US computer scientist Kathleen Fisher is set to become the next leader of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), the UK funding body that supports ‘high-risk, high-reward’ science.

The appointment comes four months after Aria’s current chief executive, Ilan Gur, announced his intention to step down, having headed up the agency since its launch in 2022.

Fisher, who will take on the chief executive role at Aria in February 2026, has previously held senior positions at the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), the body on which Aria is modelled. The cybersecurity work led by Fisher during her time at Darpa was named as the agency’s most influential programme of the last decade. She later headed up Darpa’s Information Innovation Office, overseeing more than 50 programmes, with a budget of $500 million (£383 million).

Aria’s budget for its first five years was set at £800 million.

Earlier in her career, Fisher held technical roles at AT&T Labs, and has worked as a professor at Tufts University in Massachusetts since 2011.

A statement on Aria’s website notes that: ‘Kathleen will build on the foundations Ilan has established to ensure that scientific breakthroughs don’t just advance knowledge, but transform industries, lives, and communities.’

Writing on X, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser Angela McLean described the appointment as ‘fantastic’. ‘An experienced leader in the R&D space, she will drive Aria’s important effort to unlock scientific and technological breakthroughs for the benefit of everyone,’ she added.