Meet our first NIHR NENC Health and Care Professionals Interns
Monday June 1, 2026
Newcastle Health Research Partnership (NHRP) Academy is delighted to have welcomed the first cohort of the NIHR North East and North Cumbria (NENC) Health and Care Professionals Internship Programme.
Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and co-hosted with Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW), the programme is designed to support registered health and care professionals in developing vital research skills to improve care across the region.
This 9-month internship offers a unique opportunity for health and care professionals (not including doctors and dentists) to build research capability through a personalised learning and development plan, supported by a mentor or supervisor. With a £10,000 award, the interns will explore research training, contribute to research delivery, foster research culture within their teams or take steps toward becoming clinical academics or research leaders.
We are delighted to have interns from a wide range of professions, highlighting the truly multidisciplinary nature of the programme – with interns from physiotherapy, nursing, speech and language therapy, dietetics, pharmacy, dentistry, public health, clinical science and more.
Get to know some of our interns and discover their internship focus, goals, and what they’re most excited about by visiting their profiles below:
Alexander Herring
Alexander is a Physiotherapist in Knee Service at the South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
Elena Standerwick
Elena is a Senior Physiotherapist at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Jackie Nixon
Jackie is a Public Health Practitioner in Ageing Well at Sunderland City Council
Helen Martin
Helen is a Research Manager at North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board
Nazlin Kurji-Smith
Nazlin is a Speech and Language Therapist at Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Smruthi Venkat
Smruthi is an Acute Stroke Speech and Language Therapist at Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust
Kat Sellers
Kat is a Specialist Physiotherapist Pelvic Health at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Becki Van Der Land
Becki Van Der Land is an Advanced Dental Technician at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
Natalie Shaw
Natalie is a Specialist Dietitian in Paediatric and Adult Inherited Metabolic Disorders at Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Grace Kuriakose
Grace is a Clinical Pharmacy Technician at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Gemma McCalmont
Gemma is a Nurse Consultant in Interventional Cardiology at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Jessica Fitzsimmons
Jessica is a Specialist Nurse at Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Jade Devanney
Jade is a Clinical Scientist at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Siân Dalgleish
Siân is an Emergency Department Research Nurse at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Thomas Chu
Thomas is a Specialist Bariatric Dietitian at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
Leoana Matterson
Leoana is a Senior Research Radiographer at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Steph Smith
Steph is a Clinical Academic Dietitian
at Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust
Sarah Saville
Sarah is a Sexual Health Clinic Manager at Country Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Victoria Macrae
Victoria is a Clinical Trials Officer
Rheumatology Research at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Amita Godse
Amita is a Specialist Kidney & Diabetes Dietitian at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust