The Forum consists of those in R&D management, support & leadership roles working in with and for providers and commissioners of health and care. Our network is broad and inclusive of patients and the public, non-traditional settings, joint research offices, higher education sponsor teams and more.
Members who volunteer their time lead the Forum, represent the R&D Forum community, and create our value, content and outputs.
The Forum Leadership Team
Representing the Forum to stakeholders, the team oversees the Forum strategy and leads areas of activity to move the work of the Forum forward as a body.
The Forum leadership team is made up of:
- Exec Committee
- Group Chairs
- Management Team
Forum Board of Trustees/ Leadership Group
The Board oversees the strategic direction and daily operations of the Forum as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and as a network. The Board is responsible for the governance and financial oversight of all activities, including communications and the conference and events programme. The CIO trustees are listed below, including the elected Chair Angela Topping.
Members:
- Angela Topping, Chair of Trustees
- Shona Haining, Head of Research & Evidence, NECS
- Carolyn Maloney, Research & Innovation Chief Operating Officer at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
- Dipak Patel, Associate Director of Research & Innovation at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Margaret Cooper, Director of Research and Development at Tameside Integrated NHS Foundation Trust and Senior Research Strategy Lead at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
- Sean Scott, Head of Newcastle Joint Research Office at the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Shahista Hussain, Head of R&D Governance / Deputy Head of R&D Operations (Secondment), Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Mark Brandon-Grove, Head of Clinical Research Performance & Quality, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust & The Institute of Cancer Research
- Dr Philippa Brice, Head of Research and Development, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICB
- Dr Rachel Gemine, Assistant Director of Evidence, Evaluation and Effectiveness, NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee
Shona Haining
Shona has worked in various R&D roles operationally and strategically in the North East for many years, mainly in Primary Care but also secondment or joint posts into secondary care, mental health and NHS England. Her current role is as Head of Research & Evidence for North of England Commissioning Support. She leads to deliver the research and evidence statutory duties of the 11 Clinical Commissioning Groups over the North East and North Cumbria. She is passionate about the professional and essential role research can play in the whole pathway of research from ideas to implementing outcomes to improve patient care.
Angela Topping
Angela Topping has been a member of the R&D Forum Executive since August 2021 and a Trustee of R&D Forum Charity since 2022. A Chartered Management Accountant by profession, she started her career in the NHS and moved to Newcastle University to become the Faculty Accountant in the Faculty of Medical Sciences in 1998. In 2002, she was promoted to Faculty Accountant, and in that time was responsible for not only the operational and strategic financial planning for the faculty, but also acted as the finance specialist in major capital developments including new programmes, investment in equipment and estate research infrastructure and the development and early operations of the Newcastle University campus in Malaysia. Angela took on a secondment opportunity in January 2018 as Head of Newcastle Joint Research Office (NJRO) and was appointed substantive in that role in September 2018 until August 2024. In that time, the NJRO has developed a culture of shared purpose, underpinned by foundations of trust, psychological safety, equality, diversity and inclusion and wellbeing. Angela completed an MSc in Coaching and Mentoring in September 2023, is a coach and mentor a listening volunteer for Samaritans, a Mental Health First Aider, Q Member and active in the local and national discussions around research culture.
Shahista Hussain
Shahista Hussain is Head of R&D Governance and Deputy Head of R&D Operations (secondment) for Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH). She is responsible for the oversight and management of the R&D governance services in order to facilitate and support high quality clinical and translational research as both a Sponsor and host organisation. OUH currently hosts around 1800 active clinical studies, many of which involve close collaboration with the University of Oxford; the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre; CRN and Oxford Brookes University.
Shahista has over 15 years NHS experience having worked in variety of roles across the OUH trust. During her time with the R&D department she has assisted in implementation of various national and local changes, as well as in the development of the department structure and functions. She has also gained significant understanding and experience of setting up and managing large multi-centre studies, both CTIMP and non-interventional research. During this time she has developed particular interests and experience in Pharmacovigilance, QA systems and GCP training.
Shahista has served as a member of Oxford Brookes University Ethics committee; is one of the chairs of the R&D Forum HIVE minds group, is a member of the Non-commercial Sponsor reference group, and is currently looking to become a STEM ambassador.
Mark Brandon-Grove
Mark Brandon-Grove is Head of Clinical Research Performance and Quality, leading the Joint Clinical Research & Development Core Services team at The Royal Marsden and the ICR. He is responsible for quality and regulatory compliance, governance and operations, business intelligence, and secretariat across the cancer research portfolio of over 900 active clinical research studies, in addition to central oversight of legal, finance and communications. Mark holds an MSc in Medicine, Health and Public Policy from King’s College London, and has worked in clinical research since 2006, building multi-sector experience across the NHS, higher education institutions, medical research charities and industry (both pharmaceuticals and medical technology). Mark is passionate about the hope and options that clinical research gives to patients and the public, and the importance of building a robust community of practice across professionals. He strives to constantly develop a research support function that strikes the correct balance between people, procedure, performance and priorities.
