Adam Kamenetzky

Associate Director for Research Strategy and Evaluation; Mabadiliko CIC

Adam is a highly experienced researcher with expertise in a range of social science and applied health research methodologies, policy analysis, co-design, and equitable engagement and evaluation practices. Adam holds an MSc in Science Communication (Imperial College London, 2008) and a BSc in Biological Sciences (The University of Edinburgh, 2003).

Before joining Mabadiliko, Adam was a Senior Research Fellow and Researcher-in-Residence at the National Institute of Health Research (2016-2023), a Research Fellow at the Policy Institute at King’s College London (2015-2019), as well as senior research evaluation, communication and management roles at Médecins Sans Frontières (2013-2014) and Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (2008-2012).

Adam is passionate about advancing social justice in health research and applying his knowledge of research systems and management practices to address the structural barriers that exclude marginalised and minoritised voices, through his work overseeing Mabadiliko’s expanding portfolio of community-oriented research.

Adama Roberts

Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Manager, NIHR St George’s University Hospital Clinical Research Facility

Adama Roberts is a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Manager at NIHR St George’s University Hospital Clinical Research Facility, where she leads work to strengthen patient and public involvement, engagement and participation across clinical research. Her work focuses on embedding meaningful public involvement in research design and delivery, improving accessibility, and widening participation to ensure research is inclusive, representative, and responsive to community needs. Through her leadership in PPI, she supports collaborative approaches that enable patients and the public to play an active role in shaping high-quality health research.

Ana Guerra

Research Engagement & Inclusion Senior Manager, South London NIHR Regional Research Delivery Network

Ana Guerra is the Research Engagement & Inclusion Senior Manager for the South London NIHR Regional Research Delivery Network. Drawing on nearly 20 years of clinical research experience, predominantly within primary care and community settings, she leads regional strategies for Research Inclusion, public-focused stakeholder engagement, and Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement. Dedicated to championing the public voice and making equality, diversity, and inclusion central to the research framework, Ana leverages her extensive leadership background to overcome barriers to research participation.

Catherine Heffernan

Director of Health Improvement, NHS South West London Integrated Care Board

Catherine Heffernan is a Director of Health Improvement at NHS South West London Integrated Care Board, leading on population health, prevention, inequalities, research, evidence-based interventions and healthcare public health.  She is a also a Visiting Senior Lecturer at King’s College London.   A Consultant in Public Health since 2009, she is also an educational supervisor and a Faculty Advisor for the Faculty of Public Health.

Gemma Jones

Head of Programmes for King’s Health Partners Women and Children’s Clinical Academic Partnership, Applied Research Collaboration

Gemma has more than 20 years’ experience in research management, governance and delivery in the NHS and Academia. At King’s Health Partners, she leads the Women and Children’s Clinical Academic partnership, with a programme to encourage the NHS and university to work more closely to generate and use evidence in clinical care. Across KHP, she is co-leading work to bring the NIHR-funded core resources together, including a joint framework for PPIE; she is a co-applicant on the London ARC (Applied Research Collaboration) bid.

Harry de Jesus

Senior Research and Innovation Manager, North East London Integrated Care Board

For Harry, healthcare is deeply personal. Starting his journey as a bedside nurse working with very sick babies, he learned early on that true care goes beyond clinical tasks—it is about holding space for families on their hardest days. Today, as a Senior Nurse Research Leader and systems manager in North East London, his “true north” remains the same – the patient and population he serves.

As a migrant and an internationally educated nurse, Harry knows what it means to navigate complex systems. This lived experience drives his passion for building genuine trust. He manages the North East London RE Network, partnering with local charities, faith groups, and community enterprises to bring health research directly to hesitant, underserved neighbourhoods. He believes that true continuity in healthcare only happens when power is shared and every voice is respected.

Whether he is redesigning regional services or connecting with community groups, Harry blends his frontline compassion with a drive for improvement, ensuring that healthcare innovations are not just temporary projects, but lasting changes that truly serve the people.

Jodie Chan

Public Involvement Officer, Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London

Jodie is the Public Involvement Officer for the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, where she supports the meaningful involvement of patients, carers, and public members in health research. She cares deeply about amplifying the voices of marginalised groups and is passionate about supporting community-led research. Her current projects explore the healthcare experiences of women experiencing homelessness, the mental health support needs of 10- to 13-year-olds, and the impacts of housing on health.

