Institute of Global Health Innovation
Annual Report 2024

Foreword

Fourteen years after it was established, the Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) remains committed to transforming health for all through evidence-based innovation.

Collaboration is at our core, driving progress across medicine, policy, technology, and design through our Centres of Excellence.

In 2024, we worked on some of the most pressing global health challenges – from health inequities and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to cancer care, dementia research, and patient safety.

Our Fleming Initiative was named a key contributor to the UK’s National Action Plan (2024–2029) for combating drug-resistant infections, while our AMR report, global advocacy efforts, and UN General Assembly participation reinforced our commitment to action.

In June 2024, we hosted the 16th Annual Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics, themed ‘AI-Driven Health: Transforming Care,’ followed by our inaugural AI Strategy Bootcamp in autumn, highlighting AI’s role in NHS innovation. Meanwhile, IGHI’s Helix Centre partnered with Imperial College Healthcare Trust to investigate missed hospital appointments and co-design community-driven solutions to improve attendance.

Recognising the growing impact of climate change on mental health, last year we also launched the Global Research and Action Agenda through the global collaboration Connecting Climate Minds. We closed the year with the National State of Patient Safety Report, highlighting critical challenges, particularly in maternity care.

IGHI continues to influence health policy. Lord Darzi was asked to review the state of the NHS by UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting and produced this acclaimed report with support from the Centre for Health Policy.

Despite the current challenges in global health, we remain optimistic and committed to shaping healthcare systems that are better, safer and more equitable for all, both in the UK and internationally.

As Julia Gillard AC, Chair of Wellcome and former Prime Minister of Australia, reminded us during last year’s IGHI Special Lecture: “We can find hope in the power of science – it unlocks the potential to change things for the better."

Professor the Lord Ara Darzi 
Professor Sir David Nabarro 
Co-Directors, Institute of Global Health Innovation 

IGHI brings its expertise to five prioritiy areas:

Prevention and early detection

Healthcare delivery

Health equity

Safety and quality

Emerging global challenges

Reducing environmental impact of operating theatres 

Operating theatres are a major contributor to healthcare’s carbon emissions. Through collaboration with researchers at the Dyson School of Design Engineering, we have investigated drivers of unsustainable practices, and designed and pilot-tested an intervention to reduce environmental impact. This work combined design and behavioural science approaches. We conducted ethnographic observations in operating theatres, as well as conducting interviews with operating theatre staff and a national survey. We found that an average of nine pairs of non-sterile gloves are used unnecessarily per surgery, which has a substantial carbon footprint. The work focused on drivers of unnecessary non-sterile glove use.  

The findings informed a stepwise intervention, pilot-tested in one operating theatre, to reduce unnecessary non-sterile glove use in operating theatres. This included a poster with information of when gloves are not needed, an animated video combining these instructions with safety and environmental consequences of unnecessary glove use, and then a staff training session. The intervention was found to reduce unnecessary glove use.  

The team: Aws Almukhtar, Gaby Judah, Talya Porat, Pelin Demirel, Sadhana Jagannath 

Collaboration with Mental Health Innovations 

In October 2024, the Centre for Health Policy, in collaboration with Mental Health Innovations (MHI), launched the report ‘Help is just a text away: Accessing and scaling mental health support through Shout’s digital service’. The report highlights how crucial 24/7 digital mental health services are, particularly as the demand for mental health services continues to rise. Analysts from MHI and IGHI worked together to better understand Shout usage patterns, confirming that Shout is filling a crucial gap, particularly during the night when other services may not be available. 

The report drew on insights from interviews with government officials, Shout service commissioners and mental health experts. It also benefitted immensely from the collaboration with a Service User Voice Group (i.e. nine people who had previously used Shout), who came together to support the development of the report and the Shout service more broadly. 

The launch of the report at Imperial College London’s South Kensington campus included speeches from Professor Ara Darzi, Victoria Hornby (CEO of MHI), Baroness Gillian Merron (Minister for Mental Health) and Ali Shah, a member of the Service User Voice Group.

The report builds on over five years of close partnership between Mental Health Innovations and IGHI. This unique and innovative partnership between researchers and a digital mental health service has fostered ten Master's projects to better understand the mental health needs in the UK and how to improve service provision. This has included developing insights on who is using digital mental health services and their level of distress as well as what support could benefit the mental health of frontline health workers.

The team: Melanie Leis, Roberto Fernández Crespo, John Illingworth, Emma Lawrance, Anna Lawrence-Jones, Jodie Chan, Inaaya Kaul, Peter Howitt

Hamlyn Symposium on medical robotics

In June 2024, the Hamlyn Centre hosted the 16th Annual Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics, centred around the theme ‘AI-Driven Health: Transforming Care’. The symposium featured exceptional keynote speakers, an extensive range of workshops, an engaging industry forum, and a global surgery forum. Attendees participated from across the globe, with approximately 57% coming from international locations and 21% representing the industry sector.  

