Health and Care Research Wales Conference 2025
Registration for the 2025 conference - Today’s research; tomorrow’s care: celebrating 10 years of impact is open.
All in-person spaces for this year's conference have been allocated.
You are still able to join the event online
Please note: if you choose to attend the online event you will be attending the How will AI make a difference for research? parallel session.
Programme
- Morning plenary
09:30 Welcome - Andrea Byrne, ITV News
09:35 Opening address - Professor Isabel Oliver, Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Welsh Government
09:45 Plenary panel: How can social care research impact policy and practice?
Chair – Dr Diane Seddon
- Prof Donald Forrester, Director, CASCADE Partnership
- Lisa Morris, Principal Officer, Complex Disability Team and Community Mental Health Teams, Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council
- Rachel Scourfield, Head of Knowledge Mobilisation, Social Care Wales
- Prof Paul Willis, Director, Centre for Adult Social Care (CARE)
- Joseph Wilton, Head of Analysis and Innovation, Welsh Government
10:45 Refreshments, exhibition, networking
11:15 TED-Style talks
- Professor Barbara Ryan, Director, Centre for Vision Services Research
- Dr David Gillespie, Co-Director, Wales Applied Virology Unit (WAVU)
- Prof Ann John, Director, National Centre for Suicide Prevention and Self-Harm Research
- Parallel sessions:
11:55
Sophia Hall
How will AI make a difference for research?
Chaired by Andrea Byrne
Speakers:
- Prof Stuart Allen, Director, Centre for Social Care and Artificial intelligence Learning (SCALE)
- Professor Reyer Zwiggelaar, Senior Research Leader, Health and Care Research Wales
Pyramid Suite
What does the investment programme mean for commercial research delivery?
Chaired by Dr Joanna Jenkinson MBE, Director of Research and Development Policy at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
Speakers:
- Prof Richard Adams, Clinical Lead for Tackling Cancer
- Dr Kieran Foley, Imaging Speciality Lead, Health and Care Research Wales
- Dr David Foxwell, National Co-lead, Primary Care and Community Research Delivery Centre
- Rhian Thomas-Turner, Head of Paediatric Research Operations and Strategy - Paediatric Clinical Research Facility
- Dr Nicola Williams, National Director of Support and Delivery, Health and Care Research Wales
Lewis Lounge
What does innovation mean for research? Doing research differently.
Chaired by Carys Thomas, Head of Policy, Science, Research and Evidence, Welsh Government
Speakers:
- Dr Rachel Dodds, Principal Clinical Scientist, All Wales Medical Genomics Service
- Tom James, Head of Innovation Strategy and Policy, Welsh Government
- Prof Nigel Rees, Assistant Director of Research and Innovation, Welsh Ambulance Service University Trust
- Dr Tim Sprosen, Executive Director, Participant Recruitment Operations, Our Future Health
Swansea Building Society Lounge
What does inclusivity mean for research? Exploring health inequalities and under-representation in research.
Chair: Prof Roiyah Saltus, Professor of Sociology (Innovation and Engagement), University of South Wales
Speakers:
- Dr Sofia Gameiro, Women's Health Research Wales
- Alexandra Harrison, Accessibility Consultant, AH Access
- Prof Mahendra G Patel OBE, Director Centre for Research Equity, University of Oxford
- Dr Victoria Shepherd, Principal Research Fellow, Centre for Trials Research
- Afternoon plenary
12:55 Lunch, exhibition and networking
13:55 A 20 year career as a clinical-academic in plastic surgery - challenges and highlights
Keynote speaker - Professor Iain Whitaker, Chair of Plastic Surgery, Swansea University Medical School, Honorary Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery14:25 Poetry and Prostate cancer, a patient’s perspective - Ifor Thomas, writer
14:55 Plenary panel
Research impact in healthcare: What difference is research making to healthcare delivery and patient care?
