Research & Innovation Showcase 2026

Professor Richard Dashwood is the Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Coventry University. An expert in materials engineering with over 35 years of higher education experience, he spearheads the university’s transdisciplinary, challenge-led research ecosystem and its global knowledge exchange activities. Before joining Coventry, Richard spent eight years as Academic Director and HVM Catapult CTO at WMG, University of Warwick, following a nineteen-year tenure at Imperial College London. His career centres on bridging the gap between academic discovery and real-world industrial application, particularly within low-carbon mobility and international research partnerships.

Russell started his career as a Strategy Consultant at Unilever and then Deloitte having achieved a Masters in Economics from Warwick (majoring in game theory) and qualifying as an Accountant. He then spent twenty years in retailing including various roles at Kingfisher, at Safeway PLC where he was Fresh Food Director, at Dollond and Aitchison where he was Chair and Group CEO and at Blacks Leisure, where he was Group CEO. For the last twenty years he has focused his career on Healthcare. During this time he has Chaired five NHS Trusts in the Midlands, including SWFT, GEH,WVT and Worcestershire and Chaired Nuffield Healthcare, the largest Healthcare Charity in the UK with over 30 hospitals and over 130 Gyms. He set up Hunters Moor Neuro Rehabilitation in 2008 and currently owns Fosse Healthcare which provides care to over 1000 clients in the Midlands. Russell has also Chaired a number of charities including the MS Trust and You’re Cherished. Russell lives in Warwickshire, is married to Kim, has two adult children and loves dogs. He became a Christian at the age of 28.

Djordje Jakovljevic, Coventry University, United Kingdom

Dr Djordje Jakovljevic is a Professor and Research Lead in Clinical Sciences and Translational Medicine at the Research Centre for Discoveries in Life Sciences of Coventry University. In 2020 he established Cardiovascular and Translational Medicine Research Group. Between 2009 and 2020, Dr Jakovljevic developed and successfully led research programme in cardiovascular ageing and heart failure under academic mentorship of Professor Sir Doug Turnbull at Faculty of Medical Sciences of Newcastle University. Professor Jakovljevic completed Doctoral training in clinical cardiology and heart failure at Buckinghamshire University and Harefield Hospital under mentorship of Professor David Brodie and Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub. Prior to doctoral training he also completed a MSc (Brunel University, London) and BSc (University of Belgrade, Serbia). Due to excellent academic achievements at undergraduate and postgraduate studies he received several highly prestigious scholarships and awards, including those from the Royal Family and Government of Serbia, Brunel and Buckinghamshire Universities. As a Research Professor and Principal Investigator, Professor Jakovljevic leads the interdisciplinary research team consisting of 17 members (4 PhD students, 4 research fellows, 2 assistant professors, 3 associates professors, 4 professors). Academic achievements to date include: 132 peer reviewed publications, number of citations 5,907 and h-index 41 (GoogleScholar), research funding £7,85m, supervision of 9 PhD and 16 MRes candidates. Professor Jakovljevic has led development and implementation of the Horizon Europe funded €6m STRATIFYHF project (duration 48 months, dates 06/23-05/27) which aims to develop and validate artificial intelligence-based decision support system to improve risk stratification and diagnosis of heart failure in primary and secondary care.

Shabina joined Healthwatch Warwickshire in June 2024 following a career spanning more than 20 years of working in the NHS in primary care, secondary care, and for local Clinical Commissioning Groups. During this time Shabina worked at George Eliot Hospital in a variety of roles. One of Shabina’s proudest achievements is project managing the creation of a stroke rehabilitation and dementia therapy garden (Serenity Garden) which she extensively fundraised for. While at Healthwatch Warwickshire Shabina has worked closely with the transient communities (GRT and boating), armed forces, frequently ignored, and rural communities, focussing on Warwickshire North.

Shabina has a Master’s in Islamic law from Middlesex University, and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the Open University and is currently working towards becoming an accredited Family Mediator and Counsellor.

Eleanor (she/her) is a dramatherapist, with experience of clinical practice, research and training with folks with emotional, behavioural and mental health difficulties. Eleanor is a member of the local Research Engagement Network, and along with Dr Last Mafuba, recently led the study 'Exploring the Experiences of Diverse Members of the Public Engaging in Health Research'.

