Board Members

Chair – Birmingham Health Partners

Ed chairs the BHP Board and works closely with the Chairs and CEOs of the partner organisations to drive the shared agenda of BHP. He is the former Pro Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, former Chairman of NHS Improvement and Deputy Chairman of NHS England.

His other current appointments include Chairman of Assura PLC, the leading Primary Care property real estate investment trust and Chairman of the HCA Healthcare (UK) Advisory Board. Ed is also a non-executive director at Saxton Bampfylde.

Prior to his portfolio of roles, Ed spent 30 years with PricewaterhouseCoopers in many senior UK and International roles. He is also a mentor to next generation leaders and a strong advocate for, and practitioner of, diversity and inclusion.

Non-Executive Director – Birmingham Health Partners

Having recently (2020) stepped down from his roles as Senior Vice-President (Health) at King’s College London and Executive Director of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre, Professor Sir Robert Lechler brings a wealth of health research experience to the role of Non-Executive Director of BHP. A strong advocate of university-NHS partnership, Sir Robert was awarded a knighthood for Services to Academic Medicine in 2012 following a research career focused on clinical transplantation tolerance. His work has led to pioneering cell therapies to aid the immune tolerance of kidney and liver transplant recipients.

BIRMINGHAM HEALTH PARTNERS DIRECTOR, PRO VICE CHANCELLOR, HEAD OF COLLEGE OF MEDICAL AND DENTAL SCIENCES AND DEAN OF MEDICINE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM

David’s clinical interests are transplant hepatology and autoimmune liver disease. Laboratory research interests are focused on mechanisms of immune-mediated liver disease. After initial training in hepatology in Birmingham he continued his immunology training with Dr Stephen Shaw at the Experimental Immunology Branch of the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, USA before being appointed to the Chair of hepatology in Birmingham in 1997.

He is currently an associate editor of Liver Transplantation and the American Journal of Physiology and special section editor for the Journal of hepatology.

MANAGING DIRECTOR, BIRMINGHAM HEALTH PARTNERS

Beginning his career in academia Dr John Williams holds a BSc (Physiology) from the University of Wales, University College Cardiff following which he undertook a PhD (CNAA) at the National Institute for Medical Research, London graduating in 1991. Following completion of his doctorate John went on to hold a number of Postdoctoral positions, first continuing at National Institute for Medical Research, London (1991-1993) before moving to the United States studying at Stanford University, California (1993-1995) and Duke University, North Carolina (1995-1997). He then returned to the UK for what would be his final year of postdoctoral study once again at Cardiff University in 1997.

Following almost a decade pursuing his own research, John moved in to the professional biomedical sector taking a role at the biomedical research charity, The Wellcome Trust. Over the next 16 years John would hold a number of positions with the Trust including Head of Clinical Activities/Head of Neuroscience and Mental Health (2008- July 2014) follow by the role of Head of Science Strategy Evaluation and Impact from July 2014. During this time he presented a refreshed strategic framework to support career development of clinician scientists and launched the innovative funding programme targeting non-clinical lecturers, ‘Springboard. John held this role for two years before taking a 9 month secondment from the Wellcome Trust to become the Interim Executive Director of the Academy of Medical Sciences. This role encompassed policy communication regarding major government reviews as well as grant development and a strategic framework refresh of the Academy.

In recognition of his work and contribution to Life sciences and Biomedicine, John was Elected a fellow Royal College of Physicians (Edinburgh) FRCPE  in 2011. More recently in 2016, he was once again elected as a fellow, this time of the Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health FRCPCH.

Joining Birmingham Health Partners, a strategic alliance that seeks to accelerate access to drugs, devices and diagnostics to deliver better treatments and care to patient the region, in September 2016 John brings with him experience and insight developed over his extensive career in  the biomedical sector that will be of great benefit to the partnership.

VICE-CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM AND CO-DIRECTOR OF BIRMINGHAM HEALTH PARTNERS

Professor Adam Tickell is Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Birmingham.

