Meet the Team

Hannah has led the Northern Health Science Alliance’s (NHSA) health inequalities work from launching the 2018 Health for Wealth report to the most recent Health Equity North Woman of the North report, developing relationships with academics, government and other stakeholders. Hannah is also Executive Director of Health Equity North.

Mandy has worked within the health & life sciences sector for over 25 years, with a career spanning the NHS & higher education. She has a wealth of experience in bringing together industry, academia & the health sector to develop strategic partnerships & deliver successful collaborations & projects.

Ben leads our research and innovation network programme and champions the North as a global hub for life sciences research and innovation. Drawing on his experience as a cluster development lead, Ben collaborates effectively across academic, clinical, investor, political, and industry sectors. He has supported numerous health tech start-ups, conducting evidence gap analyses and refining their value propositions for the NHS. Prior to joining the NHSA, Ben earned a PhD in Chemistry and worked in the commercial team at the Yorkshire and Humber Health Innovation Network.

Helen is a clinical scientist, with over two decades of experience in health technology evaluation, addressing regulatory, procurement, commissioning, and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) perspectives.

She has co-authored several longitudinal research studies on interventional procedures using routinely collected and linked registry data. Helen represents the NHSA on various executive committees and steering boards for Health Data Research (HDR) UK North, two EPSRC-funded Digital Health Hubs, an NIHR-funded HealthTech Research Centre, and regularly engages with the three NHS Secure Data Environments (SDEs) across the North of England. 

Ruth has over a decade of experience in the media industry, starting her career as a news journalist before moving into PR. She has worked at one of the North East’s leading communications agencies and as a freelance communications specialist. She has developed and delivered a wide range of regional and national PR campaigns.

Prior to joining the NHSA Alexis worked for the Northern Powerhouse Partnership and managed the Policy@Manchester team at The University of Manchester, she has also worked for Members of Parliament and a political party in research and campaign roles.

Sean worked as a Graphic Artist at ncjMedia for 20 years before becoming a Freelance Illustrator, during which time his clients included Dorling Kindersley, Cambridge University Press, Financial Times and Morrisons.

Charlotte has extensive experience in communications, having previously worked in the NHS and local authorities prior to joining the NHSA.

She has delivered on important communications work and research such as our Health Equity North Woman of the North, Infant Mortality in England and Long COVID reports, ensuring these gain significant media attention, and has managed campaigns such as our annual North Innovation Women campaign.

Sarah was a medical research scientist for many years before becoming an administrator to support local clinical research in the Northeast. For the last 13 years she has worked with the NIHR Clinical Research Networks, the AHSN, and the NHSA and has extensive communications and project management experience.

Vanessa has over 30 years’ experience in office work across a variety of sectors most recently working in the third sector and healthcare.

Magan has had a varied career after achieving an English literature degree and most recently gained a copywriting diploma, joining the NHSA in 2023 as Executive Assistant to the Executive Team.