Chair – Andrea Byrne
- Dr Nathan Bray, Senior Lecturer, Bangor University
- Dr Dean Harris, Consultant colorectal surgeon, Deputy R&D director, Swansea Bay University Health Board
- Peter Hooper, member of the public
- Prof Rhiannon Owen, Professor of Statistics, SAIL
15:55 Awards presentation
16:10 Close - Andrea Byrne
Speaker biographies
- Professor Stuart Allen
Professor Stuart Allen is the Director of the Health and Care Research Wales funded Centre for Social Care and Artificial intelligence Learning (SCALE) at Cardiff University. He is a professor in computer science with research interests in artificial intelligence and human centred computing. His research has looked at how we interact with technology, what this reveals about our behaviour and personality and how to apply artificial intelligence for social benefit.
- Dr Nathan Bray
Dr Nathan Bray is a Senior Lecturer in Prevention and Healthcare Improvement and leads Bangor University’s Academy for Health Equity. He has a PhD in Health Economics and an MSc in Public Health and Health Promotion.
Dr Bray's research focuses on public health and disability, with particular focus on economic evaluation, assistive technology and outcome measurement in marginalised groups. He has received research funding from a wide range of organisations including the National Centre for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme, Health and Care Research Wales and NHS England.
Dr Bray has previously chaired the International Society of Wheelchair Professionals’ comparative effectiveness research committee and was an Associate Editor for the British Journal of Dermatology.
- Andrea Byrne
Andrea Byrne, Television presenter and journalist.
Andrea lives in Wales with her husband, former British Lion and Wales International Lee Byrne, and their three dogs.
In her spare time, she writes, reads, runs and is a keen yogi and stand-up paddle-boarder. She has competed in the New York marathon and several half marathons.
Andrea writes a monthly column for Cardiff Life, as well as regular features for other publications. She is also working on her first book.
She has an English Literature degree from Southampton University, a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism from Highbury College and a Politics Diploma from the Open University.
Andrea is a Patron for Kidney Wales and an Ambassador for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme. She also supports Tomorrow's Generation, a dyslexia charity and Macmillan Cymru.
Andrea is well known for presenting ITV Cymru Wales' 'Wales at Six'. And she is a regular face on the ITV news.
Andrea joined ITV in 2004, broadcasting to the Meridian region. Her first feature series with special access to Chinook helicopter crews leaving for Afghanistan was nominated for an RTS award.
She joined ITV Cymru Wales as a presenter in 2008.
She began her career in local radio at The County Sound Radio Network.
Away from news, Andrea fronts live political debates, entertainment programmes and lifestyle shows.
- Dr Kieran Foley
Kieran Foley is a Consultant Radiologist and Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Division of Cancer and Genetics at Cardiff University. He is Imaging Specialty Lead for Health and Care Research Wales and has recently led the VPAG Imaging Task and Finish Group.
He is also Research Lead at the National Imaging Academy of Wales.
His clinical and research interests include gastrointestinal and oncological imaging with a focus on Upper gastrointestinal GI cancers, clinical trials and diagnostics for staging and treatment planning.
- Professor Donald Forrester
Professor Forrester’s research in services for vulnerable children focuses on the relationship between professional practices and outcomes for children and their families. He has led studies, reviews and programmes of research using a wide range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies. His particular research interests include adapting methodologies to research complex situations, observing and understanding direct practice and evaluating initiatives to improve practice.
Since 2016 he has been the Director of CASCADE, which is one of the leading centres for research in children's social care in the UK. It is also the home to ExChange, the all Wales social care research engagement network.
- Dr David Foxwell
David Foxwell is a GP Partner at Cathays Surgery, Cardiff, as well as one of the co-leads of a new Primary Care and Community Research Delivery Centre which aims to increase research capacity across Wales. His work, alongside Professor Andrew Carson-Stevens will look to expand the capacity of existing commercially-active general practices and develop new ways of delivering research through the mobilisation of the primary care workforce.
- Dr Sofia Gameiro
Dr Sofia Gameiro is a Reader at the School of Psychology, Cardiff University, and co-lead for the Women's Health Research Wales centre (under-served women groups, sex and gender intentional policy). She has been conducting research in women's health for over 15 years, especially on the psychosocial aspects of infertility and assisted reproduction. Her work has focused on amplifying the voices of underserved groups, both via primary research and methodological development.
