ESRC Council member
Baroness Freeman is a member of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Council.
Baroness Freeman is Principal of Hertford College at the University of Oxford and a crossbench peer in the House of Lords. She is also director of the not-for-profit scholarly publishing platform Octopus.
Previously she has been Executive Director of the Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication at the University of Cambridge, and a Series Producer at the BBC, making science and natural history television documentaries and websites. Her interests are in the communication of evidence to audiences of experts, of policymakers and of the public.
She combines academic research with practical communication, such as making decision aids for the NHS to help patients understand the likely risks and benefits of different treatment options.
Last updated: 1 April 2026