The Team: Programme Management

Louise Hartley is the Programme Coordinator for ACRC. Her background is in paediatric nursing within the NHS and facilitating contract research in the commercial sector. She also studied Biology and Health Sciences with the Open University. Prior to this post she was the research manager of Generation Scotland where she organised a remote sample collection process and advised, co-designed and gained ethical approval for, autonomous online adolescent consent.

Janice Murray is the Partnerships and Communications Manager for ACRC. She comes to us from the School of Biological Sciences (SBS), The University of Edinburgh, where she was the Research Impact Manager and REF coordinator. Prior to that Janice was lab manager of the Parasite Immunoepidemiology Group in SBS and the manager for the Out of Africa fellows for TIBA (Tackling Infection to Benefit Africa).

Janice’s research career started in the field of stem cells and then moved quickly into molecular parasitology. She gained her MSc with distinction and PhD, whilst working in the lab of Professor Rick Maizels (The University of Edinburgh); studying the immunomodulatory effects of parasite secreted proteins.

More recently, Janice was one of the leads for the REF2021 submission for the School of Biological Sciences, and has been working hard to embed impact within the school research culture.

Find out more about Janice on their profile page

Sharon spent six years working in the Commercial Property sector where she gained vast knowledge of Property Management, Facilities Management as well as Finance. Prior to this she worked for a Public/Private body whose remit was to market Edinburgh as a destination: locally, nationally and internationally. Her career has included all aspects of office management, administration, marketing, and finance.

Rooney Smyth is the Academy Administrator for the ACRC. Rooney previously worked in communications for Australian Parliament House and administration for Body Safety Australia, gaining an interest in systems and process management. He later completed a research degree in English Literature at Deakin University and moved into freelance virtual administration and research assistance before coming to work for the ACRC.

Anna Crawford is the Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Officer for the ACRC. She is a graduate from the University of West London (UWL) with a BSc degree in Nutrition and Food Management. While at UWL, she worked as a Research Assistant at the School of Biomedical Sciences where she assisted in the development of a regional patient and public involvement network for those living with young onset dementia in collaboration with the University of Bradford and University of Northampton. Prior to this role, Anna was a field researcher at ICF on the EU Reformulation and Monitoring (EUREMO) study with an objective of delivering an interoperable dataset of nutritional information on processed foods sold in 15 EU Member States.

Sarah's experience includes working in communications, project coordination and public engagement within grass roots arts-science organisation ASCUS Art & Science, NHS Lothian and National Galleries Scotland. She has an understanding and awareness of what a true interdisciplinary approach to research projects can bring to researchers and to the public as research beneficiaries. She has worked to communicate complex ideas within the aims of different research projects to different audiences, assisting with applications for public engagement funds, devising evaluation strategies and reporting impact. Most recently, she worked with a project focusing on the intersections of AI and Arts. She has an educational background within the arts and journalism.

Her role is to support and build capacity for, and eventually embed, impact within the projects and wider goals of the ACRC. That includes helping with funding applications,  tracking and reporting impact, choosing the best conferences and events for impact and selecting the right channels to disseminate outcomes for the best impact.