Our Research, Evidence and Policy team is at the heart of the Meningitis Research Foundation, driving forward our research program, ensuring our medical and scientific advice is accurate and timely, and working on ground-breaking developments such as the Meningitis Progress Tracker and Meningococcal Genome Library.
As Linda, our Director of Research, Evidence and Policy retires, the Research, Evidence and Policy team is evolving. Claire Wright is stepping into the new role of Head of Evidence and Policy, alongside Liz Rodgers who is our new Head of Research.
Claire is well-known to many of our supporters, having been our Evidence and Policy Manager focused on prevention for five years and having worked for MRF for thirteen. In that time, she has worked on developing the Meningitis Progress Tracker (MPT) and on the evidence that underlay our Counting the Costs campaign (which called for the earliest and widest implementation of meningitis vaccines and which included submitting evidence to the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation). Her research on the estimated global burden of meningitis and neonatal sepsis informed both these projects, and embodies how the changes we call for at MRF are evidence-led.
Claire has also been our evidence spokesperson for a long time, making many appearances in the media. As Head of Evidence and Policy, she will be joining the Technical Task Force of the World Health Organization Global Road Map to Defeat Meningitis by 2030.
As she steps into her new role, Claire spoke to us on her ambitions from here:
“I am very excited to be adopting the role of Head of Evidence and Policy at Meningitis Research Foundation. A focus of my new responsibilities will be to lead on the development of the Meningitis Progress Tracker, which is supported by WHO as a communication tool for the Defeating Meningitis by 2030 Roadmap. The MPT is already helping to shine a light on areas where implementation of the roadmap will have the biggest impact against meningitis. As the tool develops, it should arm civil societies across the globe with vital information to help them advocate for appropriate meningitis interventions in their own countries and regions, sparking a chain reaction to defeat meningitis wherever it exists.”
Claire’s new responsibilities will include maintaining and developing a range of resources for both the public and for health professionals. These include recovery information for patients and elearning tools for health professionals on how to recognise, diagnose and treat of bacterial meningitis in young babies. She will also continue to be the connection between health practitioners and MRF members, gathering and sharing health guidance for survivors, families and carers.
Claire has developed a special interest in health economic analysis and has published research on the lifelong costs of a severe case of meningitis and septicaemia in the UK, France and Spain, experience she will also continue to bring into her new role as Head of Evidence and Policy.
More on Research, Evidence and Policy
Using research and evidence to drive change and improve lives: Linda Glennie interview
Introducing our Head of Research