Welcome to our new Commercial Director, Dr Nicole Samuel
Friday 23 January 2026
Jess McNeill
We’re pleased to introduce you to the new Commercial Director for the NIHR HRC in Paediatrics and Child Health, Dr Nicole Samuel.
At the NIHR HRC in Paediatrics and Child Health (NIHR HRC PCH), we are dedicated to transforming healthcare for children, young people, and families through innovation in digital health and technologies. Alongside our five research themes, we coordinate several programmes of work that each address a key priority area within our remit. Our Commercialisation Programme aims to accelerate market access and deployment of child health technology.
We are delighted to have Dr Nicole Samuel join the NIHR HRC PCH as Commercial Director. Working in partnership with Sheffield Children’s National Centre for Child Health Technology she will help develop and deliver the NIHR HRC PCH’s Commercialisation Framework. Nicole is uniquely positioned to add significant value to the HRC through this programme by bringing her healthcare expertise as a doctor working in the NHS and her extensive experience working across academia and industry to the team. After years of successfully building strategic partnerships and healthcare infrastructure, we are excited to work alongside her and for the valuable insight and cross-sector expertise she will bring into the NIHR HRC PCH.
How the NIHR HRC PCH is driving change and tackling barriers in healthcare innovation
One of the biggest challenges faced by innovators in the digital health and MedTech space is developing a product or solution that the current health systems are able to adopt, implement at speed, and ultimately reach the children and families that need it. For cutting-edge technologies to make their way into the NHS and community and to have a meaningful impact on healthcare, we need to look at the bigger picture and tackle these barriers on a systemic level. Our Commercialisation Programme will work collaboratively across the system to accelerate the adoption of child health technologies.
The NIHR HRC PCH 5-point Commercialisation Framework sets out our approach to accelerate market access and deployment of healthcare innovation for children, young people, and families.
In a recent discussion with the Sheffield Children’s team, Nicole says:
“Healthcare innovation has evolved over the past decade. It’s no longer just about ‘silver bullet’ solutions, it’s about changing how we work to deliver better impact. When it comes to the health of children and young people, the potential impact of innovation and child health technology is monumental. Through new approaches and bold leadership, we’re not just fixing clinical problems, we’re improving our ability to adapt and evolve as a system.”
By collaborating with these pioneering child health organisations and facilitating national cross-sector collaboration in paediatric innovation, we will facilitate real-world impact in the research and innovation space, and importantly in the healthcare of children and families.
To find out more about Nicole’s role at Sheffield Children’s, please use the link below.