Dr Gameiro has chaired and co-chaired committees that developed evidence-based guidelines and set research priorities for funding, advised the UK Government on infertility psychosocial related issues, provided training to healthcare professionals, and consultancy to industry, all with the aim of promoting evidence-based and psychology-informed psychosocial care.
She is often invited to speak at national and international conferences and workshops and has published multiple peer-reviewed papers and book chapters.- Dr David Gillespie
Dr David Gillespie is a Principal Research Fellow at the Centre for Trials Research, where he leads the Infection, Inflammation and Immunity Trials Division and co-directs the Wales Applied Virology Unit.
A medical statistician by training, he has designed and analysed clinical trials since 2007, completing a PhD in 2016 focused on medication adherence and its methodological complexities. His research centres on infectious diseases (including sexually transmitted infections and HIV) and antimicrobial stewardship, with a strong emphasis on the design and evaluation of public health interventions.
Dr Gillespie has held a Health and Care Research Wales Health Research Fellowship for examining HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and plays an active role in shaping HIV policy in Wales, supporting evidence-based approaches to prevention and care. He is committed to interdisciplinary collaboration in virology and is a methodological expert in causal modelling, clinical trial design and handling missing data.
- Professor Dean Harris
Professor Dean Harris is a consultant colorectal surgeon at Swansea Bay University Health Board and Lead Clinician of the Colorectal Cancer MDT. He is Deputy Research and Development Director for Swansea Bay University Health Board. He is co-clinical lead for the Early Detection and Diagnosis workstream of the Wales Cancer Industry Forum. He has been on the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme since 2020 fuelling his interest in MedTech innovation.
He is co-founder and clinical director of CanSense Ltd, a Swansea University spin-out company, translating a reagent-free colorectal cancer serum diagnostic for the NHS to address cancer pathway performance and inequalities through disruptive pathway redesign.
In 2013 he became an honorary clinical professor in Swansea University Medical School with research interests in early detection of cancer and personalised cancer treatment, and has won over £2 million in academic funding towards this.
- Alexandra Harrison
Alex has over 10 years’ experience in the third sector, specialising in disability equality, access and inclusion. Most recently, as Equality Officer for Disability Wales, Alex developed and delivered training and consultancy to a wide range of organisations.
Passionate about improving access and strengthening disabled people’s inclusion in society, Alex has collaborated with organisations such as the National Trust, to make environments and services more accessible.
Combining professional expertise with a love of the outdoors, Alex transitioned to freelance consultancy a year ago and continues to provide tailored accessibility and equality training, guidance and support for organisations and events.
- Dr Joanna Jenkinson MBE
Dr Joanna Jenkinson MBE is Director of Research and Development Policy at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) where her remit spans discovery science, translational, pre-clinical and clinical research and development.
Prior to taking on the role at ABPI, Dr Jenkinson was Director of the GW4 Alliance, a research alliance of the universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter. Previously, Dr Jenkinson was Head of Infection and Immunity at the Medical Research Council (MRC) where she led the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) / Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) / National Institute for Heath and Care Research (NIHR) rapid response and rolling calls for COVID-19 research and had overall responsibility for managing the Infections and Immunity Board.
She joined the MRC in 2008 and held a range of roles including Head of Capacity and Skills, with responsibility for all MRC PhD and fellowships schemes, where she led on the development of the £900 million UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships. She also led the MRC’s mental health and addiction portfolio and wrote the MRC’s 2017 Mental Health Strategy.- Professor Ann John
Professor Ann John is a leading expert in suicide and self-harm prevention, with a clinical background in public health and general practice. As Professor of Public Health and Psychiatry at Swansea University Medical School, her research focuses on suicide prevention and self-harm, particularly among children and young people. She is dedicated to leveraging data-driven insights to develop effective prevention strategies and inform policy and working with people with Lived Experience to make this happen.
Ann is the Director of the Health and Care Research Wales–funded National Centre for Suicide Prevention and Self-Harm Research, which serves as the advisory body to the Welsh Government for the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and Self-Harm.
In addition, Ann is Vice President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and an Associate Editor for the Archives of Suicide Research.
Her work is underpinned by a deep commitment to translating research into impactful policy and practice that improves lives across Wales and beyond.
