About The Speaker
Alba Fernández-Sanlés
Dr Alba Fernández-Sanlés is a biologist working in Population Health Sciences to advance disease prevention and healthy ageing. She is also active in science communication and in advocating for environmental sustainability, equity, and inclusion.
She holds a five-year BSc in Biology, specialising in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, from the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, Spain). She earned her PhD in Biomedicine at Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona, Spain), followed by a three-year postdoctoral position at the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol. She is currently a Research Fellow at University College London, having held positions within the Department of Population Health Sciences and, more recently, the Division of Psychiatry.
Outside academia, Alba is extensively involved in community engagement and activism. She served on the Executive Committee of the Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK (SRUK/CERU), leading its Outreach and Public Engagement Department, and continues to support its activities. Her activism spans the climate crisis, equity, and cultural diversity. In response to an environmental disaster in Galicia (Spain), she founded the Volunteer Initiative for Environmental Innovation and Research of the Atlantic (VIEIRA), a collaborative bringing together scientists and citizen scientists.
She is also part of Homeward Bound, a global leadership initiative for women and non-binary people with a STEMM background working toward planetary sustainability. She completed its year-long online programme as part of cohort HB8 (2023–2024), and earlier this year voyaged to Antarctica in the final and largest Homeward Bound expedition to this polar region. The expedition brought together 124 international participants from multiple sectors and diverse disciplines, all dedicated to tackling pressing global challenges (including climate change), advancing gender equity in leadership, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. She was the first woman of Galician origin to participate in a Homeward Bound expedition.