About Sanjush Dalmia | Biography, Roles and Policy Work

Sanjush Dalmia is an NHS doctor and policy researcher based in Leeds, in the United Kingdom. He works at the intersection of the Labour Party and five policy areas: artificial intelligence, science and innovation, foreign policy, health, and international development.

He works as a Specialised Foundation Doctor on the research pathway, part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Clinical Academic Training Pathway, and is a Visiting Researcher at the University of Leeds.

He is a Fellow at the Centre for British Progress, a non-partisan think tank focused on British growth, where he works on science, innovation and technology policy. He sits on the executive committee of Labour Digital and the committee of the Labour Campaign for International Development.

He was previously Policy Adviser to the Labour Party’s Shadow Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, Science Policy Lead at UK Day One, and Executive Director of Polygeia, a global health research and policy think tank whose work has been cited by the UK Parliament and the World Health Organization. He served on the executive committee of Scientists for Labour from 2022 to 2026.

His policy work spans metascience, artificial intelligence, research funding and assessment, academic publishing, innovation policy, industrial strategy, global health financing, pandemic preparedness and biosecurity. It has been covered in Labour List, Politico, Research Fortnight, Times Higher Education, WonkHE and UK Tech News, has been mentioned in Written Parliamentary Questions, and has been quoted in a Parliamentary debate.

He writes about science, innovation and AI policy from a Labour perspective at White Heat, and about politics, communications and delivery at Productive State.

He studied medicine at the University of Leeds and holds an MRes in Medicine, awarded with Distinction, focused on biological ageing and funded by an intercalated degree fellowship from the Wolfson Foundation and the Royal College of Physicians. His peer-reviewed research covers cancer, ageing and rare genetic conditions, and includes a first-author Cochrane systematic review.

What do you work on?

The intersection of the Labour Party and five policy areas: artificial intelligence, science and innovation, foreign policy, health, and international development. In practice that means policy reports and briefings for Labour frontbench teams, think tanks and campaigning organisations, alongside writing at White Heat and Productive State, and continuing peer-reviewed biomedical research.

What have you worked on in Labour AI policy?

I sit on the executive committee of Labour Digital and write about AI policy from a Labour perspective at White Heat. I led the writing of “Deepfakes, Elections and National Security”, produced on request from the team of the then Shadow DSIT Secretary, Peter Kyle, which fed into the opposition AI strategy and was covered in Politico, UK Tech News and Research Fortnight. “How the British Public Can Win on AI” sets out concrete options for Labour to win the politics of AI by putting British workers before Silicon Valley. I have also written on AI in public services, frontier AI regulation, AI for Science, and AI evaluations for productivity growth, and was invited to a roundtable at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology with the then Minister for AI, Feryal Clark. See the Science, Innovation and AI page.

What have you worked on in Labour science and innovation policy?

I was Policy Adviser to the Labour Party’s Shadow Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, and Science Policy Lead at UK Day One. I co-authored “Replacing the Research Excellence Framework” with Dr Richard Carr, “Reform Academic Publishing to Unblock Innovation” with Dr Jonny Coates of ASAPbio, and “Beyond Tax Credits” on pull mechanisms for private R&D. Two of those were mentioned in Written Parliamentary Questions by Dr Adam Thompson MP (research assessment, academic publishing). I am a Fellow at the Centre for British Progress, where I published “Making the Most of Britain’s AI for Science Strategy”, and I served on the executive committee of Scientists for Labour from 2022 to 2026. See the Science, Innovation and AI page.

What have you worked on in Labour foreign policy?

I wrote “A Joint Office for Pandemic Security and International Biodefence” on behalf of Scientists for Labour for the opposition FCDO and MOD teams, arguing that biological threats belong in defence and security rather than being treated solely as an aid issue. It was endorsed by Hilary Benn MP, received feedback from RUSI and the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and was quoted by Preet Gill, then Shadow International Development Minister, in a Parliamentary debate. I also work on where AI, science and innovation meet geopolitics and national security. See the Foreign Policy and Development page.

What have you worked on in Labour international development policy?

I sit on the committee of the Labour Campaign for International Development, for which I wrote “Joining the Partnership for a Lead Free Future”, making the case that Britain should join a coalition of forty-one governments at no financial cost. “Good Growth Abroad” sets out sixteen politically realistic aid policies to raise development impact within a smaller budget. I led the writing of “Invest in the Global Fund for National, Economic and Health Security”, which received a hand-written response from the then Health Innovation Minister, Zubir Ahmed. See the Foreign Policy and Development page.

What have you worked on in Labour health policy?

My health policy work is mostly global rather than domestic: the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, childhood lead poisoning, pandemic preparedness and antimicrobial resistance. Domestically I practise as an NHS doctor, and my research on life sciences, ageing and long-term sickness sits at the boundary between health and industrial strategy. I co-authored “Ageing Research to Tackle Long-Term Sickness” with Tina Woods, formerly of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Longevity.

What kind of policy work do you take on?

Policy reports and briefings, evidence synthesis, data analysis and visualisation, op-eds and comment pieces, and speaking. I have written for think tanks, for a party’s frontbench teams in opposition, and for campaigning organisations. I am always keen to find collaborators for policy projects, and no experience is needed.

What is your clinical and academic background?

An MBChB in Medicine and an MRes in Medicine with Distinction, both from the University of Leeds, and current practice as an NHS Specialised Foundation Doctor on the research pathway. Published research includes a first-author Cochrane systematic review on enzyme replacement therapy for late-onset Pompe disease, work on patient-reported outcomes in non-small cell lung cancer, and preclinical work on insulin and IGF-1 signalling in ageing. See the Academic Research page.

How do I get in touch?

By email at sanjushdalmia@gmail.com, or on LinkedIn.