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Learning & Development

Supporting individual development
in health research management,
support and leadership

The Forum is committed to building a programme of learning, training and development resources in research management, support and leadership for health and care to meet the needs of our community. All our open courses are currently offered as virtual courses and symposia.  Each course delegate receives a certificate and a printed workbook.

Our course leaders develop and maintain each course together with a reference group and experienced course trainers, ensuring all material is current and of high quality. Our teams are linked into policy groups and attend regulatory events wherever possible and material is constantly peer reviewed.

We are always developing new courses. If you would like to collaborate, propose a topic, lead a course, join a reference group or become a trainer then please get in contact with the chair of the learning and development group

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Forum Course leaders and trainers are all experienced members of the research management, support and leadership community.

Course leaders are responsible for developing and co-ordinating materials. Course trainers are responsible for delivering the course and supporting the course leader.

Our current Course Leaders are:

  • Allyson Bailey, R&D Officer, NHS Fife
  • Karen Eade, Head of Research, James Paget NHS Trust
  • Christian Sparke, AcoRD Specialist, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust & Eastern CRN
  • Carolyn Maloney, Head of Research Operations, University Hosptial Leicester NHS Trust
  • Michelle Eve, Workforce Development Lead, East Midlands CRN
  • Heather Rogers, RD&I Governance Manager, Royal Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • Julie James, Monitor & Trainer, University Hospital Leicester NHS Trust
  • Aldona Kirkham, Independent Trainer
  • Russell Joyce, Independent Consultant & Health Sciences Records and Archives Society
  • Kate Greenwood, Forum Manager
  • Phil Good, NIHR CRN CC
  • Helen Hodgson, Health & Care Research Wales
  • Kirsty Hunter, AcoRD Specialist, West Midlands LCRN
  • Katherine Lucas, AcoRD Specialist, Thames Valley & South Midlands

If you would like to apply to become a trainer for one of our existing courses or you are interested in developing new material then please contact info@rdforum.org.uk with some information about the course(s) in which you are interested.

Course Leaders

Cat Johnston

Cat Johnston is a Training Manager at Health and Care Research Wales. Cat originally trained in genetic counselling and completed her MSc in 2011 before moving across into research. She worked as a Clinical Studies Officer supporting research sites to increase their participant recruitment and ensure best practice in documentation. She then moved into trial management, managing various CTIMP studies from study set-up through to close-down. She later moved into her current role for Health and Care Research Wales, co-managing and delivering their research training programme with a focus on GCP, valid informed consent and research documentation.

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