Dr Mark Lythgoe is Director of the Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging at University College London, where he develops novel imaging techniques for investigating brain and cardiac function.

 Mark is Director of the Cheltenham Science Festival, one of the world’s largest science festivals. In 2005 he received a Biosciences Federation Science Communication Award, which rewards bioscientists who make an outstanding contribution to communicating science. In 2007 Mark was awarded membership of the European Dana Alliance for the Brain, which is a society that is committed to enhancing the public understanding of brain research.

 In the last 15 years Mark has combined science and art to engage with the public, explore new boundaries and increase interaction between these fields. He has produced many sci/art projects and collaborated with a wide variety of artist to create works from sculpture to film. In 2006 Mark designed and produced the sci/art exhibition AfterImage at the Hayward Gallery, London, which investigated the perception of light and colour as part of the Dan Flavin exhibition.  Recently Mark has explored the split between the Two Cultures in a two-part series ‘The New Two Cultures’  for BBC Radio 4.  For 2008, Mark is developing a new 5 part series for BBC Radio 4 on medical images that changes the world. 

Mark has presented several documentary programmes for television and radio: ‘Is this the one?’ BBC; ‘The Secret of Einstein’s brain’ Channel 4; ‘Zapped’ Discovery Channel; ‘Get smarter in a week’ BBC1; ‘Say what you think’ BBC Radio 4; ‘Inside Intuition’ BBC Radio 4;’Image of a troubled mind’ BBC Radio 4.

Finally, Mark contributes to public engagement activities in his capacity as a member of the advisory panel for the Royal Society 2010 Anniversary Programme Board, and sits on the Board of directors and trustees for Arts Catalyst, which aims to involve artists, scientists and the wider public in a discourse about science in society. Mark has also been on several judging panels such as the Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year and the Aventis Prize for Science Books.