- Lisa Morris
Lisa Morris, Principal Officer and registered Social Worker with 25 years' post-qualifying experience in adult social care. Lisa is responsible for quality assurance and best practice, and leads the Complex Disability Team and the Community Mental Health Team at Neath Port Talbot Council. She has implemented quality assurance programmes to maintain continuous improvement and compliance with statutory requirements. Her responsibilities include developing and overseeing policies aimed at operational effectiveness, safeguarding, and service transformation. Lisa's role involves strategic planning, complex data analysis, and supporting multidisciplinary teams. She works on embedding best practice standards, mentoring staff, and promoting person-centred, outcome-focused care. Lisa uses a collaborative approach and seeks innovative solutions to develop service delivery with an emphasis on improving outcomes for individuals and communities.
- Professor Isabel Oliver
Professor Oliver started her career working in acute hospital medicine in the West Midlands and the South West of England, before pursuing a career in public health. Prior to her current role in UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), she was Director of National Infection Service at Public Health England (PHE).
She is also Co-Director of the National Institute for Health Research, Health Protection Research Unit on Behavioural Science and Evaluation at the University of Bristol, and an Honorary Professor at University College, London.
- Professor Rhiannon Owen
Professor Rhiannon Owen is Professor of Statistics at Swansea University Medical School. Her main research interests include the development and application of Bayesian methods in Health Technology Assessment, Population Health and Health Service Evaluation. Her research interests include evidence synthesis methods, analysis of large scale linked electronic health records and simulation-based methods. This work has been supported by the Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS), Health Data Research UK (HDR UK), Health and Care Research Wales, the Medical Research Council (MRC), the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Wellcome Trust.
Rhiannon is a member of the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Technology Appraisal Committee, member of the NICE Decision Support Unit, and Associate Member of the NICE Technical Support Unit. She has extensive experience of cross-sector collaboration including as a consultant, providing methodological and strategic advice to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.- Professor Mahendra G Patel OBE
Professor Mahendra G Patel OBE PhD FHEA FNICE (Alumni) FIPA (India) FIIOPM Hon DHealth (Brad) Hon FRCGP FRPharmS.
A UK-wide pharmacy luminary, pioneering academic pharmacist, and health equity advocate with a distinguished track record. Mahendra played a leading role in landmark primary care COVID-19 trials, driving inclusive recruitment strategies that shaped policy nationally and internationally.
As Founding Director of the Centre for Research Equity at Oxford, he champions community-engaged research - showcased at the WHO and UN. Under his leadership, the Centre has built ground-breaking partnerships with Wales and Northern Ireland’s governmental R&D departments supporting inclusive research and health equity.
Mahendra co-leads the National Institute for Health and Care Research's (NIHR) Race Equity Incubator and is professional advisor to NHS England’s Chief Pharmaceutical Officer on inclusive practice and health inequalities. He is a member of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Commission on the Future of the NHS, and the UK Pharmacy Professional Leadership Advisory Board in helping create a Royal College of Pharmacy.
Honoured with an OBE and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) highest award for a non-GP, he continues to bridge disciplines and drive systemic change. Recently named among the Health Service Journal's 50 most influential black, Asian and minority ethnic healthcare professionals.
- Professor Nigel Rees
Professor Nigel Rees is the Director of Research and Development at Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust (WAST), a paramedic and has worked in ambulance services in Wales since 1989. He is a former Wales Council member of the College of Paramedics. His research interests include prehospital care, clinical trials, qualitative research and the use of drones in healthcare.
Professor Rees has collaborated to secure over £15 million in Research and Innovation (R&I) funding and has been Chief and Principal Investigator on large-scale R&I trials and projects. This includes being Chief Investigator for the 999 RESPOND one and two studies (funded by Health and Care Research Wales and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) respectively) exploring critical care dispatch. He has contributed to many book chapters and over 120 peer-reviewed publications.
Nigel is Associate Editor of the journal PARAMEDICINE, and member of many funding panels and groups including the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Funding Committee for Clinical Evaluations and Trials. Nigel is a Fellow of the College of Paramedics and was awarded the Queens Ambulance Medal in the 2017 New Year’s Honours.
