Jo Foster is a strategic academic manager with responsibility for the West Midlands Central Health Innovation Education Cluster (WMC HIEC), The Connecting for Health Evaluation Programme (CFHEP). Jo provides managerial and academic support to Professor Richard Lilford in his capacity as Vice Dean of Applied Health Research.
Jo has worked with Professor Richard Lilford for 10 years, firstly as a programme manager to a number of Department of Health research commissioning programmes including Patient Safety, Connecting for Health and Research Methodology.
Jo has co-ordinated successful collaborative bids including the Birmingham and Black Country NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research (B&BC NIHR CLAHRC) and the West Midlands Central Health Innovation and Education Cluster (WMC HIEC).
Jo managed the Birmingham Clinical Research Academy (BCRA) for 4 years which established systems and facilities for collaborative University and NHS grant applications including the NIHR Trauma Centre at the University of Birmingham and the University Hospital Birmingham Foundation NHS Trust.
Jo has previously worked as a Sister in Intensive Care in Birmingham and Nottingham and as a Senior Lecturer in Nursing in Wolverhampton and Birmingham.
Jo qualified as a Registered Nurse at Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham and pursued a career in Intensive Care Nursing for 10 years. Jo started her nurse education career as the clinical teacher responsible for the ENB 100 course in Nottingham followed by a Senior Lecturer post in Critical Care Nursing, Professional Development and Specialist Practice Degree in Birmingham. In these roles Jo developed specific skills in curricular development and open learning approaches.
Her move to the University of Birmingham was inspired by her desire to use her nursing, teaching, research and management skills in supporting the Patient Safety Research Programme under the Directorship of Professor Richard Lilford.