Eleanor champions engaging 'all' in improving mental health support and understandings locally, nationally and globally. She strongly advocates for working with individuals with lived experience of mental health difficulties, and taking care to reach and involve communities whom have been, or are, marginalised or traumatised from practice, research and training.

Professor Andy Metcalfe

Andy is a Professor at Warwick Clinical Trials Unit and a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire.

Dr Puja Myles is Director of the MHRA’s real world data research service, the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). CPRD’s mission is to provide access to anonymised patient healthcare data for research benefiting public health, including data-enabled clinical trial support services. She is a public health specialist and epidemiologist by background.

Joshua Odendaal is an academic clinician in Obstetrics and Gynaecology who recently obtained his Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT). He earned his medical degree from Imperial College London, where he also completed an intercalated BSc (Hons) in Medical Sciences with Surgery and Anaesthesia

His doctoral research focused on chronic endometritis and recurrent miscarriage, during which he played a pivotal role in establishing and managing a multicentre randomized controlled trial for the condition. His clinical interests lie in maternal medicine, and he is actively involved in ongoing research projects concerning recurrent miscarriage, maternity safety, and novel medical devices, including the co-design of the Quenby Cradle.

Currently, Joshua holds a position as an NIHR Clinical Lecturer at the University of Warwick, where he also serves as the Deputy Chair of the Biomedical Sciences Research Ethics Committee. He is an Obstetrics Section Editor for the European Journal of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Biology (EJOG) and has been the West Midlands representative on the RCOG National Trainees Committee.

Alison Partridge is an independent consultant specialising in innovation, entrepreneurship, inclusive economic development and technology ecosystems across the UK and Europe. She has over 30 years' experience helping cities, regions and innovation partnerships co-create strategies, programmes and governance models that respond to complex economic challenges and deliver local impact.

In 2016, Alison co-founded OneTech, a catalyst for inclusion in the startup ecosystem that supports underserved communities to develop the networks, skills and confidence to start and grow businesses. More recently, she has led strategic co-creation and ecosystem development projects for a wide range of organisations and partnerships including London’s Inclusive Health and Life Sciences Coalition, the City of London Corporation, Tech SY, the West Midlands Health Tech Cluster and the City of Vaasa, helping partners develop shared visions, innovation strategies and collaborative delivery models. Alison has worked with the URBACT programme since 2009, serving as Lead Expert for five Action Planning and Transfer Networks, including TechTown and TechRevolution. She is also a capacity-building expert for the European Urban Initiative, supporting cities across Europe to strengthen innovation ecosystems, collaboration and long-term economic resilience.

Richard Phillips joined ABHI in June 2015 with over 20 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical and medical devices industries.

Richard holds a first degree in Sports Science from Brighton Polytechnic and a Master's in Health Economics Research and Management from Keele University. He served for 10 years as a member of the Technology Appraisal Advisory Committee of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and was a Non-Executive Director at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham for seven years.

Richard holds numerous advisory roles on behalf the industry including for Health Innovation West Midlands, MedConnect North, the West Yorkshire HealthTech Launchpad and the National Institute for Health and Care Research. He Chairs Manchester Foundation Trust’s Commercial Research Delivery Centre’s Industry Advisory Board and is former Chair of both the Small Business Research Initiative Healthcare Programme Board and the South West Academic Health Sciences Network. Richard is a longstanding member of the Institute of Healthcare Management.

Dr Cat Roberts is a GP and Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care, Neighbourhood Health and Community across the Coventry and Warwickshire and Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board Cluster. She is passionate about bringing people together to improve care, with a particular interest in neighbourhood health, integrated care and clinically led transformation.

Alongside her clinical leadership role, Cat is an Honorary Associate Clinical Professor and has held regional leadership roles as Associate Dean for the Midlands Primary Care School and GP Training Programme Director, reflecting her longstanding commitment to medical education and developing the future workforce. She also works nationally as Primary Care Clinical Lead for Cancer Research UK, supporting improvements in cancer outcomes through primary care.