New NIHR BRC: Manchester Deputy Director Appointment

Working with the NIHR BRC: Manchester Director, Professor Anne Barton, she will support the strategic and operational oversight of the BRC.

As Deputy Director, Professor Smith (pictured) will help facilitate succession planning, knowledge retention and the development of future research leadership within the BRC. She is also going to focus on driving Research Inclusion, Industry and Partnerships, as well as supporting future BRC plans.

Professor Smith is one of the country’s leading clinical academics in the field of cough. She is a Professor of Respiratory Medicine at The University of Manchester and an Honorary Consultant at Wythenshawe Hospital, part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.

She has significant leadership experience, having previously served as Director of the NIHR Clinical Research Facility (CRF): Manchester and its predecessor organisations from 2015 to 2025. She successfully led the £20.6 million NIHR funding award for 2022-29 – a 24 per cent uplift and the largest funding award given to a CRF by the NIHR – to boost the delivery of early phase and innovative clinical trials across Greater Manchester.

At the NIHR BRC: Manchester, Professor Smith is Respiratory Medicine Co-Theme Lead and currently Lead for the Inflammation Cluster, helping drive collaboration across the Respiratory Medicine, Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases, Dermatology, and Integrative Cardiovascular Medicine Themes.

Professor Smith said: “I am delighted to be taking up the position of Deputy Director of the NIHR BRC: Manchester. I have seen firsthand how the BRC has gone from strength to strength over the years and I look forward to supporting Professor Anne Barton and the BRC team to continue its success and development.”

Professor Anne Barton said: “With Professor Jacky Smith’s expertise and wealth of experience, I have no doubt that she will be invaluable in this role. We are looking forward to working with her to deliver on our vision of driving lasting change for all.”

Alongside her leadership roles, Professor Smith’s main research interests lie in understanding the mechanisms underlying cough in respiratory diseases and the testing of novel cough-suppressing therapies. She led the development of the first accurate system to objectively measure coughing with industry partner Vitalograph. This has provided measurement of cough in more than 50 clinical trials and facilitated the development of the first therapy to be licensed for patients suffering from refractory chronic cough in the UK and European Union.