Fiona Carragher joined Alzheimer’s Society in January 2019. As Executive Director of Research and Influencing, Fiona has overall responsibility for the Society’s Research and Influencing strategy; leading their ambitious world-class research programme and portfolio and their work in strengthening their position as the national charity leader on dementia health, research, social care policy and societal change.
Fiona is a Trustee of the UK Dementia Research Institute, Chair of the National Measurement System (NMS) Chemical & Biological Metrology Programme Expert Group (PEG) and Member of the NMS Life Sciences and Health PEG. She has also recently joined the board of Kent and Medway Health and Social Care Partnership NHS Trust as a Non-Executive Director bringing her expertise to support improved quality of care for those with mental health issues and dementia across her home county.
Prior to joining Alzheimer’s Society, Fiona was the Deputy Chief Scientific Officer for NHS England, providing leadership for the 50,000 healthcare science professionals in the NHS and expert advice to the health system on science, innovation, and diagnostics. She led a broad portfolio of policy responsibilities including establishing the UK Antimicrobial Resistance Diagnostics programme and the system wide Action Plan on Hearing Loss. She is a passionate advocate for women in health and led the establishment of the first Women in Science and Engineering fellowship programme in the NHS. Partnership and collaboration has always underpinned Fiona’s career and she brought together a number of key leading institutions to establish the first ever Knowledge Transfer Fellowships for scientists in the NHS.
Fiona is a Consultant Clinical Biochemist by background and a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists. She began her career working in multi-professional teams for two decades at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital, the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, and Kings College Hospital London, with a focus on providing high quality, innovative scientific and diagnostic services.
Fiona is committed to ensuring that the Alzheimer’s Society reaches every person who has a dementia diagnosis and wants help. She wants to change the conversation on dementia, mainstream the rights of people affected by dementia and drive the research agenda, working tirelessly to improve care and find a cure.