News and events
Welcome to our new team members
There have been a few changes to the JCRO Team recently. Debbie Coton is currently on maternity leave until November 2024 and we have welcomed the following:
Kitty Pert, JCRO Research Manager, joined the team in October 2023.
Ilona Bowyer, JCRO Research Manager, joined the team in January 2024 currently on secondment from the Research and Development team at University of Sussex.
Visit out meet the team page >
New Head of JCRO and HRP – Virginia Govoni
Virginia Govoni joined us in February 2023 as Head of JCRO and HRP.
“I am very excited to start this new role, in the Brighton and Sussex area there is much potential to develop impactful research for the benefit of local institutions, staff and the local communities. I am looking forward to developing these collaborations, building on local excellence and strengths in healthcare and medical research.”
Virginia has a Master Degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical technologies from the University of Bologna, and Mphil in Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences from King’s College London and 10 years’ experience in medical research settings, leading senior clinical academics to deliver major strategic and complex programmes and collaborations at Queen Mary University of London and King’s College London. Virginia joins us from Barts Charity, a healthcare charity based in East London, supporting local institutions to deliver innovative research and great healthcare to the local population. She will have a dual role as Head of Brighton and Sussex Health Research Partnership and the Joint Clinical Research Office.
Goodbye to Tanya Telling, Head of JCRO
We said goodbye to Tanya Telling, who moved on in August 2022 to become the Director of Research Quality at Kings College London. Tanya co-created and Directed the JCRO since its inception and has been instrumental in building the case for the HRP. She will be missed but we wish her the very best of luck.
New JCRO Team
There have been quite a few changes and we have welcomed several new members to our team recently.
Anett Kiss, Research Manager joined the team in April 2022.
Sam Suter, JCRO Administrator and Sejal Ghosh, ARC Coordinator joined us in May 2022.
Lara Tozer, PPIE Coordinator (HRP) and Kathryn Stanley, PPIE Coordinator (ARC) joined us in June 2022.
Zoe Boylan is now JCRO Senior Research Manager and David Todd is HRP Co-ordinator.
Meet the core JCRO team >
Brighton and Sussex JCRO confirmed as integrated element of BSMS clinical infrastructure
Since its formation in February 2019, Brighton and Sussex Joint Clinical Research Office (JCRO) has provided specialised research support for clinicians and academics working with the NHS. As a joint office governed by both local universities and two local NHS trusts, the JCRO has been instrumental in bringing partners together to establish successful joint practices. The tangible benefits of the JCRO can be seen in increased grant submissions, as well as in successful applications, over the last 3 years of its existence.
Just as significantly, the JCRO has increased the confidence of academics working with the NHS, inspiring them to apply for complex and broader-reaching projects, knowing the JCRO is there to help them. The JCRO has also provided invaluable guidance on the set-up of awarded projects, with such elements as HRA approval, contracting, and signposting to sponsorship, and also developed the Pre-Sponsorship Review Panel, pooling knowledge and experience from all partners to improve the quality of projects seeking sponsorship.
In the film below, the partners and the researchers who have worked with JCRO reflect on the positive changes brought about since its inception.
The success of this work has now led to the BSMS recognising the JCRO as a vital component of local clinical research infrastructure, and as such an integral part of its Joint Board’s five year plan.
Professor Malcolm Reed, Dean of BSMS, said: “BSMS is committed to putting clinical research at the heart of its future, working towards establishing Brighton and Sussex as a centre of excellence nationally. I have been delighted to see the advances the JCRO has made in fostering good research and integrating key regional stakeholders towards this aim, and look forward to working alongside them in all our future endeavours."
Tanya Telling, Former Head of JCRO, said “It has been a joy to be involved in the development of the JCRO over the last 3 years and to see the progress made in partnership working to enable improved support for those wishing to research in the NHS. There is enormous potential going forward for continued improvements and innovations that will mean clinicians and academics working across our partner organisations are in a better position to apply for more and larger grant application with a higher chance of success. I encourage you to get in touch with us today if you have ideas for clinical research and we will work with you to develop your proposal.”
More information can be found on the website below or by emailing jcro@sussex.ac.uk.
There are research funding opportunities now available from the NIHR, via the Research for Patient Benefit initiative and the Applied Research Collaboration.
Read more here >