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Led by practising professors at the University of Southampton Foundation Trust, our team has developed programmes to assist in optimising surgery for cancer and non-cancer patients over the past two decades.
Clinical Sponsors
Professor Sandy Jack
Sandy Jack is a Professor of Prehabilitation Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine at University of Southampton, and Honorary Consultant Clinician Scientist in Perioperative Medicine at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. She has 20+ years of experience leading and delivering healthcare services in public sectors, including community settings in the UK. She has more than 15 years experience in prehabilitation medicine and is considered an international leader in her field. She was the first to show that cancer treatments decreased physical fitness, leading to poor outcomes and high–intensity exercise-training reversed/ameliorated the decline and improved tumour regression outcomes. She has a global perspective of the challenges and works with international partners to address these. Sandy is Co-Director of Fit-4-Consortium and Director of Centre for Human Integrative Physiology in the NIHR Research Facility. She is a Board member on numerous Societies. She is CI on several trials, including the NHSE&I Sustainability and Transformation Partnership Cancer Transformation funded multi-centre Wessex Fit-Cancer Surgery Trial-WesFit (http://www.wesfit.org.uk), which is evaluating multimodal prehabilitation in patients undergoing major intra-cavity cancer surgery in the community settings. In response to the pandemic, she transformed WesFit into SafeFit (http://www.SafeFit.nhs.uk) utilising virtual clinics to deliver multimodal interventions. She has co-authored over 28 publications and co- investigator on >£5.3 million in research grants. Her team have been awarded 15 prizes including the Health Service Journal Cancer Care Initiative of the Year award for WesFit. She has recently been appointed as the theme lead for Prehabilitation for our £25,000,000 NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre.
Professor Mike Grocott
Professor Mike Grocott, Director Designate of Southampton NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) is recognised as one of the most prominent health researchers in the UK. Professor Grocott has been re-appointed as an NIHR Senior Investigator. The prestigious honour from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) underlines his status as an outstanding leader of patient and people-based research.
Professor Denny Levett
Professor Levett joined UHS in July 2015 as a consultant in critical care and perioperative (during surgery) medicine. She was appointed professor of perioperative medicine and critical care by the University of Southampton in 2018. She leads the surgical high dependency critical care unit, looking after high-risk patients after major surgery, as well as and also the perioperative medicine service at UHS. Professor Levett joined UHS in July 2015 as a consultant in critical care and perioperative (during surgery) medicine.
Associate Professor Malcolm West
Malcolm is an Associate Professor of Colorectal Surgery and Prehabilitation Medicine and a Consultant Complex Cancer surgeon at UoS and UHS. He has 12+ years' experience of leading research into improving perioperative and long-term cancer outcomes in patients undergoing major surgery, with a focus on translational research and the mechanisms of prehabilitation. He is an Associate Professor in Colorectal Surgery and Prehabilitation Medicine at the University of Southampton.
Professor Daniel Santa Mina
Dr. Daniel Santa Mina completed his PhD in Kinesiology at York University and Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Surgical Oncology at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, both in Toronto, Canada. He is a Registered Kinesiologist and Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist with the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. His area of research focus is prehabilitation, rehabilitation, and exercise sciences in clinical populations, including surgical patients, people with cancer, and those with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. He has advanced academic and healthcare leadership training from the Chair Academy and the Rotman School of Management, respectively.
Director Jason Mawer
Jason is a driven, multi-functional leader with a demonstrated history of working across commercial, and non-profit markets. He is skilled in go-to-market strategy, product development and funding. Innovative and entrepreneurial by nature enabling, he has expertise in building and leading teams to satisfy short-term business objectives while planning for future expansion and scale requirements. Jason was previously VP Europe GTM, Sutherland, and developed a strategy to expand pan-European footprint.
Commercial Director Peter Baker
As Commercial and Enterprise Director, Peter leads the development of industry relationships to support the funding and development of new products, services, and infrastructure. Peter works with key players across the life sciences and med-tech innovation ecosystem, collaborating with NHS and industry innovators to evaluate novel products and services, secure funding, and identify routes to market. Peter chairs the NHS Southern Commercial Leads network, bringing together 50+ NHS Trusts with interest in this field.