This year, the Hamlyn Symposium's theme is 'Back to the Future: Telesurgery in 2025', taking place 24 to 27 June 2025, at the Royal Geographical Society.  

The team: Marianne Knight, Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena

Cancer Care

In 2024, the Helix Centre supported Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust to understand the patient, carer and staff experience of the cancer care they provide. This work was part of a major Trust-wide cancer programme to find out how to make the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust cancer care pathways work better for patients and their families.  

The Helix Centre led this 'discovery' phase and carried out interviews and workshops with patients, family members and staff to identify a set of insights and recommendations for future work. These insights have been translated by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust into an improvement plan that will address these areas. The Helix Centre is continuing to work with the Trust on co-designing several of these solutions with patients, their families and staff.  

The team: Fiona O’Driscoll, Alice Gregory, Leila Shepherd, Imran Nazerali 

End of Life Care 

The Helix Centre continued its work in end of life care by evaluating the perceptions, implications and acceptability of ‘Palliate’, an intervention designed to help lay carers administer subcutaneous medication to their loved ones. 

The rationale for this study stems from many people's desire to be cared for and die at home, which requires effective pain and symptom management. Currently, end of life (or palliative) care nurses visit patients at home daily to administer medications, making additional visits when required for further symptom relief (e.g. from pain, nausea, breathlessness and agitation). When oral medications are no longer effective, a subcutaneous cannula is often used to deliver a continuous infusion of medication. In some UK regions, lay carers, such as family and friends, are trained to administer top-up medications, enabling faster symptom relief without waiting for a nurse. Palliate aims to support lay carers in this role. Helix began evaluating the intervention in 2024, incorporating feedback from the public, patients, carers, and healthcare professionals. In 2025, a user-testing simulation will further refine Palliate's design, paving the way for a future large-scale trial. 

The team: David Sunkersing, Kate Grailey, Leila Shepherd 

UPBEAT Trial

The UPBEAT trial is a feasibility study evaluating OnTrack Rehab, a novel digital rehabilitation platform designed at the Helix Centre to support stroke survivors in improving arm function. Conducted as a two-arm randomised trial across acute and community NHS stroke services, the study compared OnTrack plus standard care to standard care alone. OnTrack integrates wearable technology, real-time activity tracking, and self-management coaching to promote arm activity and support rehabilitation outside of therapy sessions. 

The trial recruited 30 stroke survivors, randomised equally between the intervention and control groups. Participants using OnTrack engaged with smartwatches and a custom app to monitor arm activity, supported by trained therapists providing self-management coaching. Key outcomes included feasibility measures such as recruitment rates, intervention adherence, and delivery fidelity, as well as secondary clinical outcomes assessing arm function, self-efficacy, and quality of life. Additionally, a process evaluation explored participant and therapist experiences, while a preliminary health economic analysis compared the costs of OnTrack with standard care. 

The trial has confirmed the excellent adherence to the intervention and usability that was observed in previous studies. The trial results provide valuable insights into the implementation and acceptability of OnTrack within NHS stroke services, paving the way for a future full-scale randomised controlled trial. 

The team: Gianpaolo Fusari, Clare McCrudden, Leila Shepherd, Xueyuan Quan, Ahmed Latif 

Helix Dementia theme – InSleep46

The InSleep46 project placed sleep sensors under the mattresses of 250 participants in UCL’s Insight46 birth cohort (all born in 1946, now aged 77 years) to validate digital sleep biomarkers for dementia risk. The Helix dementia team has worked with researchers from Newcastle University to explore human factors considerations for a diagnostic service based on sleep sensors and behaviour. 

Through workshops with public members and interviews with GPs, the team has collected diverse opinions on how such a service could be implemented. Over the coming months, these insights will be translated into service blueprint prototypes for further public consultation and dissemination. 

The team: Matt Harrison, Sophie Horrocks 

Statin adherence 

As part of the Patient Safety Research Collaboration (PSRC), PhD student Javiera Rosenberg has been working to design a tailored SMS intervention to promote adherence to statin medication. Seven to eight million people in the UK are prescribed statins to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke. However, many patients do not take statins as prescribed, and poor adherence is linked to increased mortality. This research included a systematic review and interviews with diverse patients to understand the reasons why different patients don’t take statins as prescribed. The interviews revealed varying reasons across patients. For example, ethnic minority participants reported being influenced by family and friends and were sceptical about medical research, while people who had not previously had a cardiovascular event associated statin use with ageing and poor lifestyle choices. Using a behavioural science approach, these findings have been used to co-design an SMS intervention through online and in-person workshops. Different messages will be sent to patients based on their demographic and medical characteristics, as well as the reasons they give for not always taking their statins. The final co-design workshops have been completed, and user testing of the intervention will take place later in 2025.