Adam took up the post in January 2022 after five years as Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sussex. Prior to this he served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Knowledge Transfer), and then Provost, at Birmingham and has also worked in leadership roles at the University of Bristol and Royal Holloway, University of London.

Adam trained as an economic geographer at the University of Manchester, and, amongst other things, his research explored the political economy and regulation of finance, English regionalism, and the economic ‘common sense’.

He is currently leading a review which will reduce the burden of bureaucracy across the research system on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and is on the Board of Universities UK and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA). He has also served on a wide range of public bodies and charity boards.

DIRECTOR OF WEST MIDLANDS ACADEMIC HEALTH SCIENCE NETWORK

Michael served most recently as Provost and Vice Principal and Dean of Medicine at the University of Birmingham. He received the degrees of MBCHB (Honours) and PhD from the University of Cape Town. He was elected Founder Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 1998.

Michael had a major clinical service commitment and international reputation in pituitary and thyroid disease, publishing over 250 papers. He has been a member of and chaired a number of UK and international committees (endocrine societies, Royal College of Physicians, MRC and WHO). He was President of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland and holds Honorary Professorship at University of Birmingham. He was previously a non-executive director at Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and is currently a NED at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

CHAIR, BIRMINGHAM WOMEN’S AND CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS

One of the UK’s leading medics, Sir Bruce joined Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospitals as Chair after leaving his position as NHS England’s National Medical Director where he was responsible for clinical leadership, quality and innovation for a decade.

Before this he enjoyed a distinguished career in surgery, working as a consultant cardiac surgeon at University Hospitals Birmingham before becoming Director of Surgery at the Heart Hospital and Professor of Cardiac Surgery at University College London.

INTERIM CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER – BIRMINGHAM WOMEN’S AND CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

Matthew first joined the NHS in 2002, via the Graduate Management Training Scheme and worked in a variety of NHS roles across Kent and the South East within secondary care, before moving to the Aids Committee of Toronto in Canada. In 2004 he joined the Whittington Hospital NHS Trust in North London as a General Manager, before going on to become Director of Operations for the Trust in 2011 and Director of Operations for Whittington Health when it merged with the local community NHS Trust.

Matthew joined Birmingham Children’s Hospital in 2013 as Director of Strategy and Planning before becoming Chief Officer for Strategy and Innovation in 2015. Matthew also held the Managing Director role during the development of the new mental health partnership for 0 to 25 year olds in the city – Forward Thinking Birmingham. Matthew is also a Director with BCH Trading.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER – UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS BIRMINGHAM NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

Jonathan joined Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (HEFT) in September 2014 as Director of Operations and, when UHB and HEFT merged in April 2018, became the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Good Hope, Heartlands and Solihull Hospitals. On 1 April 2019 he was appointed COO for the Trust overall, and is responsible for the day to day running of its four hospitals plus Birmingham Chest Clinic, Solihull Community Services and a number of ‘satellite’ units.

He joined the NHS in 1992 as a trainee paramedic, working clinically for 12 years before moving into management full time. He graduated from the University of Worcester with a Masters’ degree in Management Studies in 2007 and has worked in senior leadership roles in a number of acute hospital trusts, regional ambulance services and the National Intensive Support team.

VICE-CHANCELLOR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE – ASTON UNIVERSITY

Professor Aleks Subic joined Aston University in August 2022 as Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, having previously served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the College of Science, Engineering and Health, and Vice President for Digital Innovation at RMIT in Australia. He also held the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise) at Swinburne University of Technology.

Professor Subic is a recognised global leader in technology and innovation in higher education, leading on Industry 4.0 strategy and digital transformations across the university sector and with industry and governments both in Australia and internationally. He has received a number of prestigious awards for his work, including the Australian Business Innovation Award and the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame Award.

He is a passionate and lifelong advocate for multiculturalism, equity, diversity and inclusion, leading through clear actions and strategic initiatives at enterprise level. These include creating and appointing the first Dean of STEMM Diversity & Inclusion in Australia, establishing Women in STEMM Fellowships and mentoring scheme, Indigenous Research Fellowships, scholarships and internships programs, and creating an innovation precinct with start-up accelerators and industry incubators focused on founders from diverse backgrounds and access.

