Honorary Graduates

Dr Hassib Sahyoun is a member of our Bradford alumni community, having received both his MSc in 1976 and PhD in 1979 from the University.

An entrepreneur, Dr Sahyoun’s vision has always been to transform the one-man-show culture in Laboratory Medical Diagnostic Services in Jordan, to a Group Practice culture to best serve physicians and their patients, as well as ensuring long term sustainability. In 1993 Dr Sahyoun along with four doctor colleagues co-founded MedLabs Consultancy Group, forming the first private “Group Practice” in Laboratory Medicine in the Region.

MedLabs is now the fastest growing network of private medical diagnostic laboratories in the Middle East with 50 branches across three countries and a regional Reference Laboratory in Jordan that has achieved the highest international quality accreditations and awards. By introducing Group Practice, Dr Sahyoun made a difference in Laboratory Medicine in Jordan and the Region.

As Chairman and CEO, Dr Sahyoun has overseen the company’s provision of free-of-charge testing to underprivileged communities, as well as launching many national health awareness campaigns.

He is currently head of the Medical Laboratory Specialists Syndicate in Jordan as well as a member of several committees which oversee national standards of quality for the Jordanian Ministry of Health.

Jonathan Phillips, OBE, is a qualified social worker. For many years he worked in social services – including in Bradford – carrying out a number of frontline, training and management roles.

After a stint in the voluntary sector, as a Director with National Deaf Children’s Society, Jonathan worked for the social services inspectorate. He then moved to the Commission for Social Care Inspection as a National Director. His final job before retirement was director of Adult Social Services at Calderdale.

Since retiring 7 years ago he has chaired the Safeguarding Adults Boards for both Bradford Council and North Yorkshire, as well as providing other consultancy services. Jonathan is very interested in disability rights and is a strong believer in people’s rights to choose their own lifestyle and social workers’ responsibility to support them.

Sir Gary Verity DL is a British businessman and Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire.

He is most well-known for spearheading the successful campaigns for the Grand Départ of the 2014 Tour de France to be held in Yorkshire and the UCI Road World Championships which will come to Yorkshire in 2019 and will see Bradford host the start of the Women’s Elite Road Race.

Sir Gary created the Tour de Yorkshire, now the best attended sporting event in the UK, credited with bringing a £252million boost to Yorkshire’s economy over the last four years.

As well as a Knighthood, Sir Gary was awarded a top honour by the French Government, a chevalier medal in the Ordre National du Mérite for his work with the Tour de France. This year he was also appointed Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire.

Yorkshire woman Sandy Needham is the Chief Executive of the West and North Yorkshire Chamber, the leading business organisation for the Bradford, Leeds, York and North Yorkshire. Previously she was Chief Executive of the Bradford Chamber.

A champion for business Sandy led a regeneration project to provide offices and industrial units on easy terms for start-up and growing businesses.  Another innovation has been the development of the Raising the Bar initiative to encourage companies to support the wider community and measure their social impact.  Sandy has also been heavily involved with the Business Enterprise Fund. The fund lends money to enterprises that cannot obtain bank finance and has helped some great business ideas become a reality.

Sandy has a strong affinity with the local area. This is reflected in her roles as a member of the Bradford Economic Partnership, non-executive director of Bradford City of Film and interim director of the Bradford Business Improvement District (BID). The Bid plans to raise £2.5million, over the next five years, to spend on projects to boost the city centre.

Professor Nicholas Barber is Emeritus Professor of Pharmacy at University College London School of Pharmacy.

A Bradford alumni, having studied Pharmacy between 1972-1975, Nick is a former Vice-President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society GB and has been awarded the Gold Medal of the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award. 

As well as spending several years as a hospital pharmacist, Nick has been involved in research around the prescribing and use of medicines. The NHS New Medicines Service – where pharmacists support patients with new medicines to use them safely and to best effect – was derived from Nick’s research.

His work, which is estimated to have saved the NHS £0.5bn, has led to national policy changes in care homes, community pharmacy and in hospitals.

Nadira Mirza is a former University of Bradford Dean and Director. 

Her career has been dedicated to improving the life chances of disadvantaged young people, especially women, which stems from her time as a youth worker in 1970s' London.

As a committed believer in the transformative nature of education, Nadira is a particularly keen proponent of lifelong learning. She has been instrumental in shaping national and international developments in the fields of widening participation and access to higher education. Under her leadership, Bradford became the number one English university for widening participation.

An acknowledged authority in her field, Nadira’s experience and expertise have led her to sit on a number of government boards and advise a range of commissions.

As Honorary Visiting Professor of International Security between 1996 and 2017, Graham Pearson is no stranger to the University of Bradford. Having studied at Woodhouse Grove School in Apperley Bridge, his links to the region stretch even further back than that.

Graham obtained a First Class Degree in Chemistry from St Andrew’s University before starting his career by joining the Scientific Civil Service. In 1984 he was appointed Director General and Chief Executive of Porton Down, the UK’s Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, a role he held for eleven years.

Whilst Honorary Professor at Bradford, Graham facilitated the involvement of the University of Bradford Peace Studies Department in the Review Conferences of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention in Geneva.

Graham is a renowned and respected author, with his textbook on the search For Iraq's weapons of mass destruction described as the definitive source of information on this topic.

Professor Sir Mark Welland is professor of nanotechnology and head of the Nanoscience Centre at University of Cambridge.

His career has been long and distinguished, encompassing roles at IBM, the Science and Technology Research Centre at the American University in Cairo, Egypt and as Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

2011, the year he was bestowed a Knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, proved to be a stellar year for Mark. He received the highest medal awarded by the National Nuclear Security Administration - Gold Medal for Distinguished Service - and was also awarded the US Secretary of Defense’s Award for Exceptional Public Service; the highest award presented by the Department to a representative of another government.

As well as his academic work, a long-term commitment to engaging with schools led to Sir Mark designing a short DVD film which went on to win the 2010 Science Short Film of the Year at Scinema - the largest science film festival in the southern hemisphere.

Richard Noble is a Scottish entrepreneur who was holder of the land speed record between 1983 and 1997.

He was also the project director of ThrustSSC, the first land vehicle to officially break the sound barrier, which holds the current land speed record set in 1997. Richard is planning another land speed record attempt to take place in 2019.

A qualified pilot, Richard’s life has revolved around technology, engineering and speed. He holds the record for the fastest ever triple consecutive Atlantic crossing from London to New York and back to London in Concorde.

Richard was awarded an OBE in 1983.

Dr Gullapalli Rao, academic and ophthalmologist, is renowned for the creation of sustainable and high quality eye care which is transforming vision health across India.

Described as an entrepreneur of solutions for eye health, he founded the L V Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad 25 years ago, and is now a key player in Vision 2020: The Right to Sight, a global initiative aiming to eliminate avoidable blindness by 2020.

Previously the President and CEO of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, Dr Rao’s work as an internationally recognised ambassador for eye health saw him inducted into the Ophthalmology Hall Of Fame in 2017.

With over 300 published academic papers to his name, Dr Rao is a visiting professor in universities across the world and a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Medical Sciences.

Dr Ruth McKernan has been Chief Executive of Innovate UK – the UK’s innovation agency – since 2015.

A graduate of King’s College London, Ruth is a published author and winner of the Science Writers’ Award.

She has over twenty five years of research and experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Her career includes prestigious roles as Head of Neuroscience at Merck and Senior Vice President at Pfizer.

Ruth has been a champion for diversity within innovation, promoting the ‘Women in Innovation’ campaign during her time at Innovate.

She was awarded a CBE in 2013 for services to business, innovation and skills.