Professor Fliss Murtagh announced as Senior Investigator for National Institute for Health Research

Professor Fliss Murtagh, Associate Director of the Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre, has been awarded Senior Investigator status by the NIHR

Professor Fliss Murtagh, Associate Director of the Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre, at Hull York Medical School, University of Hull has been awarded Senior Investigator status by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), from April 2020 to March 2024.

The award followed an annual and highly competitive open competition by the NIHR, which included selection by a panel of experts, and will mean Fliss will become a member of the NIHR College of Senior Investigators, comprising – at any one time - about 200 Senior Investigators, some of the most outstanding leaders of patient and people-based research within the health community.

Fliss says, ‘I am absolutely delighted to have been awarded NIHR Senior Investigator and see this role as an opportunity to help with leadership of NIHR and helping to shape the future direction of health and care research’.

As Professor of Palliative Care at Hull York Medical School, and a Consultant in Palliative Medicine at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Fliss is a national leader in palliative care research. Her research interests include palliative and end-of life care needs, outcomes and resource use, especially for older people and those with non-cancer conditions, and particularly advanced kidney disease. She has led work to develop a national case mix classification for palliative care, to improve understanding and addressing complex needs and is also experienced in research methods: cohort and cross sectional surveys, psychometrics, implementation and use of outcomes, especially the Integrated Palliative Outcome Scale. Her work and that of her colleagues is helping to build a much needed evidence base for palliative care research which although often associated with a diagnosis of cancer, also involves providing care for patients with a wide range of other diseases and supporting their families.

Fliss goes on to say, ‘as a Senior Investigator part of my role will involve working with other Senior Investigators and colleagues from the NIHR and Department of Health and Social Care to help lead future research. It will also involve playing a leading role in NIHR’s Contribution to Growth, for example through attracting, developing and retaining a highly skilled health research workforce and supporting collaborations to deliver high quality research.’

Fliss qualified in medicine in the UK in 1986. She worked in General Practice for almost 10 years, and then undertook specialist training in palliative medicine. She worked at the Cicely Saunders Institute, King's College London from 2002 to 2017, where she completed her PhD, became Clinical Senior Lecturer, and then Reader in Palliative Medicine.

She joined Hull York Medical School in 2017 as a Professor of Palliative Care and Associate Director of the Wolfson Palliative Care Research Institute. She is also Visiting Professor of Palliative Care at the Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London, UK.

Professor Una Macleod, Dean of the Medical School says, ‘at Hull York Medical School we are committed to undertaking research which has an impact on our local communities. Our researchers across Hull and Hull have a global reputation for their work, which impacts national, and international health agendas across areas such as cancer research, mental health and addiction and global public health. I am delighted that Fliss has been announced as an NIHR Senior Investigator and has been recognised for the contribution she has made to furthering palliative care research.’