Lisa Miles

NIHR Manchester BRC Operational Director  

Lisa Miles is the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Operational Director. The NIHR Manchester BRC is hosted by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and focuses on early phase experimental medicine research to benefit patients and communities across Greater Manchester, Lancashire and South Cumbria. More information on the BRC can be found at the Manchester Biomedical Research Centre website 

Lisa has always been interested in research since she completed her BSc in Natural Sciences at the University of Durham and this interest was galvanised further when she completed an MRes at The University of Manchester.

She has worked in research for almost 20 years, previously at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and has also had an honorary lecturer position at the University of Manchester. Lisa is also Co-Director of Wilbo's Blends (https://wilbosblends.com/ [wilbosblends.com]) a company specialising in real-food options for enteral feeding.

Lisa is passionate about improving patient outcomes and inclusion. This is professional and personal - Lisa is Mum to three children and her eldest, Leo is autistic with significant learning disabilities and attends a specialist high school. Leo's diagnosis led Lisa to searching online for local groups for support where she discovered autism@manchester. Lisa has worked with autism@manchester for a number of years - as a parent/carer representative on the Expert by Experience group and parent/carer and researcher on the steering group. She is working to build up links across the academic and NHS interface and is committed to raising the profile of autistic people across all sectors of research to ensure equity of access to opportunities and better outcomes.

Lisa says: “I believe that my experience in the research environment and links with both the University and NHS support the aims of autism@manchester. As Mum to Leo, every day we experience how challenging the world can be for autistic children with learning disabilities.  Through my involvement with autism@manchester I have learnt so much by hearing from others with lived experience, which helps me understand more about my beautiful boy. I am driven to increase access to research opportunities, improve inclusion and work collaboratively with academic and clinical colleagues to drive better outcomes for autistic people and support for parents and carers. I really value being involved in autism@Manchester and am committed to supporting wherever and however I can".