King's College London

King’s Clinical Academic Training Office (KCATO) has recruited a new set of Directors, since the terms of its founding Directors have come to an end.

We’re delighted to announce the appointments of Professor Rina Dutta as KCATO Director, Professor Julie Sanders as Deputy Director for Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professionals (NMAHPs+), and Dr Cynthia Yu-Wai-Man as Deputy Director for Medics and Dentists.

KCATO exists to support clinical academics across King’s Health Partners (King’s College London and its partnering NHS Trusts). The newly appointed Directors will work alongside Dr Sam Irving, who continues in her role as KCATO’s Associate Director (Professions Allied to Healthcare). Professor Sanders will take on co-leadership of the INSIGHT programme, which provides studentships and engagement activities for NMAHPs+. Dr Yu-Wai-Man will become co-lead for the NIHR Integrated Academic Training (IAT) programme, which allows medical and dental trainees to undertake academic and clinical training concurrently.

Read on to meet the new KCATO Directors and learn more about their plans to grow the support and training opportunities for clinical academics across King’s Health Partners.

Looking to the future, and building on recent success

As KCATO welcomes its new leadership team, it is important to recognise the contributions of the outgoing KCATO Directors, Professor Frances Williams and Professor Catherine Evans. Alongside Professor Dutta and Dr Irving, they have helped shape KCATO into what it is today. Their dedication, expertise and enthusiasm over the past four years has been crucial for establishing vital support and programmes for KHP clinical academics.

Professor Williams served as KCATO’s founding Director and co-led the IAT programme with Professor Dutta. "It has been a privilege to serve as the inaugural Director of the King’s Clinical Academic Training Office (KCATO) and to help establish a strong foundation for the next generation of clinical academics and clinical academic leaders,” Professor Williams said. “Together, we have strengthened pan-professional support for trainees, improved the collection and use of data on clinical academic careers, and built new partnerships that will benefit the clinical academic community for years to come.

“I have particularly enjoyed working with individual clinical academics to help shape their careers and I have the greatest confidence in the newly assembled KCATO team. I look forward to seeing KCATO continue to grow, flourish, innovate, and strengthen clinical academic careers in the years ahead.”

Professor Evans led the successful bid to establish the NIHR INSIGHT programme at King’s and chaired the KHP Board for NMAHPs+. She will continue to work to progress clinical academic careers for NMAHPs+ in her new role as Vice-Dean for Research and Impact in King’s Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care. “It has been a huge privilege to serve as the inaugural Deputy Director for Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professionals within KCATO,” Professor Evans said. “I am deeply grateful to my KCATO colleagues – an exceptional team whose commitment, expertise and collaboration have made this role both a joy and a pleasure. It has also been a wonderful opportunity to connect and work with colleagues across KHP in pursuit of our shared ambition: creating accessible and sustainable clinical academic pathways for all health disciplines.”

“Of all our accomplishments, I am proudest of bringing people together and creating the conditions for meaningful collaboration and change. Establishing the KHP Clinical Academic Board for NMAHPs has enabled senior colleagues across organisations to work collectively, and the NIHR INSIGHT programme for South London has brought together partner organisations from across the region to expand opportunities for aspiring clinical academics early in their careers. It is humbling to see how much can be achieved when people come together with a shared purpose, supported by the opportunities and resources needed to turn ambition into reality.”

Professor Graham Lord, Executive Director of King’s Health Partners, extended his thanks to Professor Williams and Professor Evans. “KCATO’s remarkable achievements over the past four years are a testament to the vision, dedication and hard work of its founding Directors,” Professor Lord said. “Professors Frances Williams, Rina Dutta and Catherine Evans have each played a pivotal role in establishing KCATO and shaping it into the invaluable resource for clinical academics that it is today. Their leadership has laid a strong foundation for future success, and I would like to extend my sincere thanks for their contribution to KCATO, King’s and the wider King’s Health Partners community. I look forward to working with the new KCATO leadership team to continue building on this fantastic work."