About Us: Project Management Team
Nigel Cunliffe is Professor of Medical Microbiology and Director of the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Gastrointestinal Infections at the University of Liverpool. He is an active clinician, working as Honorary Consultant Microbiologist, Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. Following graduation from the University of Manchester Medical School in 1988, Nigel trained as a clinical microbiologist in Edinburgh and Liverpool and obtained his PhD from the University of Liverpool in 2001. His research addresses the epidemiology and prevention of diarrhoeal disease in children. Since the award in 1996 of a Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship in Clinical Tropical Medicine, Nigel has led a long-term programme of rotavirus research in children in Malawi. He led a pivotal, Phase III clinical trial of human rotavirus vaccine which resulted in a global rotavirus vaccine recommendation by WHO, and demonstrated for the first time from a low income country that rotavirus vaccination reduces diarrhoea deaths in children. He is a member of the international ROTA Council which provides the scientific evidence that policymakers need to accelerate the global introduction of rotavirus vaccines. Nigel has written multiple Cochrane reviews of rotavirus vaccines and has served on national and international advisory committees on rotavirus vaccines. His work has been published in leading medical journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Lancet Infectious Diseases and Lancet Global Health.
Noels background is in medicine, statistics and public health epidemiology. As a public health doctor and researcher, his main focus has been on the control of infectious diseases. His main research theme has been in integrating bacterial population genetics in the public health epidemiology of human infections and disease. His wider research interests focus on developing and applying quantitative and novel research methods to practical public health problems. In this regard, "focus" may be a misnomer as this work is diverse as per published papers accessible via Google Scholar https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=ldL_TBoAAAAJ&hl=en.
Valérie Decraene, UK Heath Security Agency Academic Career Development Lead
Valerie.Decraene@@ukhsa.gov.uk
Valérie Decraene is an Epidemiologist with UK Heath Security Agency, based in Liverpool. She also works half time as a Scientific Coordinator for the UK Field Epidemiology Training Programme. She started her career as a microbiologist, completing a PhD at University College London in 2007. Valérie has spent 14 years working as a field epidemiologist and has considerable expertise in applied epidemiology. Valerie has been heavily involved with planning and delivery of learning and development activities across UK Heath Security Agency. She is also passionate about facilitating career development for epidemiologists and has been involved with new initiatives and training programmes, including the creation of a Higher Specialist Scientific Training Programme in Applied Epidemiology and the Government Science and Engineering Career Framework.
Sophie Staniszewska , Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) Lead
Sophie.staniszewska@warwick.ac.uk
Professor Sophie Staniszewska leads the Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) and Experiences of Care Programme at Warwick Research in Nursing, Warwick Medical School. Sophie is Co-editor in Chief of a Springer Nature Journal, Research Involvement and Engagement. http://www.researchinvolvement.com/
Sophie has carried out a wide range of studies in patient and public involvement and patient experiences, including publishing the first international guidance to enhance the quality of PPI reporting, GRIPP2. Sophie was co-chair of the Health Technology International Patient and Citizen Group where she led work on the development of the concept of patient-based evidence. Sophie was Vice-Chair of the National Institute for Health Research Breaking Boundaries Review which developed the future vision of patient and public involvement in health research in the UK. Sophie is one of the founders of the Global PPI Network, alongside NIHR, Cochrane and COMET. Sophie regularly works with NICE as an expert advisor.
