Kath Bainbridge leads the Department of Health and Social Care's Rare Diseases and Emerging Therapies policy team. The team has responsibility for: policy on rare diseases; emerging technologies associated with human genetics; stem cell transplants; genetic testing and insurance; and human fertilisation and embryology. The team works closely with the department's Science Research and Evidence Directorate and the National Institute for Health and Care Research and with a broad range of public sector delivery partners and wider stakeholders, placing robust evidence and the patient voice at the heart of their work.

Kath has a PhD in genetics from the University of York and worked in Switzerland as a research scientist before joining the civil service. Over the past 17 years she has worked in research funding, policy, strategy and regulatory roles across several government departments and in scrutiny roles for Parliament and the Independent Commission for Aid Impact.