Meet the women of the the West of Scotland Innovation Hub who’re at the forefront of advancements in healthcare
We are pleased to use International Women’s Day as an opportunity to spotlight and celebrate the women working as part of the West of Scotland Innovation Hub.
The Hub, which is hosted by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, supports health and social care innovation across the west of Scotland and addresses key challenges to improve health, social care and service delivery.
It works with clinicians, patients, academics, funding bodies and industry partners to find solutions to ‘problems’, using technology, expertise, AI and digital platforms to make improvements to how health services are delivered.
The Hub’s team is headed up by Research and Innovation Lead Dr Katriona Brooksbank, who took up her post last October.
Katriona, who is also a busy mum of three and recently completed a Masters of Laws - LLM, Medical Law and Ethics, is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow and was previously the institution’s Head of Clinical Trials for heart failure.
In her current role, she is committed to promoting Scotland as a go-to location for innovation activity by working on collaborative innovation initiatives with NHS, academic and commercial partners to address social and healthcare priorities.
Katriona is also Chair of the NHS Health Research Authority’s Research Ethics Service.
The work being taken forward by the Hub, including e-health, will allow NHS boards to make vital changes and adapt to Scotland’s ageing population placing greater demand on services.
Current projects include innovation in paediatric healthcare, as well as looking at new ways to manage long-term conditions like COPD and heart failure through digital platforms that allow patients to be monitored and cared for at home.
The Hub has also been helping to develop a digital programme to significantly speed up identification of osteoporosis, and AI technology that can help with rapid diagnosis and results in chest X-rays and CT scans for head trauma.
Some of these innovative projects are already helping the health service to become more efficient and preventative, and will aid in reducing waiting times and backlogs for tests and treatments.
Katriona’s team includes Industry Collaboration Project Managers Sophie Bagnall, Ela Fergusson and Elaine O’Neill, and Project Manager (Research and Innovation) Jacqueline Anderson, while Project Manager Marianne Murphy and Project Manager Ruchi Lalwani work on e-health within the Hub.
The WoSIH also draws on the experience of clinicians, with Dr Ana Talbot and Dr Kate Hulse as Innovation Clinical Fellows in Frailty and Falls and ENT respectively.
Dr Nagore Penades and Professor Ioanna Nixon also provide key expertise in their roles as Innovation Clinical Theme Leads for Mental Health and Cancer, Linda Conroy works as a Senior Business Officer for the Hub, and Jagroop Dhillon is the Data Manager and Service Coordinator.
Katriona said: “International Women’s Day is an ideal opportunity for us to celebrate the women working as part of the West of Scotland Innovation Hub.
“Our team has a wealth of experience and expertise covering innovation, research, e-health and industry collaboration and I am proud that so many women are part of it.
“The work we do can hugely benefit patients and staff as we continue to develop platforms and technologies to improve services.”