BELLA STARLING

Director, Vocal

Bella Starling is Director of Vocal www.vocal.org which creates opportunities for people to find out about, and have a voice in, health research in Greater Manchester. She is a Clinical Chair in Inclusive Research for the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre; the Public and Patient Involvement and Engagement lead for the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre and Clinical Research Facilities, and a Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellow. Her career has spanned neuroscience, stem cell and genetic research, science writing, biomedical ethics, public engagement, patient involvement and science policy, both as a practitioner and strategic adviser. She is passionate about inclusion in, and democratisation of, research; her Fellowship explored how public engagement with research can act as a catalyst for social and scientific change.