Experienced NHS and Academic leaders oversee the CRDC in Edinburgh, supporting and enabling high-quality commercial clinical trials. Dr Rebecca Sutherland Consultant Infectious Diseases, CRDC Director, NHS Lothian NHS Lothian Overseeing strategic and operational delivery Contact details Email: rebecca.sutherland@nhs.scot Biography Consultant in Infectious Diseases, EdinburghCCT in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, OxfordMRC research fellow in vaccine immunology at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, OxfordNRS clinical scientist and CRDC Lead, NHS Lothian Research interests Optimising antimicrobial therapy for clinical infectionVaccines Allergy to antibiotics/ vaccines HIV therapeutics and standards of care Projects/grants Site PI for the OvIVA study, Oxford University - National study looking at the role of oral Abs in the treatment of osteomyelitisSite PI for the ChAdOx study, Oxford University - Covid-19 vaccine studySite PI for the ChAdox vaccine (COV002) study and booster study (COV009), Oxford UniversitySite PI for the IONOE study, Oxford University - Academic study of necrotising otitis media abs use and follow-upSite PI for the Next Cove study, Moderna - Phase 3 C-19 mRNA vaccineSite PI for the Odyssey study, Moderna - Phase 1/2 pandemic flu vaccine candidateSite PI for the RIO study, Rockerfellor/Imperial/Oxford - Academic study - functional HIV cure study utilising broadly neutralising Abs IMPSite PI for the SNAP trial - Global Platform trial for the management of Staph Aureus BacteraemiaSite PI for the Fluent study, Moderna - Phase 2 seasonal influenza study Dr Fiona Maxton Commercial Research Nurse Manager NHS Lothian Contact details Email: fiona.maxton@nhs.scot Biography Fiona joined the CRDC as commercial research nurse manager in Feb 2026, having held national and regional senior research leadership roles in England. Following successful roles as senior research manager in the NIHR Clinical Research Network in the East of England, she has led a variety of research teams across the region. A Fellow of the NIHR Academy following an inaugural award as an NIHR 70@70 Senior Research Nurse Leader, Fiona then held the position of Research Lead in the Chief Nursing Officer for England’s Research Team, NHS England where she implemented the Strategic Plan for Research. She is Co-Director for the Clinical Academic Careers Pathway group, within Clinical Academic Roles Implementation Network (CARIN) - in the Council of Deans of Health (UK). She holds an honorary assistant professor post at the University of Nottingham. Research interests Paediatric Intensive Care - the focus of her PhD (2005)research leadershipbuilding research capacity and capability for NMAHPsworkforce research Professor David Newby Director of Research & Innovation NHS Lothian University of Edinburgh Contact details Email: d.e.newby@ed.ac.uk Biography Professor David Newby is British Heart Foundation Duke of Edinburgh Chair of Cardiology at the University of Edinburgh, and a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. He is Director of the Institute for Neuroscience and Cardiovascular Research, the British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence and Edinburgh Imaging facilities. Research interests Experimental medicineAdvanced imagingClinical trials of cardiovascular disease Projects/grants Professor Newby has led several multicentre clinical trials including the SCOT-HEART and SCOT-HEART 2 trials. This article was published on Tuesday 17 March 2026