About Heather
Professor of Nursing/Director of NCA Centre for Clinical and care Research, Northern Care Alliance NHS FT/University of Salford
Heather Iles-Smith is Professor of Nursing at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Salford, where she also serves as Director of the NCA Centre for Clinical and Care Research (CCR). A nationally recognised clinical academic leader, Heather’s work focuses on research capacity-building among allied health professionals, leadership in long-term and digital health research, and advancing clinical academic careers in nursing.
Full Name: Heather Iles-Smith
Current Role: Professor of Nursing/Director of NCA Centre for Clinical and care Research
Organisation: Northern Care Alliance NHS FT/University of Salford
Email: H.M.Iles-Smith@salford.ac.uk
Research Topic: Symptom Attribution After Cardiac Events, Nurse-Led Care and Research Leadership, Patient Experience and Missed Care During COVID-19
NHS R&D Programme: Post Doctoral Bridging Scheme
Year of Cohort: 2019
Achievements and Research Impact
- Awarded multiple NIHR and charity research grants, with a collective value of approximately £1.5 million.
- Supervised three PhD students to completion and currently supervises five more.
- National leadership roles include:
- Membership of the NIHR Doctoral Panel
- Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Research Society Committee
- Council of Deans Research Strategic Priority Group Committee
- Lead for the NIHR Nursing and Midwifery Incubator (2020–2024)
- Developed and directs the NCA Centre for Clinical and Care Research, supporting research capacity across Allied Health and Care Professions.
- Numerous peer-reviewed publications, including studies on coronary intervention, peritoneal dialysis, clinical research nursing, and nursing care adaptations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Selected Publications by Professor Heather Iles-Smith:
| Title & Details | Year | Link |
|---|---|---|
|
A pilot project to explore the mental health and wellbeing among cardiothoracic staff and the impact of virtual reality guided mindfulness Krishnamoorthy, B., Sagar, S. M., Coonar, A. S., Raaj, S., Rathinam, A. V., Air, R., … Iles-Smith, H. Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery, 19(1), Article 556. Explores wellbeing interventions for cardiothoracic staff post-COVID-19 pandemic. |
2024 | View Article |
|
Exploring urinary incontinence in hospitalised older women Iles-Smith, H., et al. Women’s Health (Lond), 2024. A mixed-methods study on prevalence and management of urinary incontinence in older women during hospital admission. |
2024 | View Article |
|
Investigating mortality and morbidity associated with UrINary incontinence during Older Womens Secondary Care Admissions and exploring nurses experiences of delivering related care (U-INconti): a mixed methods research protocol Iles-Smith, H., McMillan, I. M., Evans-Cheung, T., et al. BMJ Open, 13(10):e067937. |
2023 | View Article |
|
Exploring support, experiences and needs of older women and health professionals regarding urinary incontinence Iles-Smith, H., et al. BMJ Open, 13(7):e071831. |
2023 | View Article |
|
How survivor’s guilt affects COVID-19 patients Saalmink, G., Iles-Smith, H. Mental Health Practice, 23(5). Psychological effects and solutions for COVID-19 survivors. |
2022 | View Article |
|
The Clinicians’ Skills, Capability, and Organisational Research Readiness (SCORR) Tool Iles-Smith, H., et al. International Journal of Practice-Based Learning in Health and Social Care, 7(2), 57–68. Development and validation of a tool to assess readiness for research among clinicians. |
2019 | View Article |
Reflections on the NHS R&D NW Programme
Heather credits the Post-Doctoral Bridging Award with providing the foundation she needed to establish herself as a research leader. She highlights that the support and the modest funding she received was instrumental not only in her own success, but also in empowering her to mentor and support many others in their clinical academic careers.
Professional Goals
Short-term: Deliver grant-funded projects and maintain the NCA Centre for Clinical and Care Research.
Long-term: Establish international collaborations and continue to secure research funding to support clinical academic leadership.
For further details, access Heather’s full CV or contact her directly at the email above.
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