Monday 22 June 2026
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) is a priority for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Facility (CRF): Manchester and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC): Manchester.
To ensure the continued delivery of our joint EDI Strategy, NIHR CRF: Manchester has recently appointed Angela Kelsall (pictured) as our new EDI Lead.
Angela will take on this role alongside her position as Operational Lead for the NIHR CRF: Manchester at North Manchester General Hospital.
She will work closely with Dr Sayema Rahman Khan, EDI Operational Lead, and Dr Andrea Murray, EDI Strategic Lead, who have been appointed by the NIHR BRC: Manchester and took up their roles on June 1.
Our EDI Strategy was published in 2023. Angela will focus on the operational delivery of the objectives in our strategy for colleagues across our host and partner organisations – Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust.
Angela said;
“I would like to thank former EDI Lead Dr Fozia Ahmed and Deputy Leads Professor Rachel Cowen and Professor Smeeta Sinha for their contributions and I am looking forward to now building on these strong foundations to make sure we continue to progress our EDI ambitions.
“At the NIHR Manchester CRF, we are committed to ensuring a diverse and inclusive research environment for our workforce whilst delivering on our aims to drive forward health improvements and improved access to research opportunities for participants and patients.”
The team will be responsible for driving the delivery of our EDI Strategy to ensure we are delivering impact against our medium and long terms objectives. They will also focus on establishing and maintaining strong and effective working relationships with existing EDI teams across our BRC and CRF partnerships.
Dr Khan (pictured) is a Research Project Manager in the Experimental Cancer Medicine Team (ECMT) at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, affiliated with the NIHR BRC: Manchester Cancer Precision Medicine Theme, where she is also the ECMT Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) Lead.
Dr Khan said:
“For me, EDI is about moving from good intentions to practical, measurable positive change. My work across The Christie, The University of Manchester and the wider sectoral landscape has shown me the difference representation, co-production and fair access to opportunity can make. I am honoured to take up this role and look forward to working alongside Andrea, Angela and colleagues across the BRC and CRF to translate our 4 EDI ambitions of People, Process, Education and Training, and Legacy into tangible progress to deliver on our ambitious EDI strategy.”
Dr Murray (pictured) is a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Photonics in the Scleroderma and Raynaud’s Research Group within the Division of Musculoskeletal and Dermatological Sciences (DMDS). She is based between The University of Manchester and Salford Royal Hospital, part of Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust. Prior to taking on this role, she was the EDI lead for the Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases Theme.
Dr Murray said:
“I am excited to be developing and delivering on the EDI strategy, building upon the strong foundations developed to date. As a BRC, I hope we can deliver strategies that increase, retain and support equity and diversity. I very much look forward to working with Sayema and Angela to achieve this.”
Our 4 EDI ambitions are: People, Process, Education and Training, and Legacy.
