Professor Dame Carol Black (b.1939) holds many prestigious positions, including National Director for Health and Work, Chair of the Nuffield Trust, President of the British Lung Foundation, and Pro-Chancellor of the University of Bristol. She is currently co-chairing an independent review of sickness absence on behalf of the Government.

Black was president of the Royal College of Physicians, London (2002–2006), and chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. In 2002 Black was awarded the CBE for her work on systemic sclerosis, and in 2005 the DBE for her services to medicine. The centre she established at the Royal Free Hospital, London, is internationally renowned in the field of connective tissue diseases. Black is also a Trustee of the National Portrait Gallery, a member of the Committee for the Queen’s Awards for Voluntary Service, and is on several national committees aiming to improve healthcare.