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University of Birmingham appoints globally renowned life sciences experts

Two internationally renowned experts are coming to Birmingham as part of a Government drive to attract global research talent to the UK.

20 January 2026
George R. ‘Ron’ Mangun (left) and Dr John M. Lindner (right)

Professor George R. ‘Ron’ Mangun (left) and Dr John M. Lindner

The University of Birmingham has appointed two internationally renowned experts in life sciences under the UK Government’s Global Talent Fund and the University’s 125th Anniversary Fellows and Chairs initiative.

Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience George R. ‘Ron’ Mangun joins Birmingham from University of California, Davis, as a 125th Anniversary Chair and Director of the Centre for Human Brain Health (CHBH).

Associate Professor in Lymphocyte Receptor Recognition, Dr John M. Lindner, comes to the University from BioMed X Institute, Germany/USA, as a 125th Anniversary Fellow.

I am delighted to welcome Professor Mangun and Dr Lindner to the University of Birmingham. They join a thriving research environment, where potential for discovery, collaboration, and impact has never been greater. We look forward to seeing the positive impact their work will have on the UK economy and on the health and wellbeing of society.

Professor Rachel K. O’Reilly MBE FRS, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) - University of Birmingham

Both appointments are made under the £54 million Global Talent Fund, which launched last summer. The University received the funding to attract international talent and their teams, building on its strengths in areas such as life sciences, technology and defence as the Government prioritises research support for its industrial strategy.

Professor Rachel K. O’Reilly MBE FRS, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Birmingham, said: “I am delighted to welcome Professor Mangun and Dr Lindner to the University of Birmingham. They join a thriving research environment, where potential for discovery, collaboration, and impact has never been greater. We look forward to seeing the positive impact their work will have on the UK economy and on the health and wellbeing of society.”

The University of Birmingham, CHBH, and School of Psychology are incredibly impressive and offer opportunities to greatly accelerate my research and make an impact on society. CHBH is among the most creative and innovative research centres in this field to be found anywhere.

Professor George ‘Ron’ Mangun - Director of the Center for Mind and Brain - UC Davis.

Professor Mangun is Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neurology, and the founding and current Director of the Center for Mind and Brain at UC Davis. His work on the neuroscience of attention investigates how we perceive, attend, ignore and become aware of events in our environment.

Professor Mangun said: “The University of Birmingham, CHBH, and School of Psychology are incredibly impressive and offer opportunities to accelerate my research and make an impact on society. CHBH is among the most exciting and innovative research centres in human cognitive neuroscience to be found anywhere.

“I am greatly attracted by the energy and ethos of everyone at Birmingham - the spirit of collaboration and community is simply unsurpassed. I hope to use my experience in building interdisciplinary research programmes to capitalise on the fertile ground laid down at Birmingham – creating an impact for both individual faculty members and students, and by leading large-scale collaborative projects and programmes across the University, UK, and with our EU partners.”

The University of Birmingham provides a world-class combination of ambitious students, researchers, clinical specialists, and therapeutic translation that is a natural fit to my previous experience.

Dr John M. Lindner, Associate Professor in Lymphocyte Receptor Recognition - BioMed X Institute, Germany/USA

Dr. John Lindner’s research focusses on engineering biological systems and studying how the immune system adapts - running large-scale tests to understand how T‑cell and B‑cell receptors work.

Dr Lindner said: “The University of Birmingham provides a world-class combination of ambitious students, researchers, clinical specialists, and therapeutic translation that is a natural fit to my previous experience.

“I look forward to leveraging these as my lab continues to investigate the role of lymphocyte antigen specificity, and how these immune cells adapt throughout our lives to keep us free of cancer and infection or, unfortunately, drive autoimmune disease.

“This work will reinforce the cycle of cutting-edge science and patient treatment in Birmingham, and our network of international collaborators across pharma, biotech, and academia.”

Global Talent Fund 

The University of Birmingham is one of only 12 UK research institutions to each receive £4.35 million from the fund – a Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) resource supporting the movement of global academic talent.

Global Talent Fund resources are targeted to support research across eight priority areas: advanced manufacturing; clean energy industries; creative industries; defence; digital and technologies; financial services; life sciences; and professional and business services.

Birmingham’s selection marks its status as a top 100 global university with a strong track record for both life-changing research and recruiting high-calibre academic talent.

The University has developed a successful 125th Anniversary Fellows and Chairs initiative, which has seen 35 academics in critical research areas join Birmingham from research-intensive universities across the world.

New academics join a university ranked 76th in the 2026 QS World University Rankings and an academic community that includes six researchers recognised among the world’s most influential academics, according to Clarivate. These Highly Cited Researchers are leading the way in tackling global challenges in oral health, clinical medicine, healthcare, microbiology, and climate change.

University of Birmingham researchers are on track to secure £1 billion of research income over the last four years. The University’s research and knowledge transfer activity contributes £1.4 billion to the UK economy, with every £1 million of research income generating £6.49 million of impact.

Notes for editors

For more information, please contact the press office or +44 (0) 121 414 2772

As well as being ranked among the world’s top 100 institutions, the University of Birmingham is the most targeted UK university by top graduate employers. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, educators and more than 8,000 international students from over 150 countries.

 

Featured staff

  • Professor Rachel O'Reilly

    Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research)

    Professor Rachel O'Reilly is Chair in Chemistry at the School of Chemistry. She leads the O'Reilly Group whose research targets the design, synthesis and application of uniquely derived polymeric materials.

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