Appointments help broaden reach into new local and international areas<em> - News Release</em>

Imperial College London News Release

For immediate release
Thursday 11 November 2010

The UK's first Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC) has been strengthened through the announcement today of new senior appointments at Imperial College London. The appointments will further the integration of the AHSC across the whole College and help to broaden its range of partners, both locally and internationally, who can benefit from its pioneering integrated healthcare, education and research model.

Professor Stephen Smith FMedSci, Principal of the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London, will become Pro Rector (Health) and combine this with his existing role as Chief Executive of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Professor Smith led the integration of the College and one of the UK's largest NHS Trusts, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, to form the AHSC in 2007. He will now seek to integrate more deeply the AHSC across all of the College’s Faculties and the Business School. In his new role he will have responsibility for Imperial's strategic opportunities in health science research and education across the world. Professor Smith is also the Founding Dean of the recently launched Imperial College London – Nanyang Technological University Medical School in Singapore.

Professor Sir Anthony Newman Taylor FMedSci, currently Deputy Principal of the Faculty, will succeed Professor Smith as Principal of the Faculty of Medicine, and Professor Jenny Higham, currently Director of Education of the Faculty of Medicine, will become Deputy Principal of the Faculty of Medicine.

The Academic Health Science Centre is a partnership that aims to transform the health and quality of life of patients and populations in London, the UK and globally by integrating healthcare research, teaching and clinical care. Currently Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is supported by the National Institute for Health Research through its comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre designation, which is worth £100 million over five years.

Professor Stephen Smith FMedSci

The AHSC is currently being ‪further extended to form an Academic Health Science System (AHSS), whose Steering Group will be chaired by the Rector of Imperial College London, Sir Keith O'Nions FRS. Sir Keith will also attend the board of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

In June 2010, Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust became the first associate member of the AHSS, when it entered an alliance with the College and Trust to form Europe's largest service for cardiac and respiratory health. Imperial and Royal Brompton are partners on two £9 million Biomedical Research Units awarded in 2008 by the National Institute for Health Research, and have deep and historic research and teaching links.

Professor Sir Anthony Newman Taylor FMedSci will become Principal of the Faculty of Medicine from 1 December 2010, initially until 2012. He is Professor of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and a Consultant Physician at the Royal Brompton Hospital, and has previously been Head of the National Heart and Lung Institute from 2006 to 2009.

Professor Jenny Higham will succeed Sir Anthony as Deputy Principal from 1 December 2010. Professor Higham is Professor of Medical Education and a Consultant Gynaecologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and has previously been Head of Undergraduate Medicine for the Faculty from 2006 to 2009.

Professor Sir Anthony Newman Taylor FMedSci

Sir Keith said:

"Building on the success of our original AHSC model, which ties together teaching, research and healthcare through integrated leadership and governance, we are making governance changes to become more inclusive and that will open doors to other potential associates in the AHSS. We will be looking for organisations that are best in their class, in order to bring the greatest benefit to the health of those in west London and beyond. "I'm delighted that Professor Smith will be taking the cross-College health portfolio to develop our relationships with international health providers and to ensure that the whole College benefits fully from its integration within the AHSC. We are fortunate to be able to draw upon such deep talents within Imperial's Faculty of Medicine and I am very pleased that Sir Anthony and Professor Higham have accepted new Faculty leadership appointments."

Lord Tugendhat, Chairman of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said:

"Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Imperial College London are already strong together through the AHSC's integrated governance, and these changes will make our relationship even stronger and enable us to become more integrated with all aspects of Imperial College London. Since 2007, we have successfully aligned academic and clinical services and benefited from decision making which has led to the rapid development of new initiatives, such as the digital plaster for diabetes patients.

Professor Jenny Higham

"As a member of the College’s Council I am delighted that Sir Keith will in future attend the Trust's Board meetings, further enhancing the existing cross-representation between our organisations."

Professor Smith said:

"I'm delighted to be tackling this new role which will advance the mission of our AHSC and integrate more deeply the AHSC across all of the College's Faculties and the Business School. It has been shown that the best quality healthcare is to be found in AHSCs thanks to their integration of teaching, research and clinical care. The AHSS gives us the opportunity to broaden out those health benefits to even more people."

Sir Anthony said:

"I am honoured to be invited to take up the position of Principal of the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College. I look forward to working with Sir Keith O’Nions and Professor Smith to further develop and strengthen the Imperial Colle ge AHSC and the AHSS."

