Key government adviser Professor Lucy Chappell visits NHIC
The University of Huddersfield has welcomed Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care, for a visit to the National Health and Innovation Campus (NHIC) to discuss the institution’s innovative approach to health and care research and its real-world impacts in the NHS and beyond.
Professor Chappell, who is also CEO of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), was shown around the Daphne Steele and Emily Siddon buildings at NHIC by Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Tim Thornton.
Facilities including the state-of-the-art labs used for the recently-opened radiography and dental hygiene and dental therapy courses were visited during Professor Chappell’s tour, as well as the new Health Business Innovation Centre (HBIC).
The HBIC is a pillar of the Huddersfield Health Innovation Incubator, a regional programme designed to support pre-to-early stage and growing organisations to develop innovative solutions to improve health and wellbeing, funded by the West Yorkshire Investment Zone.
Professor Chappell, Professor Thornton and other stakeholders from the university and Health Innovation Yorkshire and Humber discussed to how to bridge R&D into the adoption and scaling-up of innovation for the kinds of businesses in the health space that will use HBIC, modelled on the successful 3M Buckley Innovation Centre (3MBIC) also on campus.
Professor Thornton commented, “We value the support provided by the NIHR for existing projects like the £11m Centre for Equity in Mental Health, and we're excited by the potential provided by the National Health Innovation Campus to expand work on innovation, adoption and impact alongside our partners across the region and further afield.”
Professor Chappell added, “It was a pleasure to visit the University of Huddersfield and meet the leadership team. We saw at first-hand the impressive innovation taking place across the campus, with clear reach into the local community.
“The Daphne Steele and Emily Siddon Buildings showcase a real commitment to collaboration, and the future of education and research, helping to improve patient health outcomes.”
Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber Chief Executive Richard Stubbs said, “It was a real privilege to welcome Professor Lucy Chappell to the campus we now call home.
“As an anchor tenant in HBIC, we see every day how powerful it is to have the NHS, academia and industry working side by side.
“The National Institute for Health and Care Research is a national engine of research excellence which fuels the innovations that we spread across our communities. It was fantastic to demonstrate to Lucy how the alignment of research and innovation transforms care and grows the economy across Yorkshire.”