New independent chair appointed to lead Health Innovation East Midlands  

Professor Phil Baker has been appointed the new Independent Chair of Health Innovation East Midlands, from April 2024. 

Phil started his career within the NHS as an obstetrician and has since gained extensive experience within research and academia. 

He will continue his current role as Pro-Vice Chancellor of Research and Enterprise at the University of Leicester alongside the HIEM role. 

Phil said: “I am excited to join Health Innovation East Midlands and am looking forward to working with the team to drive innovation in the NHS faster. 

“I know the East Midlands well – I was raised in Leicester; trained and worked in Nottingham and am an NHS Trust non-executive director, and live, in Lincolnshire. This is a fantastic opportunity for me to use my experience to help strengthen the links between our research sector; turning innovations into reality for patients within our health and care services more quickly.” 

He previously served as Pro-Vice Chancellor of Life Sciences and Dean of Medicine for the previous 6 years and is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, having published 450 peer-reviewed research articles. He has worked within the UK and internationally including posts in North America, Asia and Australasia. 

Phil is also the Chair of the Executive Management Group of Midlands Innovation, a collaboration between the eight research intensive universities in the Midlands to drive cutting-edge research, innovation and skills development. 

HIEM Managing Director Nicole McGlennon said: “We are delighted to welcome Phil to the team. He brings a wealth of experience with him that is a fantastic fit for the work we are doing to bring together research and implementation partners and speed up the introduction of innovation to the health and care sector.” 

Phil joins the teams as previous chair, Martin Hindle’s term of office has come to an end after 10 years with the organisation.