Chris heads our work focussing our research on real needs through engagement. He leads teams and activities across four areas:

• Patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE)

• Communications

• Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)

• Impact and learning

Chris is working to combine these to engage and focus diverse minds on our research and its purpose.

Chris came to Southampton from the Wellcome Trust in 2012. At Wellcome he’d led Wellcome’s work enabling researchers' public engagement. For us he built and grew our combined NIHR BRC & CRF research communications and engagement. A 2017-19 secondment saw Chris recast Welsh Government’s national health research engagement. In 2021, Chris was appointed to his current role, leading this work across our BRC, CRF and wider research.