Celebrating Liz Adey – the Brummie Impact
Liz Adey, Head of Research and Development at BHP founding member Birmingham Women’s and Children’s (BWC) NHS Foundation Trust, passed away in 2025, following a short illness.
Always ahead of the curve in her approach and thinking, Liz never lost sight of the need for research to benefit patients and communities. There are few people who met her who wouldn’t give testament to her unequivocal level of support, encouragement and can-do attitude.
For many she is synonymous with the creation of the Medical Innovation Development Research Unit (MIDRU) having convinced the then Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust (HEFT) board to invest in a purpose-built research facility at Heartlands Hospital, with the proposal of securing commercial income to provide long term funding.
Earlier this year, a newly refurbished Clinical Research Facility (CRF) officially opened within the MIDRU building, supported by a £4.1 million grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
Liz worked for the Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit (BCTU) on a range of projects before becoming a Research & Development (R&D) manager. She had a transformative effect at BWC, reinvigorating and raising the profile of R&D across the Trust.
Just a few examples are:
- A colleague who credits Liz’s guidance and support in obtaining their PhD, being published, presenting at national and international conferences and securing external funding to continue her research.
- Supporting the pharmacy teams at HEFT and Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust to utilise electronic systems for pharmacy research, with the work now reaching national and international levels and being held up as an exemplar by the NIHR.
- Helping establish a Clinical Trials Scholarship programme and appointing the first cohort, affectionately known as ‘the Magnificent Seven’. All have since gone on to have considerable success in the research field, securing over £10 million in grants and hitting close to 100 publications. Now in its eight cohort with 30 clinicians across the Trust, the programme is testament to all of Liz’s enthusiasm and hard work.
Much loved and well respected throughout the research community both regionally and beyond, Liz was a font of knowledge. She supported researchers equally, from those starting out through to professors and was always at the end of a phone or email to offer advice.
She was a keen advocate of sharing practice and knowledge and was always a key contributor to training and working groups. She actively led the Quality Assurance group for BHP and the training for this as part of the West Midlands Research Training Collaborative (WMRTC). She wasn’t afraid to share ‘the good, the bad, and the ugly’ if it meant that standards could be raised and lessons learned for the benefit of research and ultimately to give patients better care and access to treatments.
Liz showed the same enthusiasm and dedication in her personal life, being a Guide Leader for many years, spending many weekends on trips, events and organising activities for the group.
This even continued online during the pandemic. She was an active volunteer at Park Run, and even when her asthma wouldn’t allow her to run it, she was often the tail walker or cheering the runners around the course – come rain or shine.
Her volunteering stretched to being an Olympic volunteer at London 2012, and later at the Commonwealth games in Birmingham. Liz instinctively contributed to the lives of others through her work, volunteering and also her fundraising for the two charities closest to her heart, Cancer Research UK and Asthma UK – once running the London Marathon in aid of these organisations. This was in addition to being a regular participant in the Cancer Research UK 5km events.
Liz had a strong sense of purpose, with an inherent kindness rarely seen. She is much missed.
