Chief Operating Officer appointed to NIHR Clinical Research Network

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has appointed Ann Marie Murtagh as Chief Operating Officer of the National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network (NIHR CRN) for South London, which will be hosted by the Trust from 1 April.

The NIHR CRN is the clinical research delivery arm of the NHS and last year was responsible for helping more than 630,000 patients to take part in research studies that contribute towards improving treatments for the future.

As Chief Operating Officer, Ann Marie will ensure that the network's activities across south London are carried out effectively, and that funding is allocated to local hospitals and GP surgeries to support their involvement in clinical research.

Ann Marie, who started in her new role on 1 February, brings a wealth of experience to the post. She is the current Senior Manager for the London (South) Comprehensive Local Research Network (CLRN) and CRN Transition Facilitation Lead for South London. Prior to her move to the CLRN, Ann Marie was the Network Senior Manager for the South East Stroke Research Network.

Building on our success

She says: “I am delighted to take up the new challenge and look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in south London.

“The restructure of our clinical research networks provides us with a unique opportunity to build on the successes our current networks have worked hard to achieve over the years.

“This is an exciting time for us all and I look forward to building on our current research portfolio in south London, and offer our research community and patients further opportunities to engage with clinical research.”

Driving high quality health research

Professor Charles Wolfe, Director of Research and Development at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, says: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Ann Marie Murtagh and we look forward to working with her. I am confident she will continue to deliver on the successes of the current networks and help drive high quality health research to benefit our local communities.”

Dr Kate Blake, Director of Research and Development Strategy at Guy’s and St Thomas’, adds: “We will be working closely with Ann Marie in the next year to bring the network through its period of transition and explore the further research potential this opportunity brings to all healthcare providers in south London.”

Dr Jonathan Sheffield, Chief Executive of the NIHR Clinical Research Network nationally, says: “Clinical research is part of the day job for the NHS, but we need to make sure that we give hospitals and surgeries the right support to do it effectively.  As Chief Operating Officer, Ann Marie will really help us to achieve a research-active culture for the benefit of patients, and I'm delighted to welcome her to the leadership team."

The NIHR CRN appointed Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust as the host organisation for the NIHR CRN for south London. It is one of 15 local clinical research networks which replace the current national structure on 1 April.