Professor Higham said:

"This is an exciting and challenging time for Imperial's Faculty of Medicine. I look forward to working closely with others to ensure our continued success in research, education and translation, both in London and with our international partners."

-ends-

For further information please contact:

Laura Gallagher
Research Media Relations Manager
Imperial College London
e-mail: l.gallagher@imperial.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)207 594 8432 or ext. 48432
Out of hours duty Press Officer: +44 (0)78 03 886 248

Notes to editors:

* About Professor Stephen Smith

Professor Stephen Smith DSc, FMedSci, joined Imperial College London as Principal of the Faculty of Medicine in May 2004. He is also Chief Executive of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, a position that he has held since the Trust and the Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC) were formed in October 2007. Professor Smith has played a key role in the AHSC - a unique form of partnership between the Trust and the College - since its foundation.

In 2009, Professor Smith’s pioneering role in establishing the AHSC was recognised in the NHS Leadership Awards, where he was named Innovator of the Year. In addition, the Health Service Journal recently listed Professor Smith in its 2006-09 rankings of the top 30 most powerful people in NHS management policy and practice in England, where he was the only NHS Chief Executive included.

After qualifying at Westminster Hospital, London in 1974, Professor Smith held a number of posts in London hospitals, including Hammersmith Hospital, before becoming a Lecturer at Edinburgh University. He then held a succession of academic posts, before becoming Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Cambridge and the Rosie Hospital in 1998, a post held until December 2003. He also held the position of Clinical Director Women's Services at Addenbrooke's Hospital during this time. Professor Smith joined Imperial from Glasgow University, where he was Executive Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.

Professor Smith has published over 200 papers on reproductive medicine and cancer, focusing on the control of blood vessel growth in reproductive tissues in benign and malignant disease, and more recently, working on the complex gene pathways that regulate the growth of these vessels in this tissue. Professor Smith was awarded a DSc for this work in 2001.

In addition to his academic and clinical work, Professor Smith has been elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Biology, The Academy of Medical Sciences and the New York Academy of Sciences. He also holds directorships, and is a founder member of Metris Therapeutics Ltd. and Gene Networks Inc. Professor Smith has also provided advice to and served on numerous committees for a number of organisations including the Medical Research Council, World Health Organisation, the NHS, and the Wellcome Trust.

* About Professor Sir Anthony Newman Taylor

Professor Sir Anthony Newman Taylor has been Deputy Principal of the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London since September 2008. He is a Professor of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the College and a Consultant Physician at the Royal Brompton Hospital.

Sir Anthony was the Head of the National Heart and Lung Institute, from 2006 to 2009, and Campus Dean of the Royal Brompton campus.

Sir Anthony joined Imperial in 1995, when the National Heart and Lung Institute merged with the College. His research investigates the occupational and environmental causes of lung disease, particularly asthma. Between 1996 and 2008 he was chairman of the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council, an expert advisory group to the UK Department for Work and Pensions. He is currently the chairman of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Independent Expert Medical Group for Ministry of Defence. He was knighted for public service in the 2008 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

He has worked as an advisor to government bodies in Greece, Spain and India in his specialist field of the occupational and environmental causes of lung disease. He has authored a report for the Indian government following the release of methyl isocyanate at Bhopal. He was also commissioned by the autonomous region of Valencia in Spain to report on the cause of an outbreak of fibrosing lung disease among employees in the textile dye industry in Spain.

Sir Anthony is Chairman of the Colt Foundation, a trustee of the Rayne Foundation and civilian advisor in chest medicine to the Royal Air Force.

* About Professor Jenny Higham

Professor Jenny Higham has been Director of Education for the Faculty of Medicine since October 2009, a role in which she is responsible for leading the delivery and development of both undergraduate and postgraduate activity across the Faculty. She is also a member of the Faculty of Medicine Executive and Faculty Board.

From 2006-09, Professor Higham was Head of Undergraduate Medicine for the Faculty. During the time of her appointment she organised an extensive curriculum review and led the Faculty of Medicine in the two year-long comprehensive Quality Assurance review by the General Medical Council.

Over the past 18 months she has been at the forefront of negotiations and planning for the creation of Imperial College London – Nanyang Technological University Medical School in Singapore, and now chairs the Project Board responsible for its delivery by 2013. Professor Higham has held academic appointments at Imperial since January 1997, when she was appointed Senior Lecturer, becoming a Professor in 2007.