The team: Javiera Rosenberg, Gaby Judah, Sara Garfield, David Wingfield, Anna Lawrence-Jones 

Breast cancer screening uptake 

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK, affecting 1 in 8 women in their lifetime. However, screening uptake is falling, and is only 56% in London. The Patient Safety Research Collaboration (PSRC) is conducting work to increase breast cancer screening uptake. The researchers co-designed an animated video intervention and a leaflet with women from underserved groups, using behavioural science frameworks. The co-design was informed by findings from a systematic review, survey of 1000 women, and interviews. The materials are being tested in two randomised controlled trials, with different screening services, with the leaflet being sent with the screening invitations, and the video sent as a link in the SMS appointment reminder.  

A large NIHR grant which started January 2025, will test the impact of a community champions approach to increasing breast cancer screening uptake in underserved groups, working with Hounslow Local Authority. 

The team: Gaby Judah, Ada Humphrey, Maira Salman, Amish Acharya, Anna Lawrence Jones, Thomas Beaney, Joel Smith, Ara Darzi 

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence In Mammography Screening (AIMS) is an academic-clinical-industry collaboration between Imperial College London, Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust, St George’s NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust and Google Health to perform our first real-world evaluations of the technology, with the goal of eventually introducing AI-enabled mammography screening to the NHS and beyond. 

In the UK breast screening programme, two expert radiologists assess each mammogram (X-ray of the breast), with any disagreements in opinion reviewed by an arbitration panel of other readers. However, a radiologist workforce crisis threatens the long-term sustainability of the screening programme. Google’s AI system identified cancer in mammograms with greater accuracy than specialists (Nature, 2020), suggesting potential to reduce radiologist workload, increase service capacity, improve accuracy and outcomes, reduce variability, and reduce time to results, thus improving patient experience. This project aims to bring this initial research closer to real world impact. As a result, multiple workstreams have been completed over the past three years including a large retrospective validation of one hundred thousand mammograms utilising the AI tool, an arbitration AI study which was the first of its kind, and real-world live mammogram analysis. 

Patient and public involvement has been a core element of this research from the start. Fifteen public involvement workshops were conducted with over 14 participants, many of whom were women who had undergone breast cancer screening themselves or had specific health conditions related to breast cancer. The insights from these participants directly informed the study design, patient communication strategies, and broader public engagement efforts. The results of our findings will be published this year. 

The AIMS team identified the strength of this technology in a real-world NHS Breast Cancer Screening pathway accommodating different ages and ethnicities. This technology can support the reduction of clinical workload that minimises the impact of workforce crisis whilst concurrently offering an accurate, safe and time-efficient solution for patients in preventative cancer screening programmes. 

The team: Aminata Sy, Rachita Mallya, Hutan Ashrafian, Ara Darzi

World AMR Awareness Week

For World AMR Awareness Week, the Fleming Initiative teamed up with GSK – one of their commercial partners – at London's Paddington Station to raise awareness of the risks of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and empower everyone to take action. 

Across the course of the day, the pop-up installation – which used an analogue, interactive quiz format to test public understanding, attitudes and appetite for action on AMR – gathered over 700 data points. 

Dr Kate Grailey and Dr Emily Scott-Dearing pooled their behavioural science and engagement expertise to create the quiz content, drawing on additional expert input from Fleming Initiative Policy Network members from the Department for Health & Social Care, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and UK Health Security Agency. 

The team: Emily Scott-Dearing, Kate Grailey, Jack Cooper, Georgia Power, Georgia Butterworth, Simon Dryden 

Healthy Ageing

The Helix team made great progress on the Healthy Ageing project over 2024. The project aims to help older adults live well and independently for longer, save cost to healthcare systems, and potentially also to discover new digital biomarkers that can spot signs of frailty early, for example, with smartwatches or home-based sensors that monitor daily routine. 

During 2024, we took the idea of an at-home monitoring kit designed to support older adults in maintaining their health and independence from concept to reality. We installed a kit of over 15 wearable and environmental sensors in the homes of more than 20 participants. Over the course of their participation, we collected feedback and insights and have worked with them to co-design our 'Healthy Habits' intervention, which coaches users to choose one of seven habits to focus on improving each week. The data from the sensors is shown back to users to help them track their progress, and we also aggregate and analyse all participant data with the aim of identifying novel digital biomarkers with which to track age-related health.

Some of our participants have now been involved in the study for over 12 months, and many have remarked on how the project has been enjoyable and helpful for their well-being. In 2025, we will finalise the design of the Healthy Habits digital platform and run a 30-person feasibility study to trial its acceptability. 

