Melanie Lee joined BIAL in April 2023 as a non-executive member of its Board of Directors.

Melanie latterly held the role of CEO of LifeArc, (2018-2023), a UK-based medical research charity. During her 5 years as CEO, she transformed the organization to become a major contributor to the UK life sciences sector for translation of new science into innovations for patients. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the UK Dementia Research Institute.

Melanie Lee has an extensive career of 30 years in life sciences research and in the pharmaceutical industry. Previously, she has been Chief Scientific Officer at BTG, as well as held senior positions at GSK, Celltech, and UCB. She has also held non-executive director positions at Lundbeck, BTG, and Sanofi and Trustee roles at Cancer Research Technology and Cancer Research UK.

Melanie has a degree in Biology from the University of York and a Ph.D. from the National Institute for Medical Research in London.

Among several distinctions Melanie Lee was awarded Honorary Fellowship of British Pharmacological Society (2021), selected as one of “25 Women Leaders in Healthcare” by Pharmaceutical Market Europe (2019), recipient of BIA Lifetime achievement award (2019), voted one of the leading UK 100 practicing scientists by the Science Council (2014) and recognised with the Queen’s Award - Commander of the British Empire Award (2009). She also holds an Honorary Postdoctoral Degree from the University of York (2004).