Aisling Maria Burnand (born 22 December 1964; died 19 September 2022) was a British business executive and consultant. In 2009, she joined Cancer Research UK as Executive Director of Policy & Public Affairs. In 2014, she became chief executive of the Association of Medical Research Charities.

Career

Burnand worked as head of international media relations for Rhône-Poulenc in Paris, then as a director at the Rowland Company, a London-based public affairs consultancy. She joined the UK BioIndustry Association as its first Director of Public Affairs in 1998, when the UK biotechnology industry was in its infancy.Testing times for biotech champion
interview in '' The Scotsman'', 11 February 2007. The Association now represents more than three hundred UK biotech companies. In 2001, Burnand became Deputy Chief Executive, and from 2003 until December 2009, she was Chief Executive. She was succeeded by Nigel Gaymond.BIA Annual Review 2009
/ref> At the BIA, Burnand lobbied on behalf of

stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...

research, and supported the passage of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, which gives greater protection for

medical research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as experimental medicine, encompasses a wide array of research, extending from "basic research" (also called ''bench science'' or ''bench research''), – involving fundamental scientif ...

ers from animal rights extremists and other threats.BioIndustry Association executive awarded MBE
MedNous.com, 18 June 2007 She also had to reassure the public about medicines based on

monoclonal antibodies A monoclonal antibody (mAb, more rarely called moAb) is an antibody produced from a cell Lineage made by cloning a unique white blood cell. All subsequent antibodies derived this way trace back to a unique parent cell. Monoclonal antibodies ca ...

when six volunteers suffered severe adverse reactions during a clinical trial at Northwick Park Hospital in 2006. She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2007 for services to science. She joined Cancer Research UK in 2009. As Executive Director of Policy & Public Affairs, she has responsibility for the charity's policies on cancer, science and charity issues, seeking along with others to influence politicians and civil servants on issues of importance to cancer patients.Profile
Cancer Research UK; retrieved 23 December 2010. In 2020, Burnand warned during the COVID-19 pandemic that medical research could suffer for years due to the drop in revenue from donations and fund-raising. Burnand was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as par ...

for services to the charitable sector.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnand, Aisling 1964 births British businesspeople British people of Irish descent Living people Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Place of birth missing (living people)