Ed Hughes joined the Council of Deans of Health as Chief Executive on 1 July 2023. He was previously Director of Insight and Engagement at Research England, part of UK Research & Innovation, with responsibility for stakeholder engagement with the HE sector across England.

Prior to that, Ed spent over 15 years at the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and at the Office for Students (OfS) in a number of senior roles, including as Head of Health and Medicine at both organisations. During this time he led HEFCE’s work with Health Education England to expand medical school provision and was responsible for policies to support higher education programmes for nursing, midwifery and the allied health professions.