Katherine Jeays-Ward

Research Lead, NHS Research Engagement Network

In her role as Research Lead at NHS England, Katherine is focused on increasing the impact of research through consideration of whole health pathways and system infrastructure, including through the involvement of all users of those pathways and systems. She has 15 years of experience in leading programmes to improve research and life sciences practises in the NHS at national and local levels, and in guiding and overseeing impact. She has established programmes of strategic significance to England’s health research sector, including the wide-reaching national Research Engagement Network (REN) programme, and guidance and assurance development programmes to embed research practices within health and care settings.

Katherine has broad experience within the research and innovation sectors nationally and internationally, including a decade working across NIHR-funded research infrastructure. She holds a PhD in developmental genetics from the Institute of Cancer Research and is a Senior Leader MBA Apprentice at Keele University.

Dr Natasha Curran

Medical Director, Health Innovation Network

Natasha is the Medical Director at the Health Innovation Network & Consultant in Pain Medicine at University College London Hospitals. She leads the implementation and involvement team of the Applied Research Collaboration South London and is Vice Chair of London’s Clinical Senate. Natasha is an Expert Adviser to the NICE Centre for Guidelines and to the British Journal of Pain and Perioperative Medicine. She has previously served NHS England’s Clinical Reference Group for Specialised Pain and gained significant commissioning experience on the Wandsworth Clinical Commission Group’s Governing Body. Her clinical and research interests are in the biopsychosocial field of complex pain

Rachel Faulkner-Gurstein

Head of Strategy, Research Engagement and Inclusion, NIHR South London RRDN

Rachel Faulkner-Gurstein has worked across the research system in various roles, including currently as the Head of Strategy, Research Engagement and Inclusion for the South London NIHR RDN. Previous roles include leading the development of a national outcomes framework at NIHR, developing a research function at North Central London ICB, and researching the integration of research into the health system at School of Population Health, Kings College London. She holds a PhD in policy from the City University of New York.

Sam van Elk

Lecturer in Management and Organisation, King’s College London

Sam van Elk is a Lecturer in Management and Organisation in the Department of Public Service, Management and Organisation at King’s College, London. His research draws on practice- and process-oriented approaches to organisations to explain challenges faced by public bodies, particularly those associated with moral controversies, fiscal crises and complex collaborations. He has published his work in journals including Human Relations, Public Management Review and Policy and Politics. Sam focuses his research on the healthcare sector, and increasingly on the challenges of collaboration between health and social care.

Thanh Uong

Co-Founder & Director, Two Mindful Bees Ltd

Thanh is a community wellbeing practitioner, social value lead, and co-founder of Two Mindful Bees, a Lewisham-based social enterprise supporting wellbeing through mindfulness, nature, and creative practice. He works alongside the NHS, public health teams, schools, and community partners to co-produce gentle, inclusive spaces that support mental health, reduce isolation, and help people reconnect with themselves and each other.

Thanh holds an MA in Design Studies from Central Saint Martins. His background in design continues to shape his approach, bringing care to how things are communicated and how mindfulness can be made simple and accessible in everyday life.

Through his involvement in the Research Engagement Network, he is interested in how trust, lived experience, and community voice can more meaningfully shape health research.

Tinashe Samakomva

Group Associate Director of Nursing for Research Workforce, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Tinashe Samakomva is Group Associate Director of Nursing for Research Workforce at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She is an experienced research nursing leader with a strong commitment to embedding research in everyday care and developing a skilled, inclusive and forward-looking research workforce. Her leadership supports the delivery of high-quality clinical research, strengthens research capacity across nursing and midwifery, and helps ensure patients have greater opportunities to participate in and benefit from research.

Thomas Herweijer

Programme Transformation Manager, NHS South West London Integrated Care Board

Thomas works as Programme Transformation Manager in the Health Improvement team at South West London ICB with a focus on prevention and health inequalities. Inspired by his dad working as a GP in Rotterdam and an internship at Amnesty International in Belgium, he is passionate about working with underrepresented communities and making a difference together with partners. He has led on several innovative projects, most recently the Community Health and Wellbeing Workers (CHWW) project, which is inspired by the Brazilian Family Health Strategy. Thomas has presented on his work at both national and European conferences.

Xi Ye

Head of Strategy, Research Engagement and Inclusion, NIHR North London Research Delivery Network (RDN)

Xi joined the NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) in 2025 and leads the strategy development to improve health and care research delivery in North London. Prior to joining the RRDN, Xi led the management of NIHR research centres across England and the development of a programme to accelerate the adoption of effective medical technologies and innovations into routine clinical practice.