A career in research: New Director of Research and Innovation (interim) reflects on 20 years of research
Following her appointment as Director of Research and Innovation (interim) at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), Professor Anne Barton has spoken about how her career in research has developed, and the role the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has played along the way.
As the NIHR looks back on 20 years of groundbreaking research, Professor Barton has also reflected on her journey over the past two decades. She said:
“As I look back on my career in research so far, I want to celebrate the impact NIHR has made and how it has supported me – and countless others – to make a real difference to people’s lives.”
Professor Anne Barton
When the NIHR was formed in 2006, Professor Barton was completing a Wellcome Advanced Fellowship within her role as a Consultant Rheumatologist and was considering her next steps into research. She added:
“I could see some people responded well to treatment and some didn’t at all. For me, it was about trying to understand why this happened and, to identify how we could match the right treatments to the right patients. I started a prospective study, collecting data and samples from patients who were starting biologic therapy for rheumatoid arthritis.”
This interest in research led to her first interaction with what’s now known as the NIHR North West Regional Research Delivery Network. This network enabled Professor Barton to expand her studies and recruit patients from over 50 centres across the UK, which she called her ‘first experience of how the NIHR could really accelerate research’.
In 2011 Manchester was awarded the NIHR Manchester Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit where she joined as the most junior member of the team:
“I took up the Training Lead role, and that was incredibly important to me as it allowed me to connect with training leads within the NIHR itself.
“I was invited to training camps and acted as a mentor for trainees. NIHR was still a young organisation then but the experience of being involved in the Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit and, with training, gave me a fantastic understanding of what the NIHR was all about.”
Following this she applied for a Senior Investigator Award and was successful:
“It was an extremely proud moment when I opened that award letter; I was absolutely delighted, as they are so competitive and it really boosted my confidence about going for further leadership roles.”
As her career continued to progress the NIHR continued to expand further in Manchester, delivering more and more important research that made a real impact on people’s lives. The culmination of this came in February 2024 when Professor Barton was appointed as Director of the MFT-hosted NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC):
“I was then incredibly proud to be appointed as Manchester BRC’s Director. It has been my privilege to oversee the wonderful research being conducted across our 13 Themes and the impact that is having to improve the lives of the patients we serve.“
“Over the last 20 years, I’ve seen NIHR grow enormously and what it’s done beautifully is identify and strategically invest in the areas that accelerate translational research. Their focus on trying to improve clinical care for patients is amazing, along with the opportunities it provides for people to work in and take part in research.”
