molecular Genetics from the University of Leicester. She currently serves as Director of the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath.
Professor King’s research expertise is in ancient and forensic biomolecules. She is perhaps best known for her role as part of the team that used genetic and statistical methods to identify the remains of King Richard III after their discovery in a Leicester car park in 2012.
Professor King is also a passionate communicator of science and alongside her work as a scientist she is also a presenter, lecturer and author. She is the co-presenter of the BBC 2 TV series DNA Family Secrets, in which she uses her skills in genetics to answer questions about participants’ families and ancestry.
Speaking about her decision to join the BSA’s Council, Professor King says:
As a big part of my career has developed in public engagement in science over the last two decades, I’ve been a huge admirer of the British Science Association and their work in this area. Their remit is to connect science and society, be that through making science more accessible through working with young people or community groups, through to organising big events like the British Science Festival and British Science Week, two initiatives I’ve been involved with in the past as well as being named a BSA Honorary Fellow in 2016.
I’m really passionate about public engagement in science so I’m really looking forward to being part of the work that the British Science Association does and how we can grow that in the future.
Dr Rachel Honeyghan-Williams
Dr Rachel Honeyghan-Williams is a neuroscientist, bioinformatician, and science communicator specialising in the science of the senses. As a postdoctoral researcher at the UCL Ear Institute, Dr Williams explores the reasons why most mammals, including humans, lose their hearing as they age - but birds don't.
Her work in the Lipovsek Lab asks whether making our ears more "bird-like" might be the key to treating hearing loss by uncovering the genetic differences between the ears of birds and mammals.
Dr Honeyghan-Williams completed her PhD at King’s College London, using microscopes and maths to study the brain circuits that allow zebrafish to hunt for food and escape deadly predators.
She has previously held a trusteeship at King’s College London Students’ Union during her term as Vice President for Welfare and Community 2015-2016.
Dr Honeyghan-Williams is an experienced science communicator and has featured on broadcast, live, and livestreamed events for festivals, schools, and learned institutions across the UK including the BBC, the Royal Institution, the British Science Festival, and Cheltenham Science Festival. She has also provided expert scientific advice for children's book 'All Brains Are Wonderful', named as one of The Book Trust's 'Best New Books' in February 2025.
Dr Honeyghan-Williams says:
I applied to be a trustee of the British Science Association as I share the BSA’s ethos of putting people at the heart of science. Science is a way of engaging with the world that can empower people and communities to make positive changes aligned with their needs.
I hope that my experiences as a Black, queer, early-career researcher and science communicator can be used to support the BSA’s goals over the coming years. I’m particularly keen on supporting the BSA’s work on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in science, amplifying the voices of young people, and bringing researchers and communities together through festivals and grant programmes.
Images: Left - Dr Honeyghan-Williams (photograph by Dr Steve Cross), Right - Professor Turi King