Professor Michael Lewis, Scientific Director for Innovation NIHR Programme Director SBRI Healthcare & i4i University of Birmingham Medical School

Professor Michael Lewis, is Scientific Director for the NIHR, and recently i4i and SBRi Healthcare programmes as well as Professor of Life Science Innovation at the University of Birmingham.

His industry experience covers pharma, biotech, digital, dental, devices, clinical trials and diagnostics. Currently, he is Chair of 2 life science companies all with an emphasis on citizen focused, data and outcomes driven healthcare. He recently sat on the Board of SNOMED, the global medical coding standardisation system, the Executive Board of Birmingham Health Partners and is an advisor on data, AI, quantum, genomics and engineered biology.

He lectures on innovation in life sciences and how this aligns with the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development goals. He is also closely involved with delivering the new Birmingham Health Innovation campus, a £250m life science park at the University of Birmingham.

Professor Nick Plant, FRSB Pro-Vice-Chancellor: Research & Innovation, Professor of Systems Biology University of Leeds

Lawrence Tallon, Chief Executive of Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency MHRA

Professor Alastair Denniston, AI Strategic Advisor, Birmingham

Professor Darren Treanor, Consultant Pathologist, Honorary Clinical Professor, Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust

Philip White, Founder & Managing Director, Audacia

Professor Henrietta Hughes OBE, Patient Safety Commissioner for England

  Professor Jonathan Benger, Chief Executive, NICE

Jonathan joined NICE in January 2023 as Chief Medical Officer and in March 2023 became Interim Director of the Centre for Guidelines. Jonathan was subsequently appointed Deputy Chief Executive in May 2024 and Chief Executive in December 2025.

Prior to this, he was the Interim Chief Clinical Information Officer (CCIO) at NHS England (2022), the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of NHS Digital (2019 to 2022), and the National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care at NHS England (2013 to 2019).

In his clinical work, Jonathan is a consultant in emergency medicine at the Bristol Royal Infirmary and also does regular shifts with the Great Western Air Ambulance, which he established as its first medical advisor between 2007 and 2011.

Jonathan is professor of emergency care in the school of health and social wellbeing at the University of the West of England, and a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) senior investigator. His main research interests relate to cardiac arrest, emergency and pre-hospital care, service organization and delivery, and design research.

Dr Rosie Britton, Innovation Policy Manager, MedTech & Innovation Directorate, DHSC

Mark Slack, Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer CMR Surgical

  Professor David Beard Professor of Musculoskeletal & Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford

David Beard is an internationally recognised expert in the evaluation of surgical innovation, holding roles as Professor of Musculoskeletal and Surgical Sciences and Rosetrees RCS Eng Oxford (Surgical Trials Centre) Chair, at the University of Oxford, and Professor and Director of Research Partnerships at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, with a specialist role as Surgical & Complex Intervention Trials Lead.

Professor Beard has been instrumental in the development and leadership of the IDEAL collaboration, providing an internationally adopted framework for new devices and surgical testing. His current research portfolio includes leadership of several major national and international studies. He is Co-Chief Investigator of the NIHR REINFORCE study, a large-scale evaluation of the safety, effectiveness, implementation and health economics of robotic surgery across multiple specialties, and a co-applicant on PASHiOn, a multicentre trial of personalised, digitally planned knee surgery. Most recently, he secured an $11 million MRFF Frontiers grant (PIONEERS), and will lead the embedded clinical trials program.

He is also a member of the RCS Eng Working Group on Robotic Surgery (RADAR) and the MSK RAS working group and serves as TSC Chair of the NIHR RACER study.

Mr James Kinross, Consultant colorectal surgeon at Imperial College London

Dr Mike Odling-Smee, Co-Founder & Director AireLogic

Department of Health & Social Care – Speaker TBC

Alwyn Kotze, Perioperative Lead, Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust

Dr Naill Keenan, Consultant Cardiologist and Divisional Director for Medicine

Dr Sarah Vollam, Senior Researcher, NIHR HRC in Community Care

1st in the UK Womb Transplantation: Challenges and the Role of Qualitative Research – SPOC TRC

 

New Technologies for Computer/Robot Assisted Surgery – CRAS

 

Medilink Regulation Session

 

Implantable Medical Devices – Brief presentation on Yorkshire based innovations. Followed by panel session discussing translation and regulation – PBIAA

 

EMC StarMap Tool for the adoption of tech and successful navigation of healthcare system – Dr Amel Havkik, Managing Director of EvoMed Consulting, Justin Hall, MedTech Marketing Ltd, Michael Branagan-Harris, CEO HealthTech Strategies Limited

Developing Invasive Placebo Interventions – SPOC TRC

 

NIHR Net Zero Innovation Catalyst/ SUSTAIN – Professor Pete Culmer, Dr Rory Turnbull

 

Capacity & Building Training, MedTech Foundation

 

Women (as patients) s an Underserved Group in Surgery – EDI

 

Diagnostics – Brief presentation on Yorkshire based innovations- problem, unique solution. Followed by panel session discussing translation and regulation- PBIAA

 

Evaluation and Regulation of New Devices and Surgical Procedures – SPOC TRC

 

Quashing myths of perceived barriers of academic research – CTRU & NIHR RDN

 

PBIAA Session – EPSRC

 

HealthTech Investment Zone

 

Reducing the 85% failure rate on MedTech Start ups  – Michael Branagan-Harris, CEO HealthTech Strategies Limited , Claudia Holy, Founder & CEO Podymos Ltd, Dr Mehdi Javanbakht, Managing Director at Optimax Access

 

Perioperative Care – SPOC TRC

 

HRC Network

 

Cultural Competence Training – EMRI Network

 

Innovation Pop-Up

 

Diagnostics & Regulation – BIVDA Innovation Pipelines

Surgical Observatory – Unmet needs and prioritisation. With a system readiness lens

PBIAA Showcase Session – Select show and tell demonstration across funded technology areas