David Richardson is the former Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Bacterial Biochemistry at the University of East Anglia (UEA) on the Norwich Research Park. He joined UEA in 1991, and held positions of Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor before being appointed as Vice-Chancellor in 2014. He is also a Non-Executive Director of the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Board. David is currently chair of the Universities UK Advisory Group to tackle racial harassment in higher education and he was a member of the UUK Taskforce that authored the ‘Changing the Culture’ report that provided recommendations for a whole institution approach to tackling violence against women, harassment and hate crime affecting university students.

Professor Richardson was educated at the University of Keele(BSc, Biochemistry), and the University of Birmingham (PhD, 1988), and undertook post-doctoral research at the University of Oxford from 1988-1991.

As a member of the governing council of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) he plays a key role in the shaping of UK research policy.

Professor Richardson's own research career as a microbiologist began at the universities of Birmingham and Oxford. He has led a research group in UEA's School of Biological Sciences for 23 years - conducting world-leading research into the biochemistry of environmentally and medically important bacteria. In 1999 he was awarded the Fleming Medal and a Wolfson Royal Society Fellowship for his contribution to the understanding of bacterial bioenergetics.

In 1999 he was awarded the Society for General Microbiology Fleming Medal, and is a recipient of the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. Professor Richardson’s other roles include chair of the Norwich Research Park board, President of the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association and member of the board of the New Anglia Local enterprise partnership.