Nigel Rothband
Trustee (Chair)
Nigel is a seasoned business leader and charity chair with over three decades of experience in retail, leadership development, and non-profit governance. His career began in the UK retail sector, where he held senior roles at BHS and the Burton Group (later Arcadia Group), including Head of Marketing at Topshop and General Manager of its flagship Oxford Circus store. He later became Retail Director. He went on to serve as Retail Managing Director at The Body Shop, working closely with founder Dame Anita Roddick. He set up his own consultancy in 2016 and works with individuals and teams across the globe as a Team Coach, focusing on leadership and team development. His commitment to social impact is reflected in his extensive charity work. He chaired The Fiorentini Foundation that helps disadvantaged children via the performing arts, was chair of The ELLA Foundation, supporting charity chief executives, and in the summer of 2024 he stood down after six years as chair of Sing Inside, a charity that delivers singing workshops in prisons to promote rehabilitation and community engagement.Long Covid has deeply affected Nigel's family with his wife living with its devastating impact since March 2020. He has seen first-hand how vital support, understanding and advocacy are for those navigating the condition.
Jo Dainow
Trustee
Having contracted Covid-19 in March 2020 and never fully recovering, Jo brings lived experience of Long Covid and is a founding member of Long Covid Support. Now retired, her professional career included several creative operations roles with The Walt Disney Company, PolyGram Video International and United International Pictures, as well as managing creative studios within a number of marketing agencies. She is passionate about wellbeing and brings experience in coaching and mentoring, alongside her work as a community health champion for a local not-for-profit organisation.
Margaret O’Hara
Trustee
Margaret is a founder Trustee of Long Covid Support. She co-facilitates the charity’s work with researchers, and runs an associated Facebook group called Covid-19 Research Involvement Group. As a person with Long Covid, she has worked with organisations such as NHSEI and NIHR, as well as academics and clinicians. She has co-authored peer reviewed articles on Long Covid, presented at international and national conferences and has co-created research with professional academics and health practitioners. She has conducted, published and presented patient-led research, and has co-authored clinical practice guidelines and a James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership. She is a scientist by profession and was working as a Patient Involvement in Research Lead in the NHS when she contracted Long Covid. She co-founded and runs the Long Covid Support's Research Involvement Consultancy which provides patient involvement services to the wider research community in the UK.
Professor Danny Altmann
Trustee
Danny is Professor of Immunology at Imperial College London, where he heads a lab. During the pandemic he has advised policymakers including the House of Commons and House of Lords Science Committees, the APPG on Coronavirus, the Cabinet Office, Sir Keir Starmer and the Shadow Cabinet, the Welsh Assembly, the EU, The Scottish Parliament, WHO, NICE and the Department of Health. For over 20 years Danny has edited medical journals including Oxford Open Immunology, Immunology, and Vaccine. He is a trustee at the Medical Research Foundation and a board member for the African Research Excellence Fund. He previously headed strategy on infection, immunity and population health at the Wellcome Trust. His research interests focus on the immunology of infectious diseases including severe bacterial infections, SARS-CoV-2, Zika virus and Chikungunya virus. He also has a long record in autoimmunity research. Danny’s SARS-CoV-2 research is published in journals including the Lancet, Nature and Science. He heads an NIHR-funded research programme to look at mechanisms of pathogenesis and development of new diagnostic tests in a large cohort of individuals with Long Covid.
Natalie Rogers
Trustee
Natalie brings both lived experience and professional expertise to her work in Long Covid advocacy. A founder member of Long Covid Support, she has advocated nationally and internationally for people living with Long Covid and other long-term chronic conditions.
As part of the Long Covid Groups, Natalie represented the charity as a Core Participant in the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, helping to ensure the experiences of people living with Long Covid are heard. She has also played an active role in shaping the research landscape on Long Covid, contributing to the co-design of research priorities, collaborating on research projects, and co-authoring peer-reviewed journal articles on the condition. With a strong commitment to equity, Natalie campaigns for accessible and equitable health and welfare services. Her background is in education leadership.
Aimie Cole
Trustee
Aimie has personal experience of Long Covid and has worked for over 25 years within the public and charity sectors. She is the Director of her own consultancy practice, offering a range of services to individuals and organisations committed to positive change. In the last ten years she has specialised in health and care with roles focused on developing and supporting partnerships, community-based approaches and system change to improve the lives of people with multiple, chronic or complex health conditions. Aimie's other experience includes working in the UK Treasury, for a philanthropic trust in the Middle East and on innovative finance and business mechanisms for social benefit. Aimie lives in Dorset and can often be found enjoying the sea or the countryside with her family.