Invention for Innovation - Product Development Awards Committee C

Published: 31 October 2023
Version: V3.0 June 2024
3 min read

The funding committees for the NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) Programme are multidisciplinary, comprising academic, clinical and commercial experts, as well as patient and public members. i4i has five committees: three for Product Development Awards (committee A, committee B and committee C), one for Challenge Awards, and one for Connect.

Committee members - Product Development Awards Selection Committee C

Name	Position	Organisation	Expertise
Ms Joanna Smart (Chair)	Investor Director	BGF	Ms Smart has been active in the life sciences sector for over 20 years, as a CEO, non-executive chair and board director with experience in operating roles in SMEs, startups, global biotech, and investment banking.
Mrs Sarah Biggs	Public Committee Member	PPI Representative	PPI Representative
Ms Jacqueline Birks	NIHR Senior Medical Statistician	University of Oxford	Ms Birks is a medical statistician who has worked on large clinical trials in different clinical areas including neurology, mental health, surgery and dementia.
Professor Philip Breedon	Professor of Smart Technologies	Nottingham Trent University	Professor Breedon is a medical design engineer with interests in wearable and rehabilitation technologies, Extended Reality, AI, surgical and mobile robotics and the surgical pathway.
Professor Daniel Freeman	Professor of Clinical Psychology	University of Oxford	Professor Freeman is a clinical psychologist with experience in mental health, digital health apps, virtual reality and implementation. In 2016, he created the spin-out company Oxford VR.
Mr Sam Gray	Managing Partner	Apposite Capital	Mr Gray has more than 20 years of experience in healthcare investment with extensive expertise in digital health and medical products.
Dr Surbhi Gupta	Senior Regulatory Affairs Lead (Medical Devices)	NHS England	Dr Gupta is an experienced medtech executive specialised in progressing innovative healthcare assets towards regulatory approval and commercialisation.
Dr Stephen Hicks	Co-founder	OXSIGHT Ltd	Dr Hicks has expertise in the development and commercialisation of medical devices and software including: electronics, physiological monitoring, computer vision & AI. Diagnostics, therapies and assistive technologies for neurology, sensory and motor difficulties.
Dr James Kinross	Reader in Colorectal Surgery and Consultant Surgeon	Imperial College London	Dr Kinross has expertise in robotic surgery and minimally invasive surgery for colorectal cancer. He performs translational research in the fields of the microbiome, early colorectal cancer detection and prevention and in surgical technology transfer.
Professor David Lowe	Clinical Director for health innovation	Chief Scientist Office	Professor Lowe is an emergency consultant with radiology, imaging, AI and healthcare innovation expertise.
Professor Roma Maguire	Professor of Digital Health and Care	University of Strathclyde	Professor Maguire has a clinical background as a nurse and has experience with digital health, developing apps, leading large clinical trials and implementation science.
Mr Stuart Mealing	Associate Director (Health Economics and Outcomes Research)	York Health Economics Consortium Ltd	Mr Mealing has experience in the development and review of cost-effectiveness and budget impact models and working with medical devices and the modelling of orphan/ultra-orphan conditions.
Professor Steve Morris	CEO	Ingram Networks Ltd	Professor Morris has experience in the development of medical devices from concept to regulatory approval and first human use.
Dr Kam Pooni	CEO	Glyconics Ltd	Dr Pooni has over 25 years of life sciences and MedTech commercialisation expertise, including regulatory, market entry and adoption routes.
Dr Krishan Ramdoo	CEO Tympa Health and NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Fellow.	Northwick Park Institute for Medical Research	Dr Ramdoo is an ear, nose and throat surgeon with experience in developing a product starting from a lab bench to commercial product.
Dr Matthew Reeves	Associate Professor/Reader in Molecular Virology	University College London	Dr Reeves has a specialty in infectious diseases focusing primarily on human cytomegalovirus latency and reactivation, and viral pathogenesis in human transplantation.
Ms Josephine Tapper	Public Committee Member	PPI Representative	PPI Representative
Professor Wendy Tindale OBE	Director	Sheffield Teaching Hospitals; NIHR Devices for Dignity MIC	Professor Tindale is a Consultant Medical Physicist and is experienced in collaborative MedTech development and NHS implementation.
Professor Yan Yiannakou	Clinical Consultant	County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust	Professor Yiannakou is a gastroenterologist by background and an innovator with strong clinical trial expertise. He has previously held posts as Director of R&D of an NHS Trust and Director of the NIHR Patient Recruitment Centre, Newcastle.