Chief Executive – Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust

Richard was appointed to the role of Chief Executive at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust in September 2021 after joining the organisation from Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust where he served as CEO for three years.

He has had several senior roles at NHS Trusts across the Black Country, including at Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.

Richard has previously been Chief Executive at Wye Valley NHS Trust where he led the Trust out of special measures, as he also did successfully at Walsall, along with leading the creation and implementation of the Walsall Together place-based Integrated Care Partnership with a number of partners in the town. He is committed to working collaboratively with partners at place and across Birmingham and the Black Country STP.

CHAIR – SANDWELL AND WEST BIRMINGHAM HOSPITALS NHS TRUST

Sir David Nicholson joined the Trust as Chair on 1 May 2021 and also serves on the board of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust as Chair, having taken up his position there in December 2018.

Sir David’s career in NHS management has spanned more than 40 years and included the most senior posts in the service. He was Chief Executive of the NHS between 2006 and 2013 and, following a major national restructure, became the first Chief Executive of the organisation now known as NHS England from 2013-2014.

Since his retirement from the NHS in 2014, he has taken on a number of international roles providing advice and guidance to governments and organisations focused on improving population health and universal healthcare coverage.

He has worked with the World Health Organisation and World Bank, chaired the State Health Services organisation of the Republic of Cyprus, and more recently was also the Chair of the Metropolitan Group of Hospitals, Nairobi. He is also Chair of the Universal Health Coverage Forum of the World Innovation Summit for Health.

His contribution to healthcare was recognised by the award of the CBE in 2008, and he was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen in 2010.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER – THE ROYAL ORTHOPAEDIC HOSPITAL NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

Jo joined the Trust in an interim role in June 2017 on secondment from fellow BHP member University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, where she was Deputy Chief Operating Officer for three years and most recently Deputy Director of Partnership for the STP (Sustainability and Transformation Partnership).

She has worked in a variety of senior operational roles in several acute trusts including Wythenshawe Hospital and Chesterfield Royal Hospital, delivering and leading service transformation projects. As well as 14 years in operational management, she also worked in procurement in the NHS, as a capital buyer for Nuffield Hospitals and for a global manufacturer/supplier.
 
As CEO, Jo is responsible for working with her executive team to make major decisions, managing the overall operations and resources of the hospital and acting as the main point of communication between the organisation and the Trust Board.

Chair – the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Tim was previously Chief Executive and Executive Chairman of Cogent Elliott, the leading Midlands-based marketing agency. Between 2001 and 2006, he was CEO of Sainsbury’s Bank and a member of Sainsbury’s Operating Board.

Prior to Sainsbury’s, he led the Retail Function of the Alliance and Leicester Group as Marketing, Strategy and Sales Director between 1996 and 2001. Before this he served at LloydsTSB as Marketing Director.

He has held a number of non-executive roles including serving on the Board (and past President) of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, being a trustee of the Library of Birmingham, a governor at Bromsgrove School and on the Board of Cancer Research UK.

ChIEF EXECUTIVE – bIRMINGHAM AND sOLIHULL mENTAL HEALTH nhs fOUNDATION trUST 

Roisin is a Registered Learning Disability Nurse who spent much of her early career in clinical roles in and around Hertfordshire, within mental health and learning disability NHS organisations.

She took up her first Board director role in 2002 at Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust, and since then has held a variety of Board roles with a wide range of responsibilities including seven years at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust. Most recently she was Chief Executive at Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust, which achieved an ‘Outstanding’ rating from the Care Quality Commission during her time there.

Chair – bIRMINGHAM AND sOLIHULL mENTAL HEALTH nhs fOUNDATION trUST 

Philip Gayle is a qualified counsellor and has an MSc in Healthcare Policy Management from the University of Birmingham. He joined BSMHFT in October 2019 and is Chief Executive at Servol Community Services, a third sector organisation that provides accommodation and support services for people experiencing mental health difficulties. 

