The HTA programme appoints two new chairs to its boards.
News release from NETSCC, HTA
12 November 2009
The HTA programme has appointed two leaders in the field of health technology assessment and applied clinical research to take over as the Chairs for the HTA Commissioning Board and the Clinical Evaluation and Trials Board.
Professor Hywel Williams will be chairing the HTA commissioning Board and Professor Sallie Lamb will be chairing the HTA clinical Evaluation and Trials Board. They will start on 1 January 2010 for three years with an initial induction period working alongside the current chair for both boards Professor Jon Nicholl, who will stand down at the end of March 2010.
The HTA Commissioning Board is responsible for assessing the scientific merit of commissioned proposals received and making funding recommendations to the HTA Prioritisation Strategy Group (PSG). The HTA Clinical Evaluation and Trials Board considers proposals from researcher-initiated open and themed calls.
Professor Tom Walley CBE, Director of the HTA programme commented: “I am delighted to announce the new chairs to the HTA programme boards. They both have a valuable wealth of experience and knowledge which they can bring to these roles. Of course we are sad to see Jon Nicholl step down, but at the same time excited to have two such great researchers and clinical experts take on these roles.”
Hywel Williams is Foundation Professor of Dermato-Epidemiology at the University of Nottingham and will also be taking on the role of Deputy Director of the HTA programme. He is involved in a number of high profile clinical trials in this area, including the HTA-funded Water softeners for atopic eczema trial www.hta.ac.uk/1520. Hywel is an NIHR senior investigator and past director and founder of the Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit. He also chairs the Comprehensive Clinical Research Network dermatology specialty group.
Sallie Lamb is a Professor of Rehabilitation and Foundation Director of Warwick Clinical Trials Unit and the Kadoorie Chair of Trauma Rehabilitation at the University of Oxford. She has been a member of the HTA Commissioning Board for a number of years, and has led a number of HTA funded trials including the cognitive therapies for back pain, non-pharmacological interventions for acute whiplash, and the recently funded prevention of fall injury trial.
The HTA programme actively looks to recruit new members to its boards, panels and groups. For more details on how you can work with the HTA programme and help shape the research agenda visit www.hta.ac.uk/workwithhta/index.shtml
Notes for editors
1. The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme commissions research about the effectiveness, costs, and broader impact of health technologies for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. It is the largest NIHR programme and publishes the results of its research in the Health Technology Assessment journal, with over 530 issues published to date. The journal’s 2009 Impact Factor (6.91) ranked it in the top 10% of medical and health-related journals. All issues are available for download free of charge from the website, www.hta.ac.uk
2. The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility. The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first-class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training. Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading edge research focused on the needs of patients. www.nihr.ac.uk
Contact details
Naomi Williams, Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 595 646, Email: N.E.Williams@southampton.ac.uk
Kelly Waterman, Assistant Programme Manager (Communications)
Telephone: 02380 597 376, Email: k.waterman@southampton.ac.uk
News feeds