The team: Alex Dallman-Porter, Tricia Tay, Damion Lambert, Xueyuan Quan, Shuang Wu, Souradip Mookerjee, Tori Simpson, Matt Harrison, Gianpaolo Fusari, Kate Grailey, Leila Shepherd, Andrew Watt, Jess Shields 

Helix Dementia theme – Public Involvement in the UK DRI Care Research & Technology Centre

The Helix dementia team has continued to implement an innovative public involvement strategy with the UK DRI Care Research and Technology Centre. This year, Sophie Horrocks has created the Dementia Lived Experience Group (DLEG), a group of 16 people with lived experience of dementia care. The group has become a significant influence on the centre, regularly attending monthly centre-wide meetings to contribute to research and strategic conversations. 

This year has also included Minder Community meetings, science café-style meetings for participants in the centre’s Minder smart home for dementia care study. In these meetings, participants hear about the developments based on the research they contribute to, and give their thoughts and opinions on planned future programmes. 

Above all, these initiatives built relationships, empathy and reciprocal exchange between researchers and the people we are working for. Sophie was recognised for these efforts with the Engagement Award at Connectome, the institute wide annual conference for the UK DRI’s centres around the UK. 

The team: Sophie Horrocks, Anna Lawrence-Jones

Marylebone Project 

In 2024, IGHI received funding from the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) for an 18-month project in partnership with Central London Healthcare and the Marylebone Project, the UK’s oldest and largest women’s homelessness organisation.

The Marylebone Project told us that, based on their experience, current research practices can be harmful to the women who take part. Short-term projects that require participants to answer personal questions and recount traumatic events without taking the time to build trust and rapport may fail to provide a safe environment for women to authentically share their experiences. 

The project aims to understand how we can meaningfully involve women experiencing homelessness in the design and delivery of our research to ensure it is relevant and safe for participants, while also protecting the mental wellbeing of the women and researchers involved. To do this, we will work closely with service users at the Marylebone Project and will draw on the psychologically informed practices used by frontline homeless services.

Read our blog post to hear more from our project partners. 

The team: Jodie Chan, Anna Lawrence-Jones, Phoebe Averill, Kate Grailey, Lindsay Dewa 

Waiting Well 

People are waiting a long time to receive treatment and that those living in less advantaged areas experience health inequalities. Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and the Helix Centre carried out a project, funded by the North West London Integrated Care Board, to understand the challenges faced by people living in less advantaged areas while waiting for orthopaedic treatment and to design tailored support initiatives that could help them live well during this waiting period. 

The findings from this work highlighted the negative impacts that prolonged waits for orthopaedic treatment can have on patients’ physical, mental, and social wellbeing and showed patients’ desire for health professionals to acknowledge their concerns and help manage their expectations. Based on this, the team worked with patients to develop four potential interventions to support people waiting for orthopaedic treatment.  

Learn more about this project from two public partners who worked with the team.

The team: Jodie Chan, Anna Lawrence-Jones, Fiona O’Driscoll, Kate Grailey 

Health Equity Summit

Towards Equity in Health, an event led by IGHI with support from the British Red Cross, took place on 18 September 2024 to set priorities, share examples of best practice, challenge thinking and foster collaborations on health equity – the absence of unfair and avoidable differences in health between people because of their backgrounds.

Around 120 attendees – from policy, research, healthcare and charities – participated in a day packed with keynotes, breakout sessions and panel discussion brought in a range of perspectives, ably chaired by Dr Kamran Abbasi, editor of the BMJ. 

The team: Chris Ajah Agape, Hamza Ahmed, Laura-Maria Horga, Peter Howitt, Melanie Leis, Victoria Murphy

National State of Patient Safety Report

Analysis of publicly available data for the National State of Patient Safety 2024 report shows worsening performance on several key patient safety indicators, particularly in maternity services.

The report also highlights a stark divide between the North and South of England: Harmful, unintended effects of medical treatment are twice as high in the North East than in Greater London.

The report was produced by the IGHI and commissioned by the charity Patient Safety Watch. The report, published every two years, aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of patient safety across England. The 2024 report included a review of published performance data, analysis of NHS Trusts’ Patient Safety Incident Response Plans, and a survey on the patient safety priorities of staff and the public. 

The report, launched at the House of Lords in December 2024, revealed a complex picture of national patient safety, suggesting that that the health system cannot keep up with the number of recommendations made to it. The authors advise that a focused set of patient safety priorities must be agreed for the system to rally around. 