He has extensive knowledge and leadership experience within the health, social care and housing sector as well as expertise and specialised skills as a business consultant and in transformation and improving business performance. Philip has previously held a number of NHS board positions and is a non-executive director at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust.

Operational lead – Birmingham Health Partners

With over 20 years’ experience in Higher Education and 15 years working alongside the NHS, Sarah is a specialist in quality management, assurance and governance. She has a track record of working with senior Boards in complex multi-organisational partnerships, and providing leadership to a varied portfolio of activity including programme development, review and evaluation activity and risk management.

External Advisory Board Members

chair – external advisory board

Having recently (2020) stepped down from his roles as Senior Vice-President (Health) at King’s College London and Executive Director of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre, Professor Sir Robert Lechler brings a wealth of health research experience to the role of Non-Executive Director of BHP. A strong advocate of university-NHS partnership, Sir Robert was awarded a knighthood for Services to Academic Medicine in 2012 following a research career focused on clinical transplantation tolerance. His work has led to pioneering cell therapies to aid the immune tolerance of kidney and liver transplant recipients.

DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, THE HEALTH FOUNDATION

Anita Charlesworth is the Director of Research and the REAL Centre (Research and Economic Analysis for the Long term) at the Health Foundation, and Honorary Professor in the College of Social Sciences at the Health Services Management Centre (HSMC) at the University of Birmingham.

Anita is a health economist and has a background in government and public policy. Before joining the Health Foundation in May 2014, she was Chief Economist at the Nuffield Trust from 2010–14, where she led the Trust’s work on health care financing and market mechanisms. Prior to that she had roles as Chief Analyst and Chief Scientific Advisor at DCMS (2007–10), Director of Public Spending at the Treasury (1998–2007), and worked as an Economic Advisor at the Department of Health and for SmithKline Beecham pharmaceuticals.

She has worked as a non-executive director in the NHS – for Islington PCT (2007–2011) and The Whittington Hospital (2011–2016).

Anita was specialist advisor to the House of Lords’ Select Committee on the long-term sustainability of the NHS in 2016/17, and has recently been appointed as an expert adviser for the Health and Social Care Select Committee and also sits on the expert and advisory panel for the Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid. Anita is Chair of the OHE Policy Committee (2020) and is also a Commissioner for The Lancet Global Health Commission on Financing Primary Health Care.

Anita has an MSc in Health Economics from the University of York. She is a Trustee for Tommy’s, the baby charity, and also a Trustee for the Office of Health Economics. She was awarded a CBE in The Queen’s 2017 Birthday Honours List for Services to Economics and Health Policy.

DIRECTOR OF HEALTH DATA RESEARCH UK

Professor Andrew Morris became the inaugural Director of Health Data Research UK in August 2017. He is seconded from his position as Professor of Medicine, and Vice Principal of Data Science at the University of Edinburgh, having taken up position in August 2014. Prior to this Andrew was Dean of Medicine at the University of Dundee.

Andrew was Chief Scientist at the Scottish Government Health Directorate (2012-2017) and has served and chaired numerous national and international grant committees and Governmental bodies.

His research interests span informatics and chronic diseases. He has published over 330 original papers, attracted over £50 million in grant funding and was the principal investigator of several programme grants including the Wellcome Trust United Kingdom Case Control Collection for Type 2 Diabetes, Generation Scotland, a study of the genetic health in 50,000 Scots, the Wellcome Trust funded Scottish Health Informatics Programme (SHIP), and the Farr Institute in Scotland.

In 2007 he co-founded Aridhia Informatics, which uses high performance computing and analytics in health care.

Andrew was previously Governor of the Health Foundation (2009-2017), a leading UK charity that supports quality improvement in health care, and chaired the Informatics Board at UCLPartners, London (2014-2017). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Academy of Medical Sciences.

