Prof Mike LewisRegulator

Biography

Professor Mike Lewis serves on the NIHR Board as Scientific Director for Innovation and is Director of the Invention for Innovation (i4i) Programme and the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), the industry-focused research arms of NIHR and NHS England respectively. He is also Professor of Life Science Innovation at the University of Birmingham, with research focusing on engineering biology, genomics, robotics, AI, quantum, sensors, clinical trials, and wearables. He has an extensive industrial background in life sciences and digital innovation, having previously held senior roles at Boston Scientific, Becton Dickinson, C.R. Bard, and other major medtech companies, and served as President of Gambro in a £3bn public-to-private buyout. He sits on the NIHR Board and advises the Department of Health and Social Care alongside three other Scientific Directors. Lewis is a prominent advocate for accelerating the pace of health innovation funding and for deepening collaboration between NIHR, the NHS, and the pharma and biotech industries.

References

1. 1.Professor Mike Lewis | NIHR — Current role titles, University of Birmingham professorship, industry background, board memberships including SNOMED and Birmingham Health Partners
2. 2.Four Scientific Directors to join new NIHR Board | NIHR — Appointment as Scientific Director for Innovation on the NIHR Board (August 2024), role description as bridgehead between industry and NIHR
3. 3.Clinical research in the UK must build on industry collaboration, says NIHR director – Pharmaceutical Technology — Press coverage of Lewis's views on industry-NHS collaboration, UK clinical research standing, and partnerships with Moderna and BioNTech
4. 4.FAST innovation to improve the health and wealth of the nation | NIHR — Outcome of the FAST pilot grant scheme: over £1 million awarded across 25 projects
5. 5.

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking

Stated areas of expertise

• Health innovation funding
• MedTech and digital health translation
• Industry-NHS collaboration
• Life sciences investment
• Clinical research commercialisation
• Medical devices and diagnostics

Notable achievements

• Appointed to the NIHR Board as Scientific Director for Innovation in August 2024, one of four new Scientific Directors tasked with advising the Department of Health and Social Care. Source ↗
• Launched the pilot FAST (Funding At the Speed of Translation) grant scheme under the i4i programme, awarding over £1 million across 25 diverse projects in its first round. Source ↗
• Negotiated and supported major industry partnership deals for NIHR, including with Moderna (who agreed to build a UK manufacturing site) and BioNTech. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “If this NIHR-funded trial of Dialive is successful, it will bring dramatic benefits for patients, providing a treatment for ACLF that will save lives and reduce hospital stay.”

  Scientific director for innovation at NIHR · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · NHS to trial potentially life-saving treatment for deadly liver disease ↗

• “the 'pioneering surgery' highlighted the potential of advanced AI to support surgeons and improve patient care.”

  scientific director for innovation at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · London neurosurgeons perform first successful AI-assisted operation to remove brain tumour ↗

Source references

1. NHS to trial potentially life-saving treatment for deadly liver diseasetheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. London neurosurgeons perform first successful AI-assisted operation to remove brain tumourtheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.nihr.ac.uk/people/professor-mike-lewis
• LinkedInhttps://uk.linkedin.com/in/michael-lewis-b22938b
• Press office emailpressoffice@nihr.ac.ukpublished here ↗
• Press office phone020 4587 7470published here ↗

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