The team: John Illingworth, Roberto Fernández Crespo, Kaede Hasegawa, Melanie Leis, Peter Howitt, Laura-Maria Horga, Victoria Murphy

Evaluating Digital Health Technologies 

An IGHI white paper highlighted a recent study led by Imperial College London, which outlines a framework to evaluate the use of clinical simulation in evidence generation for digital health technologies (DHTs). The increasing use of digital health technology in healthcare provision has brought many new efficiencies and advances to patient care. However, DHTs often lack the evidence base (e.g. safety, outcomes, value for money) that is commonplace for other clinical interventions such as medications. Clinical simulation, where end-users are placed in simulated real-life scenarios to test a digital health technology, offers an opportunity to provide high-quality and more cost-effective evidence to support the use of DHTs.  

The IGHI team led a Delphi study with an international panel of experts to propose the Simulation for Regulation of SaMD (SIROS) framework as a method of assessing clinical simulation methods from a regulatory perspective. Based on this white paper and study, the Imperial College London team made a series of recommendations to advance the application of clinical simulation to provide evidence for digital health technologies and support regulators with guidance.  

The team: Saira Ghafur, Fiona O’Driscoll 

The Research Partners Group (RPG) 

The Research Partners Group (RPG) was a diverse group of 10 patients, carers and public members from North West London, who reviewed IGHI research projects and public involvement plans since 2017. The RPG acted as a first point of contact for researchers when they were developing research proposals. For some researchers, the RPG was the first time they had presented their work to public members. This led to researchers improving their skills in presenting their research in an accessible and engaging way to a lay audience, as well their understanding the value of public involvement. 

Over seven years, the group reviewed 68 research projects. The group not only enhanced public involvement plans, but when members had the relevant lived experience (e.g. a condition), they also helped to ensure the research project was appropriately designed. The team had a celebratory lunch to close the RPG in September 2024 and have since recruited a new group. This was to help us meet the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion goal of involving more diverse voices. 

The new group of eight members is called the NWL Community Champions Committee. This group was selected due to their strong links with community groups that represent and support underserved and under-represented communities. Their role will be similar to the RPG. However, rather than focusing on reviewing public involvement plans, the group will share knowledge of the communities they are part of, to ensure that projects are appropriately designed and do not increase health inequity. They will also help to link researchers to people in their broad networks, building on trusted relationships and helping to ensure IGHI researchers are involving people from under-represented groups. 

The team: Anna Lawrence-Jones, Jodie Chan, Inaaya Kaul 

NIHR North West London Patient Safety Research Collaboration  

Touchdose introduced into clinical practice  

Over the past year, an Imperial Innovations spinout called Dosium has made significant strides in improving NHS prescribing safety and efficiency. Its flagship product, Touchdose, is a clinical decision support tool that uses the British National Formulary to automatically calculate the correct dosage of any drug for any given patient. This is an important break from current practice in the NHS, where prescribers usually have to manually look up and calculate dosages – in a process that is time-consuming and prone to error. BMJ Quality & Safety published a simulation study of the solution, highlighting an 84% reduction in prescribing errors and time savings of 20% for each prescription made. A subsequent health economics evaluation projected savings of almost £180M if Touchdose is rolled out across NHS secondary care.   

In 2024, Touchdose was also rolled out across West London Children’s Healthcare, supported by NHS England's Digital Medicines First of Type Scheme. The solution is now live in paediatric services at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, with Chelsea and Westminster Foundation Trust set to follow in early 2025. These phased introductions allow for careful evaluation and refinement in real-world settings, and impact data will be published in 2025. 

Alongside these developments, Touchdose has been shortlisted for the prestigious HSJ Partnership Awards in the category of ‘Most Effective Contribution to Clinical Redesign’, further recognising its potential to enhance patient safety and streamline prescribing processes. The winners will be announced in spring 2025. 

The team: Bryony Dean Franklin, Calandra Feather 

NIHR North West London Patient Safety Research Collaboration hosted delegation from Saudi Patient Safety Center

On 18 July 2024, four senior staff members from the Saudi Patient Safety Center visited the NIHR North West London Patient Safety Research Collaboration (PSRC) and the Institute of Global Health Innovation to discuss opportunities for collaboration. The full day of presentations opened with a keynote speech from Dr Mike Durkin, Senior Patient Safety Advisor at IGHI and Chair of the NIHR PSRC Network. This was followed by presentations from NIHR North West London PSRC researchers on patient safety in remote consultations, the use of video recordings to support care delivery for frail elderly patients, the impact of language barriers in patient safety, and the development of an indication-based prescribing support tool.

The day closed with a discussion about potential collaboration opportunities. Representatives of the Saudi Patient Safety Center expressed particular interest in exploring how to embed research into patient safety improvement in Saudi Arabia and promote patient and public involvement. From an IGHI and PSRC perspective, there was interest in learning about successful initiatives in Saudi Arabia and how these may help inform decision-making locally. Teams will be in touch over the coming months to further refine opportunities for collaboration.

