Professor Catherine Ross, Chief Scientific Officer for Scotland, will deliver the 2026 Blackett Lecture at the OR Society’s Annual Conference, OR68, on Wednesday 9 September at the University of Nottingham.
Her lecture, Why Evidence Matters: Building Effective Health Policy Through Data Driven Decision Making, will consider how science, data and evidence can be placed at the heart of health policy to support better outcomes, greater equity and sustainable public value.
Drawing on her experience within the Scottish Government, Professor Ross will examine how robust scientific advice, high-quality data and professional expertise can inform strategic decisions, strengthen accountability and help bridge the gap between evidence, policy design and implementation across complex health systems.
The Blackett Lecture will form part of the OR68 programme. Delegates who have purchased an OR68 conference ticket do not need to register separately. Those wishing to attend the lecture only can register through the dedicated event page.
About Professor Catherine Ross
Professor Catherine Ross is Chief Scientific Officer for Scotland. She is a Chartered Scientist and Chartered Biologist, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, the National Institute for Prevention and Cardiovascular Health in Ireland and the European Society of Cardiology. She is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists and the Academy for Healthcare Science.
She holds visiting professorships at Edinburgh Napier University, Manchester Metropolitan University and Ulster University, and is an Honorary Research Consultant with NHS Lothian. She also serves as a non-executive director of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Ireland’s largest health and social care trust.
Professor Ross holds a number of senior national and international leadership positions. She is President of the Science Council, having previously served as Vice-Chair of its Board and Chair of its Policy Advisory Committee, and is a former President of the professional body for cardiac scientists.
Within the European Society of Cardiology, she is a board member of the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions, Chair of the Allied Professionals National Societies Committee and Chair of the Taskforce on Allied Professionals.
She also represents Scotland on the board of the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering and serves on its scientific programme committee. In recognition of her work supporting women in leadership, she has been an invited delegate to the UK UN Women delegation at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.