Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
I am driven by a single goal: to accelerate discovery science for patient benefit. As a clinical academic and senior research leader, I focus on delivering real-world impact through translational platforms, inclusive research ecosystems, and system-level transformation. I am equally passionate about academic leadership — ensuring that institutions are strategically focused on innovation and economic growth, workforce development, and research-led teaching. I believe that high-performing research environments must also nurture talent, inspire cross-sector collaboration, and align with the evolving needs of the NHS and wider society. At King’s College London, I serve as Director of the Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies, guiding liver research across KCL and King’s College Hospital in partnership with the Foundation for Liver Research. RWILS brings together leading expertise in hepatology, immunology, and transplantation, focused on solving the most urgent challenges in liver disease. I also lead the King’s Health Partners Centre for Translational Medicine (CTM), where I’ve reshaped strategy to tackle health inequalities, build community trust, and support research informed by and led with local populations. Working with the Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation, I’ve defined research priorities, strengthened capabilities, and integrated the translational ecosystem across academia, the NHS, and community partners — all to deliver more impactful research, faster. Nationally, I serve as Clinical Lead for the UK Advanced Therapy Treatment Centres (ATTC) network, supporting a unified national infrastructure of trials-ready hospitals and universities. I also co-chair the UK Liver Alliance, driving the national liver research and policy agenda. Internationally, I am Senior Editor of the Journal of Hepatology, the world’s leading liver journal, responsible for commissioning globally relevant review content. As Secretary General of EASL (2019–21), I oversaw strategy, operations, and a €25M global portfolio. My research spans regenerative medicine and MASLD (NAFLD). I led the first RCT of stem cell therapy in cirrhosis (Lancet GH, 2019), now lead MSC trials (MERLIN, POLARISE), pioneered GLP-1 therapies in MASLD (J Hepatol, NEJM), and co-developed the FAST score (Gastroenterology, 2020). I co-led the UK and European Lancet Commissions on Liver Disease (7x Lancet, 2015–21).
From Dec 2022