Between 2014 and 2021 Bernie Hannigan was Director of Research, Translation and Innovation for Public Health England (now UK Health Security Agency) and previously (2008-2014) Director of R&D and Chief Scientific Adviser for Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland, preceded by academia/academic leadership with the University of Ulster. She was appointed as Chairperson of the HRB Board by the Minister for Health on 26 April, 2021.  Bernie is also Chairperson of the Board of the Institute of Public Health (from 1 January 2023).

Bernie’s previous non-executive roles included Board membership of Invest Northern Ireland and the Marine Institute. Recently she was a member of the Health and Life Sciences Panel for the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF 2022).

A native of Dublin, Bernie graduated from Trinity College Dublin - BA(Mod) Natural Sciences - and PhD (Immunology) from the National University of Ireland for research at the RCSI. She led or participated in research teams that attracted significant external funding, authored over 100 papers and 2 textbooks, and supervised 20 successful PhD students.