Dr Lilian Hunt, Lead Advisor to the Executive Director, Equity
Lilian provides support and advisory input into decisions and activities of the Executive Director of Equity, contributing to shaping and embedding equity in Wellcome’s work.
Lilian’s background is in genetics, having completed a PhD at University College London while working at the Francis Crick Institute in 2017. This academic experience helped shape their interest in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in research.
Before their current role, Lilian served as Lead for the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Science and Health (EDIS) coalition at Wellcome from 2020 to 2025. During this time, they helped grow EDIS to include 30 life science organisations committed to improving EDI across science and health research in the UK. Their role involved collaborating across the sector, offering advice and helping to shape strategies that support fairer research environments.
Lilian’s work often involves connecting with other organisations, both in the UK and internationally. For example, through the Science Granting Councils Initiative, they’ve worked with 16 national funders across Africa to support gender equity and inclusivity in research funding. They also have experience developing policy frameworks to include sex, gender and diversity analysis in research practices internationally, and have published several papers in this field.
Lilian's pronouns are they/them.
Get in touch with the Equity team
For questions about equity, equitable research or inclusive practices, contact inclusion@wellcome.org.
