Dr Lauren Sullivan MP is a Former Daphne Jackson Fellow, hosted and funded by The Francis Crick Institute. She is now a Member of Parliament for Gravesham.
The Trust are hugely grateful for Lauren for raising the barriers that many returners face in the House of Commons, and for being such an advocate and champion of the Daphne Jackson Trust.
“It doesn’t have to be this hard. If we are serious about equality in science, we must address these structural challenges and create a system where women don’t have to choose between their careers and their families. Because when we support women in science, we strengthen science itself”.
Lauren Sullivan, Member of Parliament
Lauren returned to research after having a career break for family caring reason, with a Daphne Jackson Fellowship in 2017, with a project entitled; “Investigation into somatic hypermutation and isotype switching of antibodies specific for Merozoite Surface Protein-1 (MSP-1) of Plasmodium chabaudi”.
Lauren’s shared her experience of her Daphne Jackson Fellowship in our 2026 Impact Report;
“As a research returner, I understand the importance of diverse experiences and the way in which second chances can transform lives. I’m bringing my own scientific experience into Parliament as I advocate for high quality skills education and investment in research across the UK, as well as helping to fix the leaking STEM work force pipeline so more of people’s talents are utilised and realised.”
