Talent success stories: Global Talent Fund

Enabling leading researchers and their teams to relocate and thrive in the UK

The £54 million Global Talent Fund is bringing some of the world’s foremost researchers and their teams to the UK, working in fields that will be critical to the future of life and work, everywhere. They will be based across 12 universities and research institutions right across the UK, spearheading work tackling dementia, fighting online disinformation, and more.

Professor Baljit Khakh

Eminent neuroscientist Professor Baljit Khakh is joining Cardiff University as the new Director of UK Dementia Research Institute, with support from the Fund. He says he chose Cardiff, and the UK, because the University "is home to exceptional scientists and neuroscientists, offering a rich and intellectually stimulating environment," as well as offering "world-class infrastructure" and "prominent expertise in genetics, immunology and data science". Dr Khakh's pioneering work recently saw him elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society: the highest accolade in UK science.

Dr Katie Seaborn

Dr Katie Seaborn is joining the University of Cambridge from Institute of Science Tokyo, where she founded the Aspirational Computing Lab, and having previously studied at institutions in Canada and the UK prior to that. Her work considers how people interact with computers, and in particular, how to build resilience to online deception and misinformation. Dr Seaborn is committed to "critical and interdisciplinary engagement", continuing work on how computers are influencing the way we think, work, and socialise to an unprecedented degree - and how we can ensure people's best interests are what's put first.