The team: Melanie Leis, Phoebe Averill, Ricky Odedra, Ana Luisa Neves, Calandra Feather, Kate Grailey, Anna Lawrence-Jones, Mike Durkin

Networked Data Lab 

IGHI is part of the North West London Networked Data Lab (NWL NDL), together with Imperial College Health Partners and the North West London Integrated Care System. The NWL NDL is one of five labs across the country funded by the Health Foundation to use linked data captured at a local level to help decision-makers better understand the needs of their communities.

In 2024, we worked with local patients and carers to understand what matters to them around intermediate care. Guided by their experiences and priorities, health data was used to explore who receives intermediate care after a hospital stay in North West London and what factors influence the number of people who need to return to hospital. 

The analysis showed: 

• Location matters: Patients’ location within North West London greatly affects both the likelihood of receiving step-down care and their re-admission rates. 
• Varying impact: Despite benefits of step-down care for certain groups (such as older patients, those in deprived areas, and those living alone), others have higher re-admission rates. This suggests that step-down care may not work as well for everyone and a more targeted approach may be needed. 

Watch the video below to hear more from one of our Patient and Carer Advisory Group members:

Or check out the briefing published by the Health Foundation. 

The team: Jodie Chan, Roberto Fernández Crespo, Melanie Leis

Fleming Centre Design

The Fleming Initiative is delighted to share the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announcement that Stanton Williams has been selected to design the new Fleming Centre, a research and public engagement facility to be built on the St Mary’s Hospital campus in Paddington. 

Professor Lord Darzi, Executive Chair of the Fleming Initiative said: “Stanton Williams has a bold vision for the Fleming Centre and have brought our ambitions to life with a concept that reflects the Centre’s unique purpose and global significance. By providing a flexible space to unite researchers, policymakers, clinicians, behavioural experts, commercial partners and the public in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, we can ensure that the Fleming Centre becomes a global beacon for change in healthcare.”  

Lord Darzi and the Fleming Initiative team in New York City

Lord Darzi and the Fleming Initiative team had an impactful week in New York City at the UN General Assembly, which culminated in UN member states approving the political declaration from the High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). 

Through a week-long Times Square billboard campaign, three Fleming Initiative-led events, and participation in panel discussions, the team engaged New Yorkers, policymakers, industry, and patient groups with our vision for fighting AMR. 

The Fleming Initiative hosted three side-events that convened leading experts and organisations to discuss innovative solutions to AMR: 

• A roundtable event with Google DeepMind on the role of AI in tackling AMR 
• An event showcasing the power of global public engagement and education, hosted by philanthropic organisation the Carnegie Corporation of New York 
• An event discussing the importance of disruptive innovation, at which the Fleming Initiative shared their call-to-action for newest innovations to be utilised in the fight against AMR, including AI and machine learning. At this event, the Fleming Initiative also announced three new partners of the Fleming Initiative – LifeArc, Cepheid, and Optum – which bring invaluable world-leading expertise across diagnostics, global health data, and research translation to the Initiative. 

The team: Ara Darzi, Rachel Davies, Amish Acharya, Kate Grailey, Jack Cooper, Emily Scott-Dearing, Georgia Butterworth, Georgia Power, Victoria Murphy, Peter Howitt, Simon Dryden 

Visiting Professors’ dinner 

Advising a breadth of work at IGHI, our visiting professors support IGHI to make better-informed decisions and gain broader understanding of the issues in global health today. In 2024, our visiting professors convened for a dinner and talks from Lord Ara Darzi, Lord James O’Shaughnessy, and Mr Nigel Topping, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion at COP26.  

Climate Cares Centre

The Climate Cares Centre exists to generate evidence, raise awareness, foster connections and build supportive tools, so that communities, decision-makers and organisations globally can protect mental health in a changing climate and take meaningful climate action that benefits mental health and wellbeing. 

In 2024, the Centre raised awareness of the toll of working in climate professions with a Met Office blog post, and explored how nature supports the social determinants of mental health and why this matters for conservation efforts.  

They called for improved integration of mental health and wellbeing into climate change education, to better support young people to live, study, work and thrive in a rapidly changing world. 

And at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, the annual global Climate Change negotiation, the team provided guidance to the mental health community on how to engage with climate policy negotiations, and advocated for mental health to be centred in climate and health discussions at COP29. 

Through Dr Emma Lawrance’s fellowship, funded by the AXA Research Fund, Climate Cares is working with you people in Australia and the Philippines to understand the emotional responses to ecological destruction. 

The team: Emma Lawrance, Jessica Newberry Le Vay, Daniella Watson 

IGHI Special Lecture 

On 28 November, Imperial’s Institute of Global Health Innovation hosted Julia Gillard AC, Chair of Wellcome and former Prime Minister of Australia. 

At the IGHI Special Lecture, Ms Gillard shared her insights on the outlook for science and politics in 2025 and beyond. 

