Marina Favaro is a Nuclear Policy Analyst at BASIC.

Policy Fellow
Dr Gry Thomasen is a Policy Fellow at BASIC working on the Nuclear Disarmament programme.
Gry’s background and expertise is in the evolution of the nuclear non-proliferation regime, including the Non Proliferation Treaty, IAEA nuclear safeguards and Euratom. She is also an expert in Arctic security and the High North.
Gry has given research-based policy advice to the Danish government and given evidence to standing committees in the Danish parliament on nuclear non-proliferation. She has also organised track 1.5 workshops for the Danish Ministry of Defence and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on nuclear non-proliferation. She has participated at international conferences such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the EU Non-proliferation consortium.
One of her personal career highlights was when she invited the late Director General of the IAEA Yukiya Amano to speak in Copenhagen on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action a seminar that she chaired herself.
Gry holds a PhD in contemporary international history from the University of Copenhagen and was awarded a postdoc grant from the Carlsberg Foundation to undertake research into the evolution of the nuclear non-proliferation regime at the Danish Institute for International Studies. Before joining BASIC Gry has also been a visiting postdoctoral research fellow at the Cold War History Research Centre in Budapest and a visiting research fellow at King’s College London, Centre for Science and Security Studies.
In addition, Gry holds an MA in History with Russian from the University of Copenhagen and a BA in History and Russian from the University of Copenhagen and the Moscow State University, MGU.
Her latest article Non-proliferation at Any Cost? Greenlandic Uranium, Denmark and Euratom, 1958-1985 in the International History Review explores how a small state navigates the non-proliferation regime
Expertise
Nuclear non-proliferation
Disarmament
Arctic security
Our dedicated and professional team brings a diversity of expertise, approaches and perspectives. Meet its members below.
Marina Favaro is a Nuclear Policy Analyst at BASIC.
Sophie McCormack is a Nuclear Policy Analyst at BASIC.
Marion Messmer is the Co-Director of BASIC and Director of BASIC’s Programmes on Risk Reduction and the Stepping Stones Approach to Nuclear Disarmament.
Alice Spilman is a Researcher on the Programme on Nuclear Responsibilities with BASIC and the ICCS, University of Birmingham.
Rishi Paul is a Senior Nuclear Policy Analyst at BASIC and leads our engagement in Southern Asia.
Sebastian Brixey-Williams is the Co-Director of BASIC and Director of the Programme on Nuclear Responsibilities.
Read more about our main contributors and browse their latest content and publications.
Zara Rizvi joined BASIC in September 2016 to support the daily office operations and to help develop our communications strategy.
Nick researches and teaches in the areas of international relations and international security at the University of York. His particular…
A. Vinod Kumar is Associate Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), and a Visiting Faculty at the Institute of…
Norman Moss is an author, journalist and broadcaster. He was born in London in 1928 but was raised and educated partly in New York.
Anthony V. Rinna is a Senior Editor with Sino-NK, a research organization dedicated to analyzing Northeast Asia. Formerly trained as an…
Rebecca Cousins was BASIC’s Programme Director for the Next Gen project. Prior to that, she was a diplomat in the British Foreign and…
Rachel Staley Grant joined NTI in August 2016 and serves as the Director of Public Education. Between 2011 and 2016, Staley Grant…
Ted Seay is an independent arms control and disarmament consultant currently based in London. He was assigned to the U.S. Mission to…
Dr Ian Kearns is the co-Founder of the European Leadership Network and serves on the ELN’s Board of Directors. Dr Kearns served as…
Anne Penketh was BASIC Program Director in Washington from 2009 to 2012. Previously she was a staff journalist with major media…
Tim recently completed his PhD exploring the politics of nuclear disarmament at Warwick University as part of a collaborative…
Lianet Vazquez was the Herbert Scoville Jr Peace Fellow at BASIC in 2014.
Tabitha Sanders is one of the organisers of #NatSecGirlSquad, a US initiative to support women working in National Security. She was a…
Nina Sofie Pedersen is a Researcher at BASIC. Her current responsibilities include researching and developing the Programme on…
Sir John Thomson was a British Diplomat who was High Commissioner to India and Ambassador to the UN. He served as adviser to BASIC.
Christina Pena was BASIC’s Analyst and Programme Manager.
Dr Ian Davis is an independent human security and arms control consultant, writer and founding director of NATO Watch…