Dr Melanie Ivarsson
CEO, Health Data Research Service
Dr Melanie Ivarsson, OBE, was appointed the CEO the Health Data Research Service (HDRS) in January 2026. HDRS is the new organisation backed by the UK government and Wellcome that will revolutionise how we use our uniquely deep and diverse UK healthcare data for research. With a background in industry and academia, Mel's career spans research, clinical drug development and commercial acumen. At Moderna, Mel led the development of their mRNA vaccine against Covid-19. Prior to this, Melanie held senior roles at Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Shire and Takeda, working across all phases of clinical drug development. She holds a PhD in Neurophysiology from the University of Bristol and started her career as a neuroscience researcher at Lund University and New York University. More recently, she earned her Executive MBA from the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2022, she was awarded an OBE for services to public health.
Dr Melanie Ivarsson, OBE, was appointed the CEO the Health Data Research Service (HDRS) in January 2026. HDRS is the new organisation backed by the UK government and Wellcome that will revolutionise how we use our uniquely deep and diverse UK healthcare data for research. With a background in industry and academia, Mel’s career spans research, clinical drug development and commercial acumen. At Moderna, Mel led the development of their mRNA vaccine against Covid-19. Prior to this, Melanie held senior roles at Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Shire and Takeda, working across all phases of clinical drug development. She holds a PhD in Neurophysiology from the University of Bristol and started her career as a neuroscience researcher at Lund University and New York University. More recently, she earned her Executive MBA from the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2022, she was awarded an OBE for services to public health.
