Ruth Francis leads the Department of Communications and Development at IIS. Her professional experience includes many years as a strategic communications consultant in which she achieved global coverage and created targeted campaigns for clients ranging from individual scientists to world leading research institutions and NGOs.
She has worked in the charity and higher education sectors, ran the Nature press office for many years, oversaw open access communications for Springer, including managing the highly regarded BioMed Central communications team. With a reputation as a bold communicator, she has led high-performing teams, provided strategic support and advice and spoken on expert panels.
In her spare time she enjoys scuba diving and is a qualified swimming instructor, teaching children and adults to swim. She has a BA Hons. in English from the University of Leeds.