Dipak Patel
Dipak has twenty years’ experience working in clinical research for the public sector, across both the NHS and HEIs. He is the Associate Director Research & Innovation at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and has a wealth of experience in the set up and delivery of research and introduction of innovation to services, working closely with University partners, other NHS Trusts, the Clinical Research Networks and Pharma.
Margaret Cooper
Margaret Cooper began working in the NHS as a student nurse in 1984. She worked clinically in cardiology and cardiac surgery, developing a keen interest in research. Since 1999 she has been working exclusively in R&D, first leading a clinical research team, and then in R&D Management.
As the first Senior Manager of the Cumbria and Lancashire Local Comprehensive Research Network, she supported the development of the research delivery systems across the region. Most recently she has worked in Manchester in senior roles and is currently the Director of Research working across Tameside and Stockport NHS foundation Trusts. During this time, she supported many external regulatory inspections. She is joint Chair of the NW R&D Community Group and is passionate about career development for R&D Managers and administrative support staff.
Outside work she works with a disability children’s charity and is kept busy with grandma duties for her six grandchildren.
Sean Scott
Sean has over twelve years’ experience working in clinical research for the public sector, across both the NHS and HEIs. He graduated with an MSc in Clinical Research from Liverpool University and is currently Head of Newcastle Joint Research Office for Newcastle Hospitals, supporting the NHS/academic interface in health and care research.
Sean is lead for research sponsorship and governance with specialist interests in quality and risk management. He works closely with a number of the R&D forum groups nationally and supports the North East region with quality improvement, process development and teaching, sharing best practice to increase the profile of clinical research.
Carolyn Maloney
Carolyn is the R&I Director of Operations at Leicester’s Hospitals and has been working in research management for over 20 years. She has a reputation for her no nonsense, pragmatic and proportionate approach. Carolyn has a keen interest in helping individuals to develop psychological safety and to promote civility and respect in all aspects of the research management process.
Philippa Brice
Pippa is Head of Research and Development for NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board, where she leads an R&D Office for primary and community care and non-NHS settings that also supports a hosted NIHR research portfolio. Pippa joined the NHS in 2023 and was previously Deputy Director of the PHG Foundation, a policy think tank with the mission making science work for health, where she led on external affairs, projects and partnering in precision medicine. Experienced in research knowledge brokering, she is also a long-standing advocate for research inclusion, currently serving as a Public Patient Voice representative to the National Screening Committee.
Rachel Gemine
Rachel Gemine is Assistant Director of Evidence, Evaluation and Effectiveness at NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee; Honorary Senior Lecturer at Swansea University and Associate Editor at BMJLeader. Rachel has over 15-years’ experience in R&D, including as a chief investigator and in supporting researcher development. Rachel has collaborated on bids totalling over £20million and is experienced in qualitative and quantitative research, innovation pathways and use of data in research. Rachel also has an interest in leadership and management within healthcare and is a keen runner.
Forum Management & Business Support Services
The Forum manager supports all the groups and the leadership team in driving the strategy and content of the Forum. The Manager is charged with implementing the strategic plan on a daily basis, engaging with community members and partners, and developing our projects and initiatives. The current Forum Manager is Kate Greenwood.
Helen Riding
Helen is the Research and Development Forum Coordinator and Research Manager for North of England Commissioning Support (NECS). As Research Manager, Helen supports and manages the delivery and development of primary care research and evaluations in the North East, North Cumbria and North Yorkshire. Prior to this role she worked clinically as a Midwife and as a Research Facilitator supporting GP practices in Newcastle and North Tyneside. Helen has also completed a Masters in Clinical Research (Leadership) from Newcastle University. Helen’s Dissertation was titled “Research activity and quality indicators in primary care” and this has been disseminated widely locally and at national conferences.
Delegant Limited provide the day-to-day event management and membership management for the R&D Forum. Delegant manage the Annual Conference, all training courses, and the day-to-day running of the R&D Forum. Please contact us directly for any questions you have concerning the Forum.
Group Chairs
The Chairs of the Forum Groups are members of the Leadership Team that oversees strategy and leads areas of activity to move the work of the Forum forward as a body
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Sarra Blackman Sarra is the Lead Research Nurse at Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and has been working in research delivery and management for over 5 years. She is passionate about providing high quality services that meet the needs of our diverse population and ensuring that the training provision supports this. Sarra values the opportunity to support the growth and development of others and is keen to inspire a passion for research. Sarra Blackman is chair of the Learning and Development Group |
