Sandy Starr is Communications Officer at the Progress Educational Trust (PET), and Webmaster of its free weekly email news digest, commentary service and website BioNews. Together with Sarah Norcross he organises PET's public engagement events, and he works with Face to Face and Ultimate Database developing the current PET and BioNews websites. He also devised the PET project Spectrum of Opinion: Genes, Autism and Psychological Spectrum Disorders, and oversaw the creation of a School Resource Pack as part of this project. He organises, chairs and speaks at sessions at the Battle of Ideas festival organised annually by the Institute of Ideas, and he advises on and judges debates at the Debating Matters international sixth-form debating competition. He originally studied English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford, and subsequently joined the founding editorial team of the current affairs publication spiked.

Sandy has consulted and spoken on technology and regulation for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Commission project RightsWatch; spent several years writing weekly film reviews for The Sun newspaper's TV Mag; and has contributed to periodicals including the Architects' Journal, Arts Education Policy Review, Economic Affairs, Guardian, Hindu, Independent, Municipal Journal, New Humanist, openDemocracy, Tech Central Station, Times Higher Education, Times Literary Supplement and The Works (magazine of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors). He has contributed chapters to books including Crime and Deviance in Cyberspace (buy this book from Amazon UK or Amazon USA) and Hate Crimes (buy this book from Amazon UK or Amazon USA).

Sandy Starr
At the Progress Educational Trust event Genetic Medalling
Photograph by Lahiru Dayananda

Left to right: Sandy Starr, Kerry Dyus
At the Progress Educational Trust event Genetic Medalling
Photograph by Lahiru Dayananda

Standing: Sandy Starr
Speaking at the Progress Educational Trust event Is There a Place for Race in Biology?
Photograph by Lahiru Dayananda

Left to right: Kerry Dyus, Sandy Starr, Professor Marcus Pembrey
At the Progress Educational Trust event Is There a Place for Race in Biology?
Photograph by Lahiru Dayananda

Left to right: Sandy Starr, Rebecca Jenkins, Zoe Oppong, Kerry Dyus
At the Progress Educational Trust event Paying Egg Donors: A Child At Any Price?
Photograph by Lahiru Dayananda

At podium: Sandy Starr
Speaking at the Progress Educational Trust event Marked for Life: Are Genetic Markers Helpful in Understanding Psychological Disorders?
Photograph by Lahiru Dayananda