7 November 2024

What is your role within King’s Health Partners?

I am the manager for the Centre of Translational Medicine (CTM). This is a relatively new centre which aims to accelerate Translational Research across KHP through offering pump priming funding, build the numbers of translational researchers, and work collaboratively to enhance research facilitators.  I oversee the daily operations of the centre and coordination of various CTM projects and funding calls. 

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I really enjoy knowing that the work I am supporting is making an impact in healthcare. Its exciting to see a research project get developed over time and when you start to see the outputs occurring its nice to know that the CTM supported that research. I enjoy getting to meet and work with so a wide range of people who all have various backgrounds and roles. 

What inspired you to get into this work?

I have always worked in health care – both clinically as a paediatric respiratory physiologist in New Zealand and then from the university side, supporting various research studies. 

After completing my Master's degree I knew I didn’t want to do a PhD, so research management gives me a chance to use my research experience from the logistics angle. Translational research is even better because I get to see the partnerships forming and the research moving towards being applied to clinical use. 

What are the benefits of working in partnership?

By working in partnership we get to see how often the same problem can be solved from different perspectives. It means that we can avoid duplication but also look to enhance what might be already happening. For me the collaborative nature of the Centre and working across KHP is so important. I get a lot of satisfaction from facilitating partnerships and collaborations. When a connection happens and the results are greater than the sum its parts its great to see. 

What would be your one career top tip?

Always try to be helpful. A lot of my work is supporting people with queries and looking for solutions. While I rarely know the answer I try to point people in the right direction. 

Find out more about the Centre for Translational Medicine.