Meet the Knowledge Exchange team
An introduction to the members of the Faculty of Health's Knowledge Exchange (KE) team.
To speak to the Knowledge Exchange (KE) team, contact us at FH-KE@sheffield.ac.uk
Victoria Hand: KE Lead
Victoria joined the Faculty of Health as KE Lead in June 2023 and has worked in Business Development and Research Management for 15 years, with a specific focus on developing and supporting partnerships between academia and industry in the UK, EU and worldwide in Life Sciences and Engineering.
Victoria’s background is in Environmental Biology, and she gained her PhD in Biogeochemistry from the University of Manchester in 2005. After some time working as a PDRA, she joined the Business Development Team in the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Manchester in 2009. Victoria joined the University of Sheffield in 2017 and managed a portfolio of industry-funded research in Mechanical Engineering until joining the Partnerships and Knowledge Exchange Team. Victoria was a member of the winning team for the NERC Economic Impact Award in 2015 for recognising research that has achieved exceptional economic benefit.
Jonathan Field: KE Manager
Jon joined the KE and Commercialisation team for the Faculty of Health in April 2020 and now works as a KE manager for the Faculty, in the Partnerships & Knowledge Exchange Service. Primarily working with academics in the fields of Dentistry, Neuroscience and Infection and Immunity, he has supported a wide range of KE and commercialisation opportunities, such as contract and collaborative research, consultancy provision, IP licensing, spin-out company formation and associated investment.
Before joining the team, Jon worked in the field of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering. He completed his PhD at the University of Sheffield (between the School of Clinical Dentistry and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering) before working as a research associate, in the fields of peripheral nerve and cardiovascular biomaterials.
Nicola Galley: KE Manager
Nicola has been a KE and Commercialisation Manager since February 2021 (in the Sheffield Healthcare Gateway) and now works with the Faculty of Health as a KE Manager in the Partnerships & Knowledge Exchange Service. She has worked on projects across a broad range of disciplines including Oncology, Endocrinology, Reproduction and Health Outcomes.
Nicola’s background is in Life Sciences. She completed her PhD in Life Sciences at the University of Warwick. Following this she moved to the University of Sheffield, where she worked as a Research Associate in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (MBB), working on multidisciplinary projects studying the cell wall and antimicrobial resistance in opportunistic pathogens.
Laura Ainscough: KE Manager
Laura recently joined the Partnerships and Knowledge Exchange Service as KE Manager for the Faculty of Health. She has previously worked within the Faculty as part of the MRC-Arthritis Research UK Centre for Integrated research into Musculoskeletal Ageing (CIMA), and supported projects such as a Policy Research Workshop.
Laura completed her MA in Material Culture Studies at the University of Sheffield in 2017.