DEAN OF THE UCL FACULTY OF POPULATION HEALTH SCIENCES

Professor Abubakar joined UCL in 2012, jointly appointed between the MRC Clinical Trials Unit and the Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care as Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology. In 2016, he was appointed Director of the Institute for Global Health and also served as Vice-Dean International and External Engagement for the faculty. Prior to his appointment at UCL, he led Public Health England’s successful tuberculosis control strategy. He is an NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) Senior Investigator and was elected to the Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2020 in recognition of his research in infectious disease epidemiology and migration and health.

His work focuses on the epidemiology, prevention and treatment of infections including tuberculosis, hepatitides, HIV, and other common problems such as antimicrobial resistance and vaccine-preventable diseases, particularly among vulnerable populations. He has published widely, including over 300 research papers, policy reports, book chapters and textbooks. He has a strong commitment to equality and diversity, supporting excellence in education and research and tackling inequalities and social exclusion.

Professor Ibrahim Abubakar qualified in medicine from Ahmadu Bello University. He went on to specialise in public health, graduating with an MSc from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a DPH from the University of Cambridge and a PhD from the University of East Anglia, where he later worked as a Professor in Health Protection at the Norwich Medical School. He is a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health and the Royal College of Physicians.

CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER, RUBIUS THERAPEUTICS

Laurence Turka, M.D., joined Rubius as Chief Scientific Officer in January 2020. Larry is an internationally recognized, physician-scientist in autoimmunity and translational immunology with a distinguished career working in academia and, more recently, industry.

Larry joined Rubius from Rheos Medicines, where he was a co-founder and served as Chief Scientific Officer. During his time at Rheos, he built its portfolio of novel therapies targeting the metabolism of immune cells, made key leadership hires, and was instrumental in securing a strategic collaboration between Rheos and Roche. Prior to Rheos, he was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Third Rock Ventures, where he played a leading role in the creation of Rheos and provided immunology expertise in evaluating multiple company-building opportunities. Before joining venture capital, Larry spent 30 years working in academia, most recently serving as the Harold and Ellen Danser Professor of Surgery and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Among the notable discoveries of Larry’s laboratory were novel approaches to transplantation tolerance, the role of Toll-like receptors in T cells and pathways required for the maintenance of regulatory T cell function. Larry was also an early leader in the field of T cell costimulation and contributed to the development of abatacept and belatacept for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and renal transplantation.

He is a former President of the American Society of Transplantation, Chair of the NIAID Board of Scientific Counselors and Editor in Chief of The Journal of Clinical Investigation. He is currently the Deputy Director of the Immune Tolerance Network, serves on the Scientific Steering Committee of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and is the Harold and Ellen Danser Professor of Surgery (part-time) at Harvard Medical School. He was elected to membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 1995, and the Association of American Physicians in 2003.

Larry received his M.D. from the Yale University School of Medicine, trained in internal medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital and in nephrology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School.

Vice President (Research) at King’s College London and the Director of Research at King’s Health Partners.

Professor Razavi qualified in Medicine at St. Bartholomew’s Medical School in 1988. He later trained in Paediatrics and Paediatric Cardiology and started a career in research. Prior to becoming Vice President (Research), Professor Razavi held the post of Head of Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering (Jan 2007 – March 2017) and Assistant Principal (Research & Innovation) (July 2015 – March 2017).

The main focus of Professor Reza Razavi’s research is imaging and biomedical engineering related to cardiovascular disease. One area of focus is cardiac MRI in relation to congenital heart disease, electrophysiology and heart failure, image guided intervention, XMR (X-ray and MRI) guided cardiac catheterisation and methodological advances to move to faster 3-Dimensional cardiac imaging.

His group was the first to perform MRI-guided cardiac catheterisation in patients and  the first to carry out entirely MR-guided cardiovascular interventions. In congenital heart disease, he has developed techniques for three-dimensional imaging as well as physiological assessment using flow measurements. Using MR guided cardiac catheterisation his group has developed new techniques of measuring pulmonary vascular resistance and compliance.