Introduction
We have several media spokespeople who are able to comment on a range of issues experienced by patients who receive stem cell transplants or cell therapies.
The topics we can help with include:
- Stem cell and bone marrow transplantation
- Stem cell donor recruitment and matching
- Cell and gene therapies
- CAR-T cell therapy
- Research
- Blood cancers
- Blood disorders
- Cancer policy
- NHS policy
- Fundraising
Please get in touch with our press team on 020 0207 424 1300 or press@anthonynolan.org.
Henny Braund MBE, Chief Executive
Henny Braund MBE became Chief Executive of Anthony Nolan in January 2009. Henny, who was awarded an MBE for services to stem cell transplantation in 2021, sees it as her role to deliver our vision, champion our cause and to galvanise people to help our lifesaving work.
In 2025, Henny was elected President-Elect of the World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) and is a current board member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) and The Mix.
Henny was previously Resources Director at Shelter, the housing charity, and draws on more than 20 years’ experience in the voluntary sector. She is a former Trustee for the Small Charities Coalition and was Chair for Aids and Housing (Health and Housing). She has also been a Trustee for Thames Reach and Shelter Trading.
Caitlin Farrow, Director of Strategy and Influencing
Caitlin Farrow joined Anthony Nolan in 2019 and is responsible for our work engaging politicians and policymakers in the breadth of our work. Caitlin's work focuses on effecting change at Government and NHS-level to improve the lives of people in need of a stem cell transplant or cell therapy.
Prior to working at Anthony Nolan, Caitlin held senior strategy and policy positions in the social housing sector. She has held various board and trustee roles and was a trustee at Health Improvement Project Zanzibar for 10 years.
Dr Neema Mayor, Director of Immunogenetics & Research Services
Dr Neema Mayor is an immunogeneticist with over 25 years’ experience in the field of HLA typing and matching for unrelated donor haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. She has a BSc in Human Biology and obtained her PhD in Haematology from University College London.
Neema joined Anthony Nolan in 2001 as part of the Patient/Donor project, now the Patient/Donor Programme, an ongoing study that aims to identify how genetic and clinical factors of the patient and donor impact on haematopoietic stem cell transplant outcome. She is now Director of Immunogenetics & Research Services, managing a team of lab-based scientists and students looking at ways to improve the outcome of haematopoietic cell transplants to treat blood cancer and blood disorders. She is also an Honorary Lecturer at the Cancer Institute at University College London, an Associate Editor for the journal Human Immunology, Editor in Chief for the European Federation for Immunogenetics Newsletter, and is on the Editorial Board of HLA, Human Immunology, and the International Journal for Immunogenetics.
Ann O'Leary, Director of Donor and Transplantation Services
Ann O’Leary is Director of Donor and Transplantation Services at Anthony Nolan, and is responsible for overseeing the finding and facilitating of matches, as well as the donation process and support for those donating. Before joining Anthony Nolan in 2010, Ann spent four years as a Specialist Donor Recruiter with the Irish Blood Transfusion Service.
Ann is available to discuss issues around the need for donors, the finding and facilitating of donor matches and the donation process.
Dr Diana Hernandez, Director of Immune and Advanced Therapies
Dr Diana Hernandez is Director of Immune and Advanced Therapies at Anthony Nolan. She is a stem cell biologist with more than 30 years of experience in medical research and 20 years in the cell therapy field both in academia and industry.
She currently leads the Immunotherapy research group at the Anthony Nolan Research Institute. She is also an honorary Senior Lecturer at the UCL Cancer Institute and the vice-chair of the Cell and Gene Therapy Advisory Committee of the Bio Industries Association (BIA).