Liz Pryde

Programme Manager

Liz builds D4D’s profile and manages relationships across our national network  of industry, academic, NHS and third sector partners and is responsible for capturing the impact of our work and communicating this to our stakeholders.  The relationship management element of the role allows Liz to work closely with the consortium to develop business cases for new D4D high-profile initiatives, ensuring D4D continues to develop its national brand as a key player within the health and technology innovation sectors.

As D4D’s Programme Manager Liz provides overall management for the programme and day-to-day operations.  As part of her role she works with key personnel within the consortium to co-ordinate all activities to secure a coherent approach to administration, communication, project development and budget management.  Liz works closely with our Clinical Director to develop the overall D4D strategy and ensures that we are responsive to the ever-changing innovation landscape.

David Coyle

Patient Partnership Lead

David advises and facilitates quality patient, carer and public involvement and engagement across the D4D portfolio, driving D4D’s reputation as a patient-centric organisation.

David’s professional background is in the private sector and includes roles in Corporate Planning, Management Consulting and Board level line management roles. David has worked for SMEs, public limited companies and venture capitalists to turn ideas and concepts into realistic implementation plans that deliver tangible outcomes.

With over 40 years of experience as a patient receiving a range of health care treatments across the UK and in Europe, David  is well embedded within the renal community. He is a representative on Patient Advisory Groups, a public reviewer for several funding bodies, and co-applicant and PPI lead on a number of funded research projects and service initiatives. David is co-chair of the Kidney Patient Involvement Network (KPIN), a national network of renal clinicians, charities, universities and patient experts promoting quality patient involvement and engagement.

Philippa Hedley-Takhar

Business Development Manager

Philippa joined the team in January 2019 to develop strategic relationships with national partners to support Devices for Dignity’s programme portfolio and catalyse opportunities across Devices for Dignity’s clinical and cross-cutting themes.

Prior to joining the team, Philippa was Programme Manager in the Perfect Patient Pathway NHS England Wave 1 Test Bed programme co-ordinating multi-stakeholder partnerships to implement, test and evaluate novel combinations of technology and service re-design supporting the care home community and NHS services at system-level; and develop training and resources for health professionals to support people with long-term conditions to use technology for self-management.

With over 15 years’ experience in economic development, inward investment and strategic innovation in the advanced manufacturing, digital, and health technologies sectors, and an MSc in Urban Regeneration, Philippa was previously Head of Investment & Partnerships at Yorkshire & Humber Academic Health Science Network (AHSN), working in the Commercial Team to establish the Yorkshire & Humber Digital Health & Wellbeing Ecosystem (a partnership with the European Connected Health Alliance (ECHAlliance); and develop relationships with national funding bodies, the SME community and healthcare innovation networks.

Dr Katherine Jeays-Ward

NHS Innovation Manager

Communications Lead

Katherine has over ten years’ experience of managing complex multidisciplinary projects from concept to completion across a range of organisations and sectors, and has particular interests in the development of disruptive technologies that involve service redesign, adoption and implementation, and policy change. Recent projects, as either co-investigator or project manager, include renal technologies, technology and service development around bespoke ventilation masks, detection of clinically relevant microorganisms, and diagnosis of urinary tract infection in different settings. As part of her role as NHS Innovation Manager Katherine manages D4D’s Renal Technologies Theme.

Communicating our technology development processes and outcomes within healthcare and the technology sector is a vital aspect of the long-term successful adoption of medtech, from catalysing new developments and working with stakeholders, through to sharing new innovations and evidence, and championing technology adoption. As Communication Lead, Katherine is responsible for D4D’s Communication Strategy, and for a broad range of D4D-wide activities.

Prior to moving into technology development Katherine obtained a PhD in developmental genetics from the Institute of Cancer Research (London, UK), and spent a further four years as a post-doctoral research associate in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Sheffield.

Dr Angel Jimenez-Aranda

Digital Technology Lead 

Angel is the Digital Technology Lead at D4D. He has prime responsibility for promoting the development and adoption of digital healthcare technologies in the D4D consortium. His goal is to maximise the operational efficiency in the selection and execution of high impact research and innovation projects. He has an extensive experience developing and evaluating digital solutions for clinical decision support and patient empowerment. He has a successful track record leveraging funding and partnerships opportunities.

Angel was an active member of the delivery team in the Perfect Patient Pathway Test Bed Programme (2016-2018). This programme, funded by NHS England and led by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, aimed to build infrastructure and test innovative combinations of technology and care pathway development to improve patient outcomes and experience.

Kirsty Kassim

Programme Administrator

Kirsty has worked for D4D since its formation in 2007. She has worked at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in various admin roles for over 20 years, the last 10 in the Department of Medical Physics. She loves the challenge of supporting the D4D multidisciplinary Team.

Dr Avril McCarthy

MedTech Lead

Avril is MedTech Lead at NIHR Devices for Dignity HTC, with responsibility for all MedTech aspects of the portfolio of projects. Avril is also an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at the University of Sheffield.

Avril is passionate about developing new medical devices that bring benefits to patients and has experienced a wide and varied range of projects incorporating collaborative working with industry, academic colleagues, and product users, within multi- and interdisciplinary teams. In Avril’s previous roles as Medical Device Innovation Lead at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS FT she was responsible for developing new devices for the NHS Trust, and Lead Clinical Scientist for the Biomechanical Evaluation and Function Group, specialising in clinical gait analysis provided as a clinical service to Sheffield Children’s Hospital. She was also responsible for clinical research applications of biomechanical analysis, such as modelling of orthopaedic procedures including osteotomies.

A graduate of the University of Liverpool, Avril also has a PhD in Orthopaedic Surgery Simulation for training from the University of Sheffield.

Nathaniel Mills

Paediatric Programme Manager

Nathaniel project manages the paediatric theme within D4D, this includes D4D Junior which cross cuts D4D’s existing themes and also the TITCH (Technology and Innovation Transforming Child Health) collaborative which is a network of experts from across the paediatric health sector. The network also includes academic, industry and charity representation.

Nathaniel is a trained nurse and prior to his role with D4D was the lead nurse for the South Yorkshire Clinical Research Network (Now CRN: Yorkshire and Humber).

Abigail Needham

Business Development and Project Manager

Abigail is the Business Development and Project Manager working across NIHR Devices for Dignity MedTech Co-operatives, NIHR Children and Young Peoples’ MedTech Co-operative and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre.

Abigail is a trained Physiotherapist and prior to joining Devices for Dignity was working in the pharmaceutical industry. She has over 12 years’ experience working as a Sales Representative and Account Manager working in numerous areas including Diabetes, Cardiovascular, Respiratory – Asthma and COPD and Vaccines.

Lise Sproson

NHS Innovation Manager

PPI Lead

Lise manages the D4D Diabetes Theme, working alongside our Clinical Diabetes Theme Lead, Professor Simon Heller.  This theme was established in 2018 and is now working with a wide network of collaborators to develop new health technologies for people living with Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes.

As PPI Lead, Lise also has responsibility for overseeing development of creative ways of engaging patients, carers and the public, bringing this lived experience together with expertise from healthcare professionals, industry, designers and academics from many different disciplines and organisations. This collaborative approach is essential to the identification of priority areas of unmet need and also to ensure the development of devices and services which are fit for purpose.

Lise has over 20 years’ experience delivering patient care as an Allied Health Professional in the NHS, and expertise in the development and delivery of research studies.