Share
How should science and research policy inform a future health and care system?
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department of Health and Social Care
Thursday 24 April 2025
5:30pm-6:45pm followed by drinks and networking
McGrath Centre, St Catharine's College, Cambridge
The 2025 CSaP Annual Cleevely Lecture will be delivered by Professor Lucy Chappell.
Science, research and innovation are critical to underpinning and evolving our health and care system. However, there are substantial headwinds that need to be overcome – including changing demographics, pressures on service delivery and the work force, systemic inequalities, and ingrained ways of working.
In her talk, Lucy Chappell will discuss how we can reimagine the health and care system so that it is informed and influenced by science. She will argue that excellent science on its own is not enough [DN or ‘necessary but not sufficient’]. Researchers and innovators should work with patients, commissioners and the healthcare workforce to actively coproduce priorities and insights and amplify impact. Science strategies cannot be designed in a bubble, and it has become more important than ever to align these with economic growth. Current metrics and rewards of R&D funding should be better aligned with health and care outcomes.
Lucy’s lecture will consider how we might drive this forward – drawing on examples from the covid pandemic, development of diagnostic tests, and innovative cancer treatments – from bench to bedside and into global health.
Professor Lucy Chappell
Professor Chappell is NIHR Research Professor in Obstetrics at King’s College London, Honorary Consultant Obstetrician at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and an NIHR Senior Investigator. She is currentlyl undertaking the Chief Scientific Adviser role on secondment into government, while continuing some of her clinical and academic work.
Please register your attendance here
The Annual Cleevely Lecture Series
In 2021, the inaugural Cleevely Lecture was given by Angela McLean. CSaP's Annual Lecture Series began in 2011 with a talk by John Beddington (then GCSA). Lectures since then have included Chris Whitty (2017), Ed Humpherson (2019), Sally Davies (2020), Indro Mukerjee (2022), Sarah Sharples (2023) and in 2024 by Dave Smith.
Dr David Cleevely was CSaP’s Founding Director from its inception in 2009 until he stepped down in 2015. We are very grateful to David for supporting and giving his name to this lecture series.
Professor Lucy Chappell
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