During the lecture, Ms Gillard discussed the hope offered by science and the importance of global cooperation on critical issues such climate change, infectious disease and antimicrobial resistance, asking: How we can we best meet the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead? 

“I think we can find a lot of hope in the power of science. Science that unlocks the potential to change things for the better,” she said. 

The team: Laura-Maria Horga, Steve McAteer, Victoria Murphy, Emma Poynter, Meredith Wilson 

Public Involvement Front Door 

SafetyNet, the NIHR Patient Safety Research Collaboration (PSRC) Network, recently launched the Public Involvement Front Door, a new digital resource which combines a values-based approach with practical tips and tools to empower researchers of all experience levels to meaningfully involve public members in their work. 

The public involvement team spoke with researchers across IGHI to understand what information and resources would be most useful. They then worked closely with a designer and two public members to ensure the content was as relevant, concise, and user-friendly as possible. 

The team: Jodie Chan, Beatrice Sung, Inaaya Kaul, Anna Lawrence-Jones 

Digital Health Leadership Programme 

In September 2024, over 100 students from the current cohort of the Digital Health Leadership Programme (DHLP) came together in person to kick off their learning journey. 

Participants heard from a broad range of speakers including James Freed (Deputy Director of the NHS Digital Academy) who highlighted the objectives of the NHS Digital Academy, focusing on the critical need to invest in the digital workforce and leadership; Andy Callow (DHLP practitioner and Chief Digital Information Officer at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust) who drew on his vast experience with reflective practice in the NHS, challenging participants to reconsider their own reflective habits for success; and our Teaching Fellows, Dr Toni Page and Dr Christa Hansen, who delved into the topic of critical writing and the use of AI in learning. 

Day 1 included talks and interactive sessions on individual strengths, while Day 2 focused on the collective, with participants engaging with their peer support groups. 

Now in the seventh year of delivering the programme, we are pleased to be onboarding a diverse cohort of digital leaders and aspiring ones across the health and care spectrum. This includes an equal split between clinical and non-clinical digital roles, with good representation across midwifery, nursing, pharmacy, Allied Health Professionals and other medical professions.

In addition, over 30 students joined the MSc in Digital Health Leadership to embark on an individual applied research project in their chosen area of interest. These research projects offer a unique opportunity to diagnose critical issues within digital health and develop real-world recommendations to organisations. Last year’s students explored interesting topics such as: 

• Key challenges in adopting artificial intelligence for cybersecurity in the NHS 
• The impact of leadership skills on Electronic Patient Record (EPR) implementation 
• Factors needed to optimise digital medicines workflows 
• Core user features required by health professionals for a digital communications platform 

This year's projects promise to have a similarly meaningful impact within the NHS. By engaging in problem-based learning, critical analysis, and applied research principles, students will contribute valuable insights towards their topic areas, organisations, and the evolving digital health community. 

The team: Louie Alvarado, Alex Barclay, Jenny Bennett, Ivan Cheung, Ara Darzi, Brendan Delaney, Emmanuelle Dirix, Christa Hansen, Joe Kerr, Jason Lawson, Julien Le Jeune D'Allegeerscheque, Annie McKirdy, Kenny Oniti, Toni Page, Jessica Prestt, Juliette van Wessem 

Career development of Research Technical Professionals in Robotics

 On 11 September 2024, the new UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems Strategic Technical Platform (UK RAS STEPS) Network Committee convened at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, bringing together representatives from across the country to shape the programme's future activities and events. There were 37 attendees from 19 universities.

Imperial is part of the consortium for the UKRAS STEPS platform which aims to elevate the technical skills and career development of Research Technical Professionals (RTPs) in robotics and autonomous systems through fully-funded training, secondments, networking opportunities, workshops, and mentorship, fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment for growth.  

Two RTPs from Imperial College London and the University of York recently completed a highly successful secondment at the National Robotarium in Edinburgh. Their experience proved invaluable, providing a unique opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals and engage in cutting-edge robotics and autonomous systems research. During the secondment, the participants developed and contributed to a range of innovative projects, including creating a process to recycle plastic from 3D printing. This has now developed into a special interest group where RTPs from all three institutions are continuing to work together.

In the upcoming quarter, the team will host a dynamic event focused on lab automation and liquid handling at the Materials Innovation Factory, University of Liverpool. Organised in collaboration with key partners, the event will provide 30 technical professionals from across the UK with valuable insights, hands-on experience, and networking opportunities.

