NHSA strengthens its team with six new appointments

The Northern Health Science Alliance (NHSA) has almost doubled its team with six new appointments over the last few months.

The North’s leading life sciences cluster has grown its team significantly with appointments made across a range of expertise, including Dr Sunil Nedungayil, Associate Medical Director (Healthy Ageing); Helen Cole, Industry Partnerships Manager; Mhairi Murdoch, Events and Visits Officer; Vanessa Nolan, Administrative Officer; Sean Collins, Senior Designer; and Ruth Lawson, Communications Manager.

The appointments come at an important time for the NHSA following the start of multimillion-pound Research England-funded partnership project between the NHSA and MedCity earlier this year, which will improve the visibility of UK life sciences expertise on the international stage.

We’re delighted to welcome Sunil, Helen, Mhairi, Vanessa, Sean and Ruth to the NHSA team during an exciting period of growth for the organization. Each team member brings a valuable set of skills to the table and they will all play an important role as the NHSA continues to work towards building a healthy and prosperous North through health research and innovation excellence.”

Dr Séamus O’Neill, Chief Executive at the NHSA

Dr Sunil Nedungayil has been appointed as the NHSA’s Associate Medical Director for Healthy Ageing. He delivers this role alongside his work as a General Practitioner at The Castle Medical Group, in North West England. His frontline work has focused on the needs of the community, both from the health perspective and from the wellness angle.

Helen Cole, Industry Partnerships Manager, began her career as a medical physicist in the NHS and over the past two decades has specialized in medtech evaluation, working within the regulatory, procurement, commissioning and NHS provider landscapes. Her last role before joining the NHSA was Head of an External Assessment Centre for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Mhairi Murdoch, Events and Visits Officer, has a varied background within in the health and social care sector, working previously in the events department for the strategic body for workforce development in adult social care in England and prior to that working on the frontline within the NHS.

Vanessa Nolan, NHSA Administrative Officer, has over 30 years’ experience in office work across a variety of sectors most recently working in the third sector and healthcare.

Sean Collins, Senior Designer at the NHSA, worked as a Graphic Artist at ncjMedia for 20 years before becoming a freelance illustrator, during which time his clients included nationally and internationally renowned brands.

Ruth Lawson, Communications Manager with the NHSA, has ten years’ experience in the media industry, starting her career as a journalist before moving into PR. She has worked at one of the North East’s leading communications agencies and as a freelance communications specialist.

The NHSA is a partnership that links 10 universities and 10 research-intensive NHS Teaching Trusts with four Academic Health Science Networks across the North of England.

The organization acts as a front door for northern health innovation, brokering research collaborations, attracting investment, and providing a unified voice for the region’s health research system.