Professor Marian Knight, who is Professor of Maternal and Child Population Health and Director of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at Oxford Population Health, has been appointed National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Scientific Director for Research Infrastructure. Professor Knight is one of four scientific directors to be appointed to the new NIHR Board.
Professor Knight will lead on the strategic development of the NIHR’s infrastructure, working in partnership with infrastructure leaders. As part of her role on the NIHR Board, Professor Knight will support the Department of Health and Social Care Chief Scientific Advisor and NIHR Chief Executive, and the Director of Science Research and Evidence to deliver against the NIHR’s mission to improve the health and wealth of the national through research.
Professor Knight said, ‘I am delighted to have been appointed as an NIHR scientific director. I am looking forward to leading the strategic development of research infrastructure to enable advancements in science that will transform health and care in the UK and improve outcomes for patients and the public. Working in collaboration with the directors of the Biomedical Research Centres, Translational Research Collaborations, Applied Research Collaborations, the Research Support Service and other parts of NIHR infrastructure, this role is a fantastic opportunity to further boost the impact of health and care research in the UK.’
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Executive of the NIHR, speaking of the four new directors, said, ‘Danny, Marian, Mike and Waljit will bring valuable scientific weight to NIHR’s governance and I’m excited by their appointment. They are all leaders in their respective fields, with first-hand experience of how to get research into policy and practice. They will also help us join up NIHR’s distributed structure, identifying and addressing gaps, opportunities and areas of duplication. And they will help us secure and shape the future of NIHR, so that we are even better able to respond to new technologies, new opportunities and changing needs.’