Infection Prevention

Target Wound Infection Study

See more about Target Wound Infection Study.

Meet our team

Clinicians

Melissa Rochon is the Quality and Safety Lead for Surveillance at the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHSFT and passionate about improving patient safety through efficient surveillance and innovation. Melissa is delighted to be working with patients, clinicians and experts in the Infection Prevention stream with the ambition of preventing surgical site infection and reducing the risk of antibiotic resistance.

Luke Rogers BSc (Hons) MBChB (Hons) MRCS is an associate Surgical Speciality Lead (aSSLs) in Cardiac Surgery. Mr Luke J. Rogers, alongside Mr Ricky Vaja, is hoping to galvanise participation and patient and public involvement in a recently submitted NIHR program development grant. This work sets a strategy not only to develop a tool to predict infection but also identify barriers to the implementation of interventions to reduce surgical site infection.

Ricky Vaja is a BHF Clinical Research Fellow, Associate Surgical Specialty Lead Cardiac Surgery. As an associate Surgical Speciality Lead (aSSLs) in Cardiac Surgery, Mr Ricky Vaja alongside Mr Luke J. Rogers is hoping to galvanise participation and patient and public involvement in a recently submitted NIHR program development grant. This work sets a strategy not only to develop a tool to predict infection but also identify barriers to the implementation of interventions to reduce surgical site infection.

Colin Brown is a Consultant Medical Microbiologist and acting Deputy Director of the Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance Division at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Colin is delighted to be working with colleagues to engage the public in infection prevention measures, and improve our understanding of risks for post-surgical infection and ways we can reduce these.

Penny Whiting is an Associate Professor in Clinical Epidemiology based in Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School. Her research interests focus on diagnostic test evaluation, systematic reviews and developing tools to assess risk of bias in epidemiological studies.

Health Services Researchers

Judith Tanner is the Professor of Adult Nursing at the University of Nottingham. Her area of specialist expertise is surgical site infection (SSI). This includes effectiveness of interventions to prevent SSI, SSI surveillance, SSI care bundles, patient experiences of SSI and implementation. Her work informs many national and professional SSI guidelines around the world including Department of Health High Impact Interventions, NICE guidelines, WHO guidelines, and the Surgical Care Improvement Project used for all Medicare and Medicaid patients in the USA.

Catherine Wloch is a Senior Scientist at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) in the Surgical Site Infection Surveillance team within the Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance Division. Catherine specialises in surgical site infection surveillance methodology and post-discharge surveillance. Catherine is pleased to work with patients and clinicians; working together with the aim of reducing infections and improving patient experience following cardiac surgery by targeting infection prevention interventions.

Theresa Lamagni is a Senior Epidemiologist and Section Head in the Healthcare-Associated Infection & Antimicrobial Resistance Division of the National Infection Service at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Theresa is the strategic lead for the Surgical Site Infection Surveillance Service, a national surveillance programme which provides hospitals with an infrastructure to monitor and respond to changes in rates of infection. She is very enthusiastic to work with this research collaboration to develop an evidence base to inform future national guidelines for the prevention of surgical site infection following cardiac surgery.

Pauline Harrington is the National Surgical Site Infection (SSI) Surveillance Coordinator and Senior Infection Control Nurse at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). She is also the Coordinator of the Infection Prevention Society’s Audit and Surveillance Special Interest Group. She has a keen interest in the prevention of surgical wound infections in patients following surgery through surveillance and research.

Rosalie Magboo is a Senior Sister in the adult critical care unit at Bart's Heart Centre, St Bartholomew's Hospital in London. She has a special interest in cardiac surgery and prevention and management of its complications including surgical site infection. Rosalie wants to help lead the development of clinical trials for the prevention and management of SSI that are most relevant to the needs of our patients.

Cassandra Brookes is a Medical Statistician and the Principal Statistician at the Leicester Clinical Trials Unit, College of Life Sciences at the University of Leicester. She obtained an MSc in Medical Statistics at the University of Leicester and began her career at the University of Birmingham’s BCTU and later CRCTU clinical trials units before returning to Leicester in her current role. With over 15 years’ experience in clinical trials, Cassey leads the LCTU statistics team in the design and analysis of a portfolio of clinical trials across a wide range of diseases including Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Cancer. As an expert in randomised clinical trials, Cassey will work with all stakeholders to develop and deliver a multi-centre, risk stratified clinical trial to target surgical site infections.

Shaun Barber is a Medical Statistician currently working for the Leicester Clinical Trials Unit and East Midlands Research Design Service. Shaun is involved in trials in a range of research areas, including cardiovascular trials. Shaun is eager to help design studies to answer the important questions in cardiac surgery in order to improve the outcomes for patients.

Patient and Public Representatives

Jeremy Dearling - PPI Member Jeremy Dearling has been involved in PPI for many years and welcomes the opportunity to support and contribute to this initiative. He will bring to research conversations the insights of being disabled through critical illness, being a carer, and those of having worked on the front line in the NHS.

Keith Wilson - PPI Member Keith Wilson is a former heart patient who had the benefit of research. Keith is now working at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital helping patients through their experiences benefit from research.

Cardiothoracic Interdisciplinary Research Network Representative

Georgia Layton is a Cardiothoracic Surgery trainee based within the East Midlands. She has extensive experience within collaborative research networks. She has previously worked closely with the Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit during the early stages of ROSSINI-2; a national, randomised control trial assessing methods for reducing surgical site infection (SSI). Georgia is keen to build upon her experience of surgical collaborations and social media management to promote national engagement from sites around the UK in future trials targeting SSI.