Professor Higham's current research interests include the use of advanced simulation in medical education. She continues to have clinical responsibilities as a Consultant Gynaecologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

About Imperial College London – Nanyang Technological University Medical School

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Imperial College London are jointly establishing Singapore's third medical school. The initiative was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the National Day Rally, in August 2010.

To start in 2013, the new medical school will be positioned to meet Singapore's healthcare demands and needs of the future, and provide more opportunities for Singaporeans to study medicine locally. With a joint degree awarded by both institutions, the programme will be based on Imperial's medical curriculum and standard of teaching which have a high international reputation. The medical degree is the first degree of any sort that Imperial, founded in 1907, will develop, deliver and award overseas.

The Founding Dean of the medical school will be Professor Stephen Smith. Professor Martyn Partridge, who holds Imperial's Chair in Respiratory Medicine and Deputy Director of Education, Imperial's Faculty of Medicine, will be the Senior Vice Dean.

* Achievements of Imperial Academic Health Science Centre

- One of five National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) in the UK.
- Influenced more than 25 NICE guidelines and over 45 other national and international guidelines.
- Largest number of trainees awarded on NIHR Integrated Academic Training Path in UK with 177 clinical fellows, 59 clinical lecturers and 21 clinical senior lecturers.
- More than 67,000 patients recruited into clinical trials for the first quarter of 2010/11 with more than 1,000 clinical trials taking place during this period.
- One of eight Trusts nationally selected by Department of Health to test a range of innovative technologies for beating healthcare associated infections under the Showcase hospital scheme.
- Investment of £100millio n in building a new research facility at Hammersmith Campus, where researchers and clinicians will work side by side to translate research discoveries rapidly into advances in patient treatment and care.

Translational research discoveries include the development of:

- A bowel cancer screening test using a sigmoidoscope that could help reduce incidence of bowel cancer by a third, known as the Flexi-Scope test.
- The use of high-intensity focused ultrasound to destroy rectal tumours paving the way for alternatives to surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
- Technology that minimises the risk of blood loss associated with l iver resection surgery resulting in a zero per cent mortality rate.
- A digital plaster containing a wireless, smart, ultra-low power sensor platform in a silicon chip, which can monitor a range of vital signs like body temperature, heart rate and respiration in real-time.
- A new blood test (ELISPOT-Plus) which enables doctors to rule out tuberculosis (TB) infection within days rather than weeks.
- Vascular robotic surgery to treat complex aneurysms previously considered too high risk to operate on.

* About the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial

Established in 1997, Imperial's Faculty of Medicine is one of the largest medical schools in the UK and Europe. It is known for its rigorous and innovative medical programme, as well as its ability to reap synergies between medicine and science and technology, resulting in innovations and inventions in bio-medical engineering, bio-surgery and technology.

Imperial College London merged with St Mary's Medical School in 1988. Subsequent mergers with Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, the Royal Postgraduate School and the National Heart and Lung Institute led to the foundation of the current School of Medicine in 1997.

In the academic year 2009-10, the School of Medicine taught 2,069 undergraduates and 541 postgraduates. Teaching takes place across several hospital campuses in west London, including the Chelsea and Westminster, Hammersmith and St Mary's campuses, where students gain clinical experience.

Notable medics from history associated with Imperial College London include Alexander Fleming who discovered penicillin in a laboratory at St Mary's Hospital, and Rodney Robert Porter who also worked at St Mary's Hospital and was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1972 for determining the exact chemical structure of an antibody.

Imperial's undergraduate medicine course was ranked third in the UK in The Good University Guide 2011.

* About Imperial College London

Consistently rated amongst the world's best universities, Imperial College London is a science-based institution with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research that attracts 14,000 students and 6,000 staff of the highest international quality. Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and business, delivering practical solutions that improve quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.

Since its foundation in 1907, Imperial's contributions to society have included the discovery of penicillin, the development of holography and the foundations of fibre optics. This commitment to the application of research for the benefit of all continues today, with current focuses including interdisciplinary collaborations to improve global health, tackle climate change, develop sustainable sources of energy and address security challenges.

In 2007, Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust formed the UK's first Academic Health Science Centre. This unique partnership aims to improve the quality of life of patients and populations by taking new discoveries and translating them into new therapies as quickly as possible.