- Professor Barbara Ryan MBE
Professor Barbara Ryan MBE began her optometric career in the Hospital Eye Service in Oxford, Nigeria and Birmingham before joining the Royal National Institute for the Blind in London. In 2003, she moved to Wales to establish the nationally commissioned Low Vision Service Wales, the first service of its kind in the UK. She went on to become a founding Director of the Wales Optometry Postgraduate Education Centre (WOPEC) and postgraduate taught programmes at Cardiff University's School of Optometry and Vision Sciences.
After completing her PhD, Barbara was seconded to Welsh Government as Chief Optometric Adviser. She is now Director of the Centre for Vision Services Research, which brings together researchers from four universities in Wales alongside health and social care partners. Their work focuses on transforming eye care and vision rehabilitation services. Barbara also practises one day a week in Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.
- Professor Roiyah Saltus
Since joining University of South Wales in 2002, Roiyah Saltus has led teams of researchers, and collaborated with colleagues across the UK on a wide range of studies and scholarly activities, securing close to £1m of research funding from the Welsh Government, Economic and Social Research Council , The Arts and Humanities Research Council and others. A key aspect of her research activity has been to draw out the voices of people from marginalised, migrant and minority ethnic population groups; to spotlight issues of access, engagement and utilisation in a range of health and social care settings; and to arrive at innovative solutions and new knowledge pathways drawn from a range of stakeholder perspectives, practices and sensibilities.
Roiyah is a Sociologist and her research incorporates critical race theory, feminism, community development theory, and critical perspectives in health, social policy and practice. Her abiding research interest is rooted in intersectionality, in particular, the interplay and impact of, gender, age and social class as experienced by racialised and minority ethnic population groups.
- Rachel Scourfield
Rachel Scourfield has been a social worker for 23 years. She specialises in substance use and has delivered the Integrated Family Support Service, an intensive family approach to addressing parental substance use. As a social worker, Rachel has always sought to use evidence to support the decisions and practices of her team.
In 2023 Rachel and her colleague received funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Practice Based Research Leaders award to embed research and evidence into adult services.
Following the success of this project, Rachel became Knowledge Mobilisation Manager at Social Care Wales. In this role, Rachel draws on her practice and research experience to help the social care workforce make sense of research and other types of evidence. It is through this sense-making that social care workers can apply knowledge to their own contexts, with the aim of improving outcomes for people who use care and support.
- Dr Diane Seddon
Dr Diane Seddon is an established social care researcher with a national and international reputation for research excellence, leading a novel portfolio of work that has generated new knowledge to inform social care policy and practice. She leads impactful social care research with real world application, which has supported change in national social care provision for unpaid carers that is underpinned by significant Welsh Government investment totalling over £12 million.
Dr Seddon’s research and research infrastructure capacity building work has attracted significant external grant funding totalling £12.5 million over the course of her career, as a lead investigator, principal co-investigator and co-investigator. Her publications include peer review papers, book chapters, and published reports for government and for funding bodies evidencing her contribution to addressing global health and social care challenges, as well as opportunities, associated with population ageing. Her appointment to ministerial advisory positions, and national and international steering groups highlights the esteem with which her work is held.
Dr Seddon’s contribution to the development of a new international research network on participatory approaches to ageing research (PAAR-Net COST Action) reflects her longstanding commitment to collaborative research to improve social care outcomes.
Dr Seddon’s passion and commitment to social care research is further evidenced in her championing of doctoral students and early career researchers, both in the UK and internationally, by securing postgraduate scholarship funding, by delivering international research training and by mentoring future research leaders. She is a pathway lead for social care, social work and social policy for the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded Wales Graduate School for Social Sciences.
Responsive to new opportunities, Dr Seddon is delighted to be part of the newly established Wales Centre for Vision Services Research. She is committed to grow social care research that shapes policy and practice solutions in vision services with scientific rigor.
Dr Seddon is Director of Research for the School of Health Sciences and she is Chair of the North Wales Medical School and School of Health Sciences Academic Research Ethics Committee.
- Dr Vicky Shepherd
Dr Vicky Shepherd is a Principal Research Fellow at the Health and Care Research Wales funded Centre for Trials Research, Cardiff University, where she leads a programme of methodological research around improving inclusivity in research with a particular focus on adults with impaired capacity to consent.
