The Barts 900 Campaign: Meet the experts

In 1997, Jacqui was elected as the MP for Redditch and served for 13 years. She was one of the longest serving ministers in the Labour government and the first female Home Secretary. Jacqui Smith became Chair in common of Barts Health Trust and Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust in October 2021.  Prior to that, she was Chair of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

Shane DeGaris has held several executive director posts at Board level, including at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust and Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust. Shane was CEO of Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and was deputy CEO at Barts Health for six years before taking the Group CEO role on 1 August 2022.

Professor Knight is a consultant cardiologist and led the development of the Barts Heart Centre. He led the NHS Nightingale Hospital and in recognition of this crucial contribution to the pandemic he was awarded the Freedom of the City of London and an OBE in 2020, which also recognised his importance in cardiology.

Professor Sir Mark Caulfield leads Barts Life Sciences and directs the NIHR Barts Biomedical Research Centre. Between 2013 and 2021 he was Chief Scientist for Genomics England leading the 100,000 Genomes Project, and co-creation of the of a NHS Genomic Medicine Centre. He is amongst the top 1 per cent of the most highly cited researchers worldwide and his clinical pharmacology research has changed national and international guidance for high blood pressure.

Professor Pearse leads the Critical Care and Perioperative Medicine Research Group and is an active clinical researcher who leads a number of international multi-centre clinical studies in his field. His main research interest is in improving patient outcomes following major surgery. His clinical duties are based on the busy Adult Critical Care Unit at the Royal London Hospital where he oversees the care of patients with critical illnesses.

Kieran McCafferty has been appointed the Director of the new NIHR Barts Heath Clinical Research Facility. As well as this, he is a Consultant Nephrologist at Barts Health NHS Trust and honorary Senior Lecturer at QMUL. His focus is developing and delivering clinical trials at a national and international level; delivering on 60 NIHR portfolio trials since 2015.

He is a national leader in the field of renal research and holds a number of roles including the divisional director of research for specialist medicine at Barts Health, deputy National NIHR renal lead, chair of the London Kidney Network Prevention workstream, and co-chair of the UK Kidney Research Council CKD study group.​

As Operations Director for the Clinical Research Facility, Jo leads the Barts Health specialist team to deliver early phase and experimental medicine research.  Jo also provides leadership and management at the existing clinical research facilities at The Royal London and Whipps Cross hospitals.

As a former Associate Director of Research, Jo provided support to specialties to develop and build their research portfolio.

Neeta is Associate Director of Research Engagement at Barts Health and is leading the Clinical Research Facility’s Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) strategy. This will help the CRF team in their mission to engage and consult with the local community, and ensure they benefit as future clinical trial participants.

Professor Powles is Professor of Genitourinary Oncology at St Bartholomew’s Hospital. He leads a variety of clinical trials, which has resulted in the approval of four new cancer therapies. He has written over 300 research papers and in recognition of his pioneering research, in 2021 he was named one of the world’s most influential academics.

Professor Schmid is Professor of Experimental Cancer Medicine and an Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology at St Bartholomew’s Hospital. He is the lead investigator of several international, pivotal breast cancer studies to improve the treatment of both early and late-stage breast cancer. He is renowned internationally for his work in cancer immunotherapy, and his research has influenced international guidelines for breast cancer.

Laura Johnson is the Network Director for breast surgery at Barts Health. She runs a busy clinical practice on the St Bartholomew’s Hospital site, taking a personalised approach to each patient’s treatment plan and advocating patient-focused, joint decision-making.  She has a special interest in the diagnosis and management of implant related anaplastic large cell lymphoma and is considered a UK expert in this rare disease.