The team: Salzitsa Anastasova-Ivanova, Marianne Knight

Julia Anderson Training Programme 

The Julia Anderson Training Programme (JATP), led by the Institute of Global Health Innovation, provides a unique opportunity for paid work experience to people who have no, or limited, prior work experience. The programme, running since 2022, continues to go from strength to strength and in 2025 will host its seventh cohort. The programme is named in memory of IGHI colleague and friend Julia Anderson, and in 2024 provided six people with meaningful work experience: 

 Cohort 5:  

• Tania Domun joined as the JA Behaviour science (Medication Adherence) Trainee to develop her skills in qualitative research, behaviour science, patient and public involvement, and co-designing interventions.  
• Holly Merton joined the team as JA Communications Trainee to gain experience in creative digital communications in global health, and for the Julia Anderson Training Programme promotion.  
• Andrew Watt worked as the JA Healthy Ageing Technology Trainee to learn more about the application of design methodology to healthcare, as well as to get hands on experience with a user-centred design process.  

Cohort 6: 

• Hamza Ahmed joined as Analytics and Events Trainee. Hamza supported the event “Towards Equity in Health” led by IGHI with the British Red Cross and developed data analysis skills working on AI projects. 
• Alice Haigherty was the Educational Research Trainee, and undertook a literature review and data collection for a project that explored the Problem Based Learning educational approach. 
• Inaaya Kaul joined the team as Public Involvement Trainee working on engaging members of the public to inform research, including through supporting the Service User Voice Group to inform a report on access to digital mental health services in a collaboration with Mental Health Innovations.  
• Jess Shields joined the team as the Healthy Ageing Technology Trainee. She spent the summer engaging with and involving Healthy Ageing study participants, installing smart devices into participant's homes and carrying out recruitment to the study by engaging with community groups through London. 

Global Health Summer School

In 2024, IGHI launched the first JATP summer school to increase accessibility, particularly for students from Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority backgrounds, those living in areas with lower progression to higher education, students with caring responsibilities, and those whose grades might not meet the criteria of traditional summer schools. 

The programme was funded thanks to a successful grant application to Imperial’s EDI Seed Fund, which funds teams to implement creative ideas that have impact in line with the strategy for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. The funding allowed IGHI to cover travel and subsistence for all attendees, who joined a five day programme including group projects on global challenges, employability workshops and careers talks. 

The Summer School aimed to enhance the career development and employability prospects of students from state-funded schools, particularly those who live in areas with below-average progression to Higher Education and higher levels of deprivation. The attendees fed back really positively about the Summer School, finding the project work enjoyable, making new friends, and valuing the wide range of activities which expanded both their personal and professional skills. 

The team: Sophie Pieters, Holly Merton, Steve McAteer

With thanks to all colleagues at IGHI

In 2024, we celebrated colleagues who were recognised for their impact:

• Jodie Chan, Public Involvement Officer, received a Department of Surgery and Cancer 'Inspiration Award'.
• Jack Cooper, Communications and Events Officer (Fleming Initiative, IGHI), was Highly Commended for the 2024 President's Award for Excellence in Societal Engagement for his work in proposing and delivering the Stemettes Festival and public engagement activities.
• Sophie Horrocks, Design Associate (Helix) was awarded Engagement Award at Connectome, for designing and implementing a Public Involvement strategy for the UK DRI Care Research & Technology.
• Joe Kerr, Teaching Fellow, received a Department of Surgery & Cancer award for ‘Supporting the Student Experience’.
• Mel Perkins, Senior Postgraduate Education Administrator, was nominated for a staff award at the Union Awards 2024 in the Outstanding Professional Support Staff category.
• Juliette van Wessem, Programme Lead, was awarded the Most Significant Contribution to Improving Departmental Culture Award at the Department of Surgery and Cancer Awards.

We celebrated together in the summer with a staff social, and held the first IGHI Demo Day to strengthen cross-team collaboration. IGHI celebrated International Women’s Day and Women at Imperial Week by featuring colleagues in a blog post.

Throughout this report, we have identified the teams behind the projects, the individuals behind the innovation.

Thank you

Thank you to the teams of people across IGHI and its Centres of Excellence: Centre for Health Policy, Climate Cares Centre, Hamlyn Centre, Helix Centre, Patient Safety Research Collaboration and Imperial College Centre for African Research and Engagement, as well as our Education and Operations Teams.

Thank you to our operations colleagues who support so much of IGHI’s work and help the Institute make an impact:

Amish Acharya, Elenko Anastasov, Salzitsza Anastasova-Ivanova, Ines Baptista, Georgia Butterworth, Nazia Bharde, Jack Cooper, Eleni Daniels, Brandon Davies, Rachel Davies, Anna Dickinson, Simon Dryden, Gianluca Fontana, Juliet Holland-Rose, Laura-Maria Horga, Marianne Knight, Steve McAteer, Robert Merrifield, Victoria Murphy, Sophie Pieters, Georgia Power, Karen Soltani, Sophie Sykes, Waheeda Zafar.

www.imperial.ac.uk/global-health-innovation