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Unique partnership between Coventry University and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust delivers next generation of Senior Research Leaders
Clinical academics at Coventry University and UHCW, as well as alumni, are part of the NIHR Senior Research Leader Programme
University news / Research news / Health and Community Wellbeing
Monday 08 June 2026
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A unique partnership between Coventry University and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (UHCW) to support Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professional researchers has enabled NHS staff to secure prestigious awards.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has announced the latest recipients of its Senior Research Leader Programme and among them are two clinical academics at Coventry University and UHCW.
Dr Emma Murphy and Dr Sally Abbott, who are both from the university’s Research Centre for Healthcare and Community Transformation, are among the latest cohort who will receive support from NIHR as they lead on research initiatives with UHCW.
Dr Murphy is an Associate Clinical Professor with the Centre for Care Excellence, Coventry University’s clinical academic partnership with UHCW which empowers staff at every level to develop ideas to make ‘patient first’ improvements.
Over the past 15 years Dr Murphy has progressed through clinical academic funding streams from doctoral to postdoctoral with her research focusing on the outcomes and experiences of people living with kidney failure.
The NIHR Senior Research Leader award recognises and extends my leadership role and provides the opportunity to build sustainable nursing research capacity and capability across both organisations.
This creates a strong foundation for wider system learning and influence, strengthening research leadership and culture so that evidence is embedded in practice and leads to meaningful improvements in care for patients and communities.
Dr Emma Murphy, Associate Clinical Professor with the Centre for Care Excellence
Over the past decade Dr Abbott has progressed through clinical academic pathways in the West Midlands. She completed an NIHR funded Master’s by Research at Coventry University, followed by an NIHR funded Pre-Doctoral Clinical Academic Fellowship at the University of Birmingham, and then completed her PhD at Coventry University.
Dr Abbott holds joint appointments as an Assistant Professor (Research) at Coventry University and as the Clinical Lead Dietitian for Bariatric Surgery at UHCW.
As an Allied Health Professional (AHP) and dietitian I am particularly proud to receive this award in the first year that the NIHR Senior Research Leader programme has been open to AHPs. This recognition highlights the important contribution that AHPs can make to research leadership, innovation and improving patient care across the health and care system.
The award provides an opportunity for me to strengthen research capacity and support the development of future clinical academic pathways for AHPs, while ensuring that research is closely connected to the experiences and needs of patients and communities.
Dr Sally Abbott, Assistant Professor (Research) at Coventry University and as the Clinical Lead Dietitian for Bariatric Surgery at UHCW
Two alumni of Coventry University and the UHCW iCAHRE (Interdisciplinary Clinical Academic Health Research Excellence) programme - an initiative between Coventry University and UHCW that helps hospital staff to learn about research and use it to further improve patient care - have also received leader awards including Dr Andrew Morris, the Professional and Clinical Lead Dietitian and Renal Dietetic Lead at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
Dr Morris graduated with a first-class degree in Dietetics and later obtained a PhD both at Coventry University where he still holds an Honorary Research Fellow post at the Research Centre for Healthcare and Community Transformation.
This award allows me to provide the guidance and structure needed for allied health professionals who want to pursue a clinical-academic career but currently lack the capacity to do so alongside their clinical responsibilities. It enables me to support colleagues in developing their research skills and advancing patient-centred care, in alignment with the NHS Long Term Plan initiatives.
Dr Andrew Morris, Professional and Clinical Lead Dietitian and Renal Dietetic Lead at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
The fourth Senior Research Leader is Dr Helen Eftekhari, a post doctoral Cardiology Nurse Researcher in the Institute of CardioMetabolic Medicine at UHCW. Having completed a nursing degree at Coventry University in 1996, Dr Eftekhari’s research journey also began with the iCAhRE programme, which led to an NIHR Master’s by Research at Coventry University, followed by successful funding for a PhD fellowship by the British Heart Foundation.
The importance of clinical-facing research to help underpin evidence-based practice and drive innovation and sustainability in the NHS cannot be understated.
We are so proud of our researchers and alumni to have received research leadership awards from NIHR and this demonstrates what we can achieve in partnership with University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.
Professor Deborah Lycett, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research Skills and Education at Coventry University
As leader of the iCAhRE with colleagues at Coventry University, I have seen first-hand the importance of providing NHS staff with a structured academic programme to enable them to develop their research careers. These appointments demonstrate what can be achieved through partnership and commitment to supporting the research leaders of the future to improve patient care.
Nic Aldridge, Head of Research Delivery and Impact at UHCW