Commercial Lead Liam Reynolds
Liam has led commercial teams for major media organisations for over 30 years. Building commercial success at the likes of News UK and Global Outdoor, through bold and innovative thinking, has been the hallmark of his career thus far; he looks forward to bringing that commercial acumen to the health sector. Liam has successfully navigated the transition of Newspaper Publishers to a digital model, resulting in revenue success; a similar transformation awaits the NHS, he is well placed to advise and deliver on digital strategy.
Marketing Lead Andrew Baiden
Andrew has over thirty years experience in scaling UK and global businesses. An industry leader in the PR, Communcations, Brand and Marketing Industries, he has worked in some of the best known agencies serving a range of global brands including Microsoft, DHL, Novartis, Nintendo, Amazon and Bosch. He has also run public sector programmes for multiple government departments including Department of Health, Education, The Home Office and DCMS, as well as the Football Foundation.
Product Lead Clive Boddington
Clive has 35+ years of experience as an Advisor, Managing Director, Founder and C-Level Executive. He is a driven, multi-functional leader with a demonstrated history of working in private and public sectors. Clive is a leader in new product development and delivering complex change programmes. He is innovative and delivery-focused by nature, enabling him to have expertise in building and leading teams to both short-term business objectives and long-term benefits. Clive worked for Accenture for 14 years, delivering transformational change and new product development programmes worldwide.
Kate Adams CEO Adams Clinical Nutrition
Bio 2025 With 25 years of experience, Kate Adams is a dedicated Home Economist and Culinary Innovator, driving culinary advancements and promoting healthier eating. Her food science degree and classical culinary training, coupled with her experience as food and consumer expert across the UK and the US, give her a keen understanding of consumer preferences. You can regularly hear her insightful commentary on 'Food in the News' through her slots on regional BBC radio. Kate's career spans creating innovative recipes for major brands to captivating live audiences, always focused on making food both engaging and accessible. Her expertise encompasses recipe development, food styling, product innovation, and consumer engagement, demonstrating a proven ability to translate trends into successful food solutions. Committed to making nutritious food accessible and enjoyable, Kate empowers individuals to make informed dietary choices. Recognising the importance of cultural considerations, she leverages her extensive culinary knowledge to develop effective and palatable food products for diverse populations. In 2024, she co-founded Adams Clinical Nutrition with Andrew Short, channelling her passion for improving nutritional outcomes into the healthcare sector.
Professor Sandy Jack
Sandy Jack is a Professor of Prehabilitation Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine at University of Southampton, and Honorary Consultant Clinician Scientist in Perioperative Medicine at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. She has 20+ years of experience leading and delivering healthcare services in public sectors, including community settings in the UK. She has more than 15 years experience in prehabilitation medicine and is considered an international leader in her field. She was the first to show that cancer treatments decreased physical fitness, leading to poor outcomes and high–intensity exercise-training reversed/ameliorated the decline and improved tumour regression outcomes. She has a global perspective of the challenges and works with international partners to address these. Sandy is Co-Director of Fit-4-Consortium and Director of Centre for Human Integrative Physiology in the NIHR Research Facility. She is a Board member on numerous Societies. She is CI on several trials, including the NHSE&I Sustainability and Transformation Partnership Cancer Transformation funded multi-centre Wessex Fit-Cancer Surgery Trial-WesFit (http://www.wesfit.org.uk), which is evaluating multimodal prehabilitation in patients undergoing major intra-cavity cancer surgery in the community settings. In response to the pandemic, she transformed WesFit into SafeFit (http://www.SafeFit.nhs.uk) utilising virtual clinics to deliver multimodal interventions. She has co-authored over 28 publications and co- investigator on >£5.3 million in research grants. Her team have been awarded 15 prizes including the Health Service Journal Cancer Care Initiative of the Year award for WesFit. She has recently been appointed as the theme lead for Prehabilitation for our £25,000,000 NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre.
