Session and speaker information

Keynote address: Journey from AHP to Professor (Professor Natalie Pattison, Imperial College London)

In her keynote address, Professor Natalie Pattison will discuss her journey to becoming a professor.

Professor Natalie Pattison provides professional leadership and support for research staff across Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (ICHT), working closely with strategic partners to strengthen the research capacity and capability of Nurses and Midwives within the AHSC. Natalie plays a key role in enabling healthcare professionals to become research-aware, research-ready, and research-active. Alongside this leadership role, Natalie is Professor of Clinical Nursing in the Department of Surgery at Imperial College London, contributing to the advancement of clinical research, education, and evidence-based practice.

From the clinic to a PhD: What the route actually looks like (Camelia Vladescu, NIHR Doctoral Fellow and PhD researcher, ICHT)

After several years delivering clinical trials in the NHS, most recently leading the  Non-malignant Haematology Trials Unit at Imperial, Camelia is now partway through an NIHR-funded PhD. In this session, she will share how that move came about: what protocol feasibility work and, above all, hundreds of conversations with patients while consenting them and running their visits taught her about the questions worth asking, the practical steps involved in securing a fellowship, and what has surprised her about the shift from delivering research to leading it. 

Camelia is a clinical research practitioner and an NIHR-funded PhD student. She spent several years delivering clinical trials in the NHS, most recently leading the Non-malignant Haematology Clinical Trials Unit, and her PhD question came directly from the patients she met along the way. She completed an Imperial Health Charity and Imperial BRC pre-doctoral fellowship before securing an NIHR Doctoral Award. Her research looks at the gut microbiome in people with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), an autoimmune blood condition.

Workshop: Starting to write for publication (Meg Sanders, Royal Literary Fund)

This workshop from Meg Sanders at the Royal Literary Fund will cover: 

• Devising an efficient workflow for your writing. 
• Using narrative form to create a logical and coherent argument. 
• Creating an early, terror-free version of an abstract. 
• Editing and proofreading techniques. 

Meg Sanders is a writer of fiction and non-fiction, and also an editor. She is a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund and Writer in Residence at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. 

Workshop: Collaborating with the NHS to support innovation (Jose Acuyo, ICHT)

This workshop will offer a summary of how we support innovation within Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. 

Jose Acuyo is the Head of Strategy, Partnerships & Innovation in Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust working on programmes both within the Trust and outward-facing through Paddington Life Sciences. His role spans both the healthcare and life sciences ecosystems, including embedding social value and innovation in everything we do, anchor institution development, and partnership working across the NHS, local government, academia, and industry. His educational background is in Pharmacy and Public Health.

Workshop: Fellowship applications - Where to start? (Inês Perpetuo, Imperial College London)

This session introduces researchers to the process of preparing a fellowship application. During the session, you will learn where to look for appropriate fellowship funding, what to keep in mind while applying and how to prepare a written application.

Inês Perpétuo is a Consultant for Postdocs and Fellows development and experienced
Researcher Developer. Inês obtained a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa (Ulisboa) in Portugal where she
developed a strong background on immunology and bone cell biology in Rheumatology research. In 2015, she moved to the UK for postdoctoral studies on mammalian bone cell activity at the Royal Veterinary College, London. In 2018, Inês secured a role as a Researcher Developer at the former Postdocs and Fellows Development Centre, currently Early Career Researcher Institute, Imperial College London, and since 2020 she is a Consultant for Researcher Development. During her career, Inês acquired a broad range of skills in communication and organisation, and now develops and delivers training workshops on career management and progression. Inês’ specialism is reflective and interactive learning to equip researchers with the skills for effective self-management and to be proactive in the research environment.

CATO event host: Dr Gemma Clunie, ICHT

Dr Gemma Clunie is CATO's Lead Clinical Academic for Allied Health Professions. She provides professional leadership and support to research staff working within ICHT as well as working with strategic partners to grow the capacity and capability of AHPs, to become research aware, research-ready and research-active. This includes co-delivery of the NMAHPP Research Strategy Implementation Plan.

CATO event host: Dr Lina Johansson, ICHT

Dr Lina Johansson is CATO's Co-Lead Clinical Academic for Allied Health Professions. She provides professional leadership and support to research staff working within ICHT as well as working with strategic partners to grow the capacity and capability of AHPs, to become research aware, research-ready and research-active. This includes co-delivery of the NMAHPP Research Strategy Implementation Plan.

CATO event host: Dr Karen Joash

Dr Karen Joash is the Director of CATO. She leads and has oversight of all CATO activities and represents CATO interests at numerous AHSC, ICHT and ICL committees and boards. She is an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust  with more than 25 years of clinical experience. She has held significant leadership roles across London, including serving as Head of School for Community & Sexual Reproduction Health together with Obstetrics and Gynaecology at NHS England, where she led strategic oversight of postgraduate training, workforce development, and educational quality across one of the largest training programmes in the UK. She has also served as a former Director of Medical Education at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.