As part of a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Advanced Fellowship funded by Health and Care Research Wales she leads the CONSULT project which explores the ethical, legal and methodological challenges in trials involving adults lacking capacity to consent and develops and evaluates interventions to address them.
- Dr Tim Sprosen
Dr Tim Sprosen joined Our Future Health in September 2022 and leads on participant recruitment operations. He has over 25 years’ experience of delivering large-scale prospective studies and was previously Chief Scientist at UK Biobank.
He has worked at a number of leading universities including Imperial College London and Oxford University. He chairs the Yorkshire and the Humber Sheffield Research Ethics Committees. Dr Sprosen has a PhD in neuropharmacology from the University of Cambridge.
- Carys Thomas
Carys is the Head of Policy at the Science, Research and Evidence, Welsh Government. She oversees key policy areas including NHS and social care research & development strategy and funding, industry engagement, and public involvement and engagement.
Prior to joining Welsh Government in 2002, she was a senior researcher at the Home Office and has also worked in research roles at the Cabinet Office, and National Savings and Investments.
- Ifor Thomas
Ifor Thomas is a writer who has published eight books of poetry and one of short stories. Body Beautiful recounts his experience of being diagnosed with prostate cancer and was shortlisted for the Welsh Book of the Year. He won the British Airways travel writer of the year and his short stories have been broadcast on the BBC. He has performed his poetry throughout the UK. He won the John Tripp Award for spoken poetry and won the Welsh Writer category in the Cardiff International Poetry competition. His work has appeared in a number of anthologies. His collection The Undertaker’s Invoice is due to be published in 2026.
He lived and worked in Cardiff as an architect and project manager before moving to Solva where he now lives.- Rhian Thomas-Turner
Rhian Thomas-Turner leads Paediatric Research Operations and Strategy at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Co-Lead for the CRDC for Paediatrics and is Deputy Chair of the Rare Diseases Wales Clinical Research Executive Board. She has spent over a decade building research capacity for children and young people, with a particular focus on rare diseases and access to innovation. Rhian is currently completing a PhD on child-lens investment in health innovation and is especially interested in how collaborative models like VPAG can unlock new opportunities for paediatric research in Wales and beyond.
- Professor Iain Whitaker OBE
Professor Iain Whitaker is the Chair of Plastic Surgery in Swansea University Medical School and Honorary Consultant Plastic Surgeon at the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery. Iain was appointed as an Honorary Professor at the age of 34 and at 36 was appointed as the youngest substantive Chair in any discipline of Surgery in the UK. Iain read medicine at Cambridge University and has operated across four continents alongside publishing over 300 papers (H index 56, i10 Index 178).
Iain is a former Surgical Specialty Lead for Health and Care Research Wales, and Academic Lead for the UK Plastic Surgery Specialty Advisory Committee. He is the current Director of the Health and Care Research Wales / Scar Free Reconstructive Surgery and Regenerative Medicine Research Centre (www.reconregen.co.uk). This Translational Research Group has attracted grant funding of over £5 million leading to an interdisciplinary critical mass of researchers.
Amongst his previous roles, he has been an Academic Scholar at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Deputy Editor of the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (JPRAS), Chief Specialty Editor for Frontiers in Surgery and Associate Editor for the Annals of Plastic Surgery.
He has won many prestigious awards from The Royal College of Surgeons of England, The British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and The European Association of Plastic Surgeons.
Iain was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for Services to Plastic Surgery in King Charles III Birthday honours list in 2025.
- Dr Nicola Williams
Dr Nicola Williams is National Director of Research Support and Delivery, responsible for ensuring efficient, effective and research support and study delivery across Wales (via NHS Research and Development offices, and national services).
Nicola has worked in the NHS for 30 years and been an active researcher for much of that, initially delivering research projects and programmes in primary care and public health and subsequently leading a public health research unit. Prior to her role in Wales, Nicola was Deputy Director of Research and Development in a large acute trust in England and in parallel, worked as a policy and change advisor to the Welsh and UK Governments, and the Health Research Authority. Nicola is also a Chartered Coaching Psychologist.