Professor Sandy Jack
Sandy Jack is a Professor of Prehabilitation Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine at University of Southampton, and Honorary Consultant Clinician Scientist in Perioperative Medicine at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. She has 20+ years of experience leading and delivering healthcare services in public sectors, including community settings in the UK. She has more than 15 years experience in prehabilitation medicine and is considered an international leader in her field. She was the first to show that cancer treatments decreased physical fitness, leading to poor outcomes and high–intensity exercise-training reversed/ameliorated the decline and improved tumour regression outcomes. She has a global perspective of the challenges and works with international partners to address these. Sandy is Co-Director of Fit-4-Consortium and Director of Centre for Human Integrative Physiology in the NIHR Research Facility. She is a Board member on numerous Societies. She is CI on several trials, including the NHSE&I Sustainability and Transformation Partnership Cancer Transformation funded multi-centre Wessex Fit-Cancer Surgery Trial-WesFit (http://www.wesfit.org.uk), which is evaluating multimodal prehabilitation in patients undergoing major intra-cavity cancer surgery in the community settings. In response to the pandemic, she transformed WesFit into SafeFit (http://www.SafeFit.nhs.uk) utilising virtual clinics to deliver multimodal interventions. She has co-authored over 28 publications and co- investigator on >£5.3 million in research grants. Her team have been awarded 15 prizes including the Health Service Journal Cancer Care Initiative of the Year award for WesFit. She has recently been appointed as the theme lead for Prehabilitation for our £25,000,000 NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre.
Professor Mike Grocott
Professor Mike Grocott, Director Designate of Southampton NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) is recognised as one of the most prominent health researchers in the UK. Professor Grocott has been re-appointed as an NIHR Senior Investigator. The prestigious honour from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) underlines his status as an outstanding leader of patient and people-based research.
Professor Denny Levett
Professor Levett joined UHS in July 2015 as a consultant in critical care and perioperative (during surgery) medicine. She was appointed professor of perioperative medicine and critical care by the University of Southampton in 2018. She leads the surgical high dependency critical care unit, looking after high-risk patients after major surgery, as well as and also the perioperative medicine service at UHS. Professor Levett joined UHS in July 2015 as a consultant in critical care and perioperative (during surgery) medicine.
Affiliate Professor Daniel Santa Mina
Dr. Daniel Santa Mina completed his PhD in Kinesiology at York University and Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Surgical Oncology at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, both in Toronto, Canada. He is a Registered Kinesiologist and Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist with the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. His area of research focus is prehabilitation, rehabilitation, and exercise sciences in clinical populations, including surgical patients, people with cancer, and those with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. He has advanced academic and healthcare leadership training from the Chair Academy and the Rotman School of Management, respectively.
Director Jason Mawer
Jason is a driven, multi-functional leader with a demonstrated history of working across commercial, and non-profit markets. He is skilled in go-to-market strategy, product development and funding. Innovative and entrepreneurial by nature enabling, he has expertise in building and leading teams to satisfy short-term business objectives while planning for future expansion and scale requirements. Jason was previously VP Europe GTM, Sutherland, and developed a strategy to expand pan-European footprint against a background of internal delivery challenges and lack of local leadership.
Commercial Director Peter Baker
As Commercial and Enterprise Director, Peter leads the development of industry relationships to support the funding and development of new products, services, and infrastructure. Peter works with key players across the life sciences and med-tech innovation ecosystem, collaborating with NHS and industry innovators to evaluate novel products and services, secure funding, and identify routes to market. Peter chairs the NHS Southern Commercial Leads network, bringing together 50+ NHS Trusts with interest in this field.
Commercial Lead Liam Reynolds
Liam has led commercial teams for major media organisations for over 30 years. Building commercial success at the likes of News UK and Global Outdoor, through bold and innovative thinking, has been the hallmark of his career thus far; he looks forward to bringing that commercial acumen to the health sector. Liam has successfully navigated the transition of Newspaper Publishers to a digital model, resulting in revenue success; a similar transformation awaits the NHS, he is well placed to advise and deliver on digital strategy.
Marketing Lead Andrew Baiden
Andrew has over thirty years experience in scaling UK and global businesses. An industry leader in the PR, Communcations, Brand and Marketing Industries, he has worked in some of the best known agencies serving a range of global brands including Microsoft, DHL, Novartis, Nintendo, Amazon and Bosch. He has also run public sector programmes for multiple government departments including Department of Health, Education, The Home Office and DCMS, as well as the Football Foundation.
Product Lead Clive Boddington
Clive has 35+ years of experience as an Advisor, Managing Director, Founder and C-Level Executive. He is a driven, multi-functional leader with a demonstrated history of working in private and public sectors. Clive is a leader in new product development and delivering complex change programmes. He is innovative and delivery-focused by nature, enabling him to have expertise in building and leading teams to both short-term business objectives and long-term benefits. Clive worked for Accenture for 14 years, delivering transformational change and new product development programmes worldwide.
