CMFT - Key Persons


Adam Shepphard

Job Titles:
  • Senior Communications Manager
Adam oversees and leads on communications for the Research and Innovation Division at MFT, as well as our wider GM research partnerships; NIHR Manchester BRC and NIHR Manchester CRF. Managing a small communications team, he is also responsible for setting the strategic direction and overseeing the delivery of all aspects of our research communications and engagement initiative.

Alison Robinson

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Management Team
  • Senior Research and Innovation Manager
  • Senior Research and Innovation Manager View Profile

Annie Keane

Job Titles:
  • Public Engagement Manager
Annie leads on public engagement projects for the Public Programmes Team at the Manchester University NHS Hospital Trust. Her career has encompassed academic research (PhD Anthropology), working in the voluntary sector, ten years at the BBC and running Manchester's year as the European City of Science, a large-scale public engagement initiative encompassing science, technology, culture and arts.

Azita Rajai


Caroline Leech

Job Titles:
  • Interim Deputy Director at Manchester CRF

Cassie Wilson

Job Titles:
  • Project Manager ( Communications & Engagement )
Cassie joined the team as Project Manager (Communications and Engagement) at the end of 2017, initially managing the team's first large-scale public engagement project around respiratory health and research, before focusing on communications. A passion for writing, ability to engage with people from all backgrounds and creative mind led Cassie to this communications and engagement role. Prior to this, she spent many years working in youth and community development with a public health focus, before gaining a journalism qualification and working in public relations and communications for a housing provider.

Catherine Chmiel

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Management Team
  • R & I Matron and Research Midwife View Profile
My path in research blog - R&I Matron Catherine Chmiel speaks to the Royal College of Midwives

Catherine Keeling

Job Titles:
  • Advanced Biomedical Scientist and Histology Clinical Trials Lead

Dr Amir Zaidi

Job Titles:
  • Consultant Cardiologist

Dr Annie Yarwood

Job Titles:
  • Operations Manager, MFT 's Diagnostics and Technology Accelerator ( DiTA )

Dr Bella Starling

Job Titles:
  • Co - Director of Public Programmes / Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellow
  • Fellow and Co - Director of Public Programmes at Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Bella Starling is a Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellow and Co-Director of Public Programmes at Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Her career has spanned neuroscience, stem cell and genetic research, science writing, biomedical ethics, public engagement, patient involvement and science policy, both as a practitioner and strategic adviser. She is passionate about inclusion in, and democratisation of, research; her Fellowship will explore how public engagement with research can act as a catalyst for social change. Read Bella's blog to find out more about her work. When she's not working, Bella enjoys running around after her two young sons, preferably up a mountain.

Dr Catherine Fullwood


Dr Charlotte Bryant

Job Titles:
  • Hospital Research and Innovation Manager - Manchester Royal Infirmary ( MRI ) and Clinical Scientific Services
  • Hospital Research and Innovation Manager - Manchester Royal Infirmary ( MRI ) and Clinical Scientific Services View Profile

Dr Franco Sogliani

Job Titles:
  • Consultant Cardiac Surgeon

Dr Iain McLean

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Management Team
  • Member of the Senior Leadership Team
  • Managing Director for Research and Innovation at MFT
  • Managing Director for Research and Innovation View Profile
‘The five women who have inspired and shaped my career' - a blog Dr Iain McLean Dr McLean is responsible for the delivery of high quality and safe research services within the Trust through the operational management of R&I. He oversees the performance of teams such as the Research Office, Clinical Research Delivery, Non-Clinical Research Delivery, Innovation, R&I Communications , R&I Finance and Medical Illustration.

Dr Jay Brown

Job Titles:
  • Biobank Manager

Dr Lynne Webster

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Management Team
  • Director of Research Governance and Quality
Lynne has overall responsibility for Research Office activities on behalf of the Trust, encompassing quality, governance, performance, funding and risk.

Dr Magdi El-Omar

Job Titles:
  • Consultant Cardiologist

Dr Sahrkaw Muhyaldeen

Job Titles:
  • Consultant Cardiologist

Dr Timothy Felton

Job Titles:
  • Consultant in Intensive Care and Respiratory Medicine at MFT and Director of MFT 's Diagnostics and Technology Accelerator ( DiTA )

Dr Yahya Al-Najjar

Job Titles:
  • Consultant Interventional Cardiologist

Elaine Coughlan

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Management Team
  • Senior Clinical Research Nurse - Manchester EMERGING ( Emergency & Intensive Care Research Group )
  • Senior Clinical Research Nurse - Manchester EMERGING ( Emergency & Intensive Care Research Group ) View Profile

Hannah Turner-Uaandja

Job Titles:
  • Project Manager ( Public Participation, Involvement and Engagement for the Clinical Research Facility )
Hannah Turner-Uaandja is the Public Participation, Involvement and Engagement Project Manager for the NIHR Clinical Research Facility. She is responsible for PPIE activities across the three sites. Hannah specialises in co-production and previously ran the award-winning social change project, The Young Dads Collective. Hannah is particularly interested in co-production and involving patients from communities that have previously been left out of health research participation.

Helen Blackburn

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Management Team
  • Hospital Research and Innovation Manager - Royal Manchester Children 's Hospital ( RMCH ) View Profile
  • Senior Research and Innovation Manager

Jan Maiden

Job Titles:
  • Facilities Manager
  • Member of the Management Team
Jan is highly motivated to ensure the best possible facilities for staff, patients and visitors to the Research and Innovation Division and welcomes your feedback to support continuous improvement.

Janette Dunkerley

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Management Team
  • Lead Nurse for Research and Innovation View Profile

Juliette Novasio

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Management Team
  • Hospital Research and Innovation Manager - Wythenshawe Hospital, Trafford General Hospital, Withington Community Hospital and Altrincham Hospital ( WTWA ) View Profile

Kate Barugh

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Management Team
  • Hospital Research and Innovation Manager - Manchester Royal Infirmary ( MRI ) View Profile

Lindsay Murray

Job Titles:
  • Hospital Research and Innovation Manager - Manchester Royal Infirmary ( MRI ) and Clinical Scientific Services View Profile

Monika Cien

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Management Team
  • Clinical Trials Manager
  • Clinical Trials Manager View Profile
  • Senior Research and Innovation Manager

Neil Hanley

Job Titles:
  • Director of Research and Innovation at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and Professor of Medicine at the University of Manchester View Profile
  • Professor

Nicola Marpole

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Management Team
  • Hospital Research and Innovation Manager - Manchester Royal Infirmary ( MRI ) and Clinical Scientific Services View Profile
  • Hospital Research and Innovation Manager - Wythenshawe Hospital, Trafford General Hospital, Withington Community Hospital and Altrincham Hospital ( WTWA ) View Profile

Sharon Williams

Job Titles:
  • Senior Clinical Trials Coordinator