Position: Director of partner relations
Location: Nottingham UK

Karen has worked in the NHS for over 25 years. She has undertaken a number of strategic and operational roles across primary and secondary care, developing expertise in both provider and commissioning functions. Karen’s most recent appointments were as Director of Nursing within the East Midlands.

Karen is currently Director of Partner Relations and Operations at NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Research and Care (CLAHRC EM) and Head of Clinical Programmes at the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network (EMAHSN).

In her role with CLAHRC EM, she establishes and builds partnerships across the NHS, academia, industry and voluntary sector to drive the translation of applied healthcare research into clinical practice. She supports the ‘co-production’ of applied health care research and builds capacity and capability for research within partner organisations. As Head of Clinical Programmes for EMAHSN, Karen focuses on the adoption and spread of proven innovations at pace and scale across the East Midlands. She works collaboratively with partners across organisational and sector boundaries to ensure delivery of clinical programmes for patient benefit.

Karen is a Specialist Advisor to the Care Quality Commission and is a Trustee of Double Impact, a Nottinghamshire-based Charity that supports people with problematic drug and alcohol use. She also works as a frontline nurse twice a month, a role she feels is vital to retain a sense of reality!