Clinical Research Network: North West Coast appoints new Specialty Research Leads
The Clinical Research Network: North West Coast is pleased to announce the appointment of six new Specialty Research Leads. The new appointments will play a key part in the Network achieving our vision of making research an integral part of healthcare for all.
Professor Enitan Carrol, Clinical Director for the Network said: "We are delighted to welcome our new Specialty Research Leads to the Network for the following specialities; surgery, trauma, social care, hepatology, oral and dental. We received a high standard of applications from a field of highly experienced clinician researchers. We were particularly pleased to welcome two graduates from our Research Scholars Programme to the leadership team. We look forward to working with our new Specialty Research Leads as we continue to build our partnerships and increase collaboration and engagement across the North West Coast region."
New Research Specialty Leads appointed:
- Dr Robert Jones - Surgery
- Professor Sondos Albadri - Oral and Dental
- Dr Kirsty Challen - Trauma and Emergency (adults)
- Professor Aidan Worsley - Social Care
- Dr Shrouk Messahel - Trauma and Emergency (children)
- Dr Edward Britton - Hepatology
The Specialty Research Lead (SRL)
The Specialty Research Lead is a key role in the delivery of research across all our region. SRLs provide expertise, leadership and support to enable research to take place within their specialty and across all our partner organisations. The Network has ambitious plans for the next three years, outlined in our recently launched Research Delivery Strategy 2020 -2023 and the SRL role will play an important part in the delivery of this strategy.
A key part of the strategy is to improve research participation rates across our population and ensure no communities are disadvantaged by not being involved in research, forming new collaborative partnerships with individuals and organisations to achieve this objective is an important part of the job.
SRLs also are part of a national network who all work together to ensure their specialty is delivering research which ultimately provides new medicine and treatments for patients with conditions within the care of that specialty. Read this blog from Dr Pippa Corrie, a national specialty lead for cancer who writes about how new collaborations have brought about a revolution in cancer research.
Dr Shrouk Messahel, Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust commented on her new appointment: "I am excited to take on the role of Specialty Research Lead at the Network in a shared role with Dr Kirsty Challen. I aim to assist clinicians to develop and improve opportunity for research in Trauma and Emergency Care across the North West Coast region. Engagement of patients, their families and clinicians in research is essential to promoting and enhancing care in Trauma and Emergency Medicine, within our shared environments. My main interest is in Paediatric Emergency Medicine, in understanding the barriers to developing studies suitable to children, and in working with clinicians and families to promote equal opportunities of research engagement across marginalised groups."
Professor Aidan Worsley who has also been appointed to the role of Specialty Research Lead also commented: "I am delighted to be joining the NIHR North West Coast: Clinical Research Network as their new Speciality Research Lead for Social Care. I am looking forward to working with a wide range of organisations, researchers, practitioners and people with lived experience of services, across the region to create a shared vision of how the NIHR can move forward in it’s work in this area. I am keen to develop the quality of research - and facilitate new capacity - in both social care and social work whilst acting as a champion for both, within the NIHR."
Professor Sondos Albadri, Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry also commented on being appointed to the SRL role, “ I am really excited to join the NIHR Clinical Research Network: North West Coast as the Oral and Dental Health Speciality Lead. My aim will be to expand the Oral and Dental Portfolio across the region, working with different organisation and stakeholders. I am looking forward to work with the National Speciality Lead in supporting the delivery of high quality research locally and nationally “
View the full list of our Specialty Research Leads here.
Over the next few months we plan to publish a series of blogs from our specialty leads highlighting their work. Please follow the work of the Network and our specialty leads by following @NIHRCRN_nwcoast. If you would like to know more about our Research Scholars Programme please contact Laura.donnelly@nihr.ac.uk.