- Professor Paul Willis
Professor Paul Willis is a professor of Adult Social Care, a registered social worker and the Director of the Health and Care Research Wales funded Centre for Adult Social Care Research at Cardiff University.
Professor Willis’ research background is in social gerontology and his research focuses on issues of social inclusion and care in later life, particularly for older people from minoritised groups with care and support needs.
His areas of research expertise include:
- housing, ageing and social inclusion
- unpaid carers and social isolation; loneliness, ageing and later life
- older men's social connections
- LGBTQ+ ageing
- social work with older people
Professor Willis is currently co-leading a study on inclusive homecare provision for older LGBTQ+ people with the University of Kent and commencing a new study on older men, hoarding and self-neglect in Wales.
- Joseph Wilton
Joseph Wilton is Head of Wellbeing and Improvement in the National Office for Care and Support in Welsh Government. He leads the Analysis and Innovation team which has responsibility for supporting the sector regarding social care performance and improvement. This includes working with the sector around national data collection and analysis, research and use of evidence and innovation including climate change and digital innovation.
- Professor Reyer Zwiggelaar
Professor Zwiggelaar is a Health and Care Research Wales Specialty Lead with a focus on artificial intelligence and has almost 30 years research experience at the interface between computer science and health data, especially concentrating on computer aided diagnosis.
Professor Zwiggelaar has published 300+ full papers. This is a mix of journal and high-quality conference contributions. He is an Associate Editor of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics and of Pattern Recognition.
Professor Zwiggelaar is currently the Deputy Chair for the Health and Care Research Wales Translational and Clinical Funding Board and a funding board member for a range of other Health and Care Research Wales funding streams. In addition, he reviews and is a panel member for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and a range of international funding bodies.
Current UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding includes Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Advanced Computing (AIMLAC) and Artificial Intelligence in the Biosciences Network (AIBIO).
Venue
- Getting there
Venue address
Glamorgan County Cricket Club, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, CF11 9XR
On foot
The most popular and pleasant means of reaching Sophia Gardens from Cardiff Central Station is on foot. The final part of the 15 minute leisurely stroll takes you along the banks of the River Taff through Bute Park and the grounds of Cardiff Castle.
Cycling
A popular way to travel to the Stadium is by bicycle and it is in the ideal location to do so i.e. via the Taff Trail which runs from Cardiff Bay to Brecon. The Stadium has more than 30 cycle parking spaces located underneath the Jellyfish Family stand. Cardiff cycle map
By train
National Rail has details of the regular inter-city and high-speed trains that run between Cardiff and all major towns and cities including London, Bristol, Birmingham and Swansea, please visit:
By coach
Regular high-speed coaches leave for Cardiff from many major locations in the UK – the National Express terminus is in Sophia Gardens, just a few minutes’ walk from our stadium.
By bus
Cardiff Bus services run regularly between Cardiff Central Station and Cathedral Road (adjacent to Sophia Gardens Cardiff)
Routes going via Cathedral Road include:
- Number 25 Circular Service to Llandaff North and North Road
- Number 62 Service to Llandaff, Danescourt, Pentrebane, Fair Water & Canton.
- Number 63 service Ffordd Berllan, Central Station, Radyr to Llandaff.
If you are planning to travel by bus please use Traveline Cymru for more information.
By car
From London: Travel time is approximately three hours via the M4 Westbound.
From Birmingham: Travel time is approximately two and a half hours via M5 Southbound and then the M4 Westbound.
From the East: Exit the M4 at Junction 29 and follow the A48M towards Llandaff. Join Cardiff Road. The stadium is situated off Sophia Close which is on Cathedral Road.
From the West: Exit the M4 at Junction 33. Follow the A4232 for 6.2 miles and exit on the slip road onto Leckwith Road. Follow the A4161 and then turn left onto Cathedral Road (A4119). Turn right onto Sophia Close where the Stadium is situated.
Car parkingPublic car parking is available in the Sophia Gardens Pay and Display car park situated within Sophia Close.
- Cardiff Council Car Parks – (see Pontcanna, City Centre and Canton sections)
- NCP Car Parks
Disabled parking
A limited number of disabled parking bays are available and are allocated on an application basis. For more details please contact the conference team