Management Team

Professor Keith Harding: CBE FRCGP FRCP FRCS FLSW

Medical Director

Keith has had a longstanding interest in wound healing. He has undergone training in both general surgery and general practice. He was appointed as the first Director of the Wound Healing Research Unit in 1991. From 2011 – 2013 he was Director of TIME Institute (Translation, Innovation, Methodology and Engagement) and Head of Wound Healing Research Unit, School of Medicine, Cardiff University and Clinical Lead for Wound Healing in the Cardiff & Vale NHS Trust.

In September 2013 he was appointed as Dean of Clinical Innovation at Cardiff University and in 2014 was appointed as Medical Director of the Welsh Wound Innovation Centre. His clinical practice is exclusively focused on treating patients with wound healing problems with a wide range of aetiologies. He holds external professorial appointments at universities in the UK and Australia.

He has authored over 350 publications in the field of wound healing and has written a number of chapters and books in this area. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Wound Journal published by Wiley. He was the First President of the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, First Recorder of the European Wound Management Association and is a Past President of the European Tissue Repair Society. He was Chair of the International Working Group on Wound Healing in Diabetic Foot Disease, Chair of the Expert Working Group that produced a range of International Consensus Documents from 2004 – 2011. Has obtained funding of over £45 million from a range of academic, commercial and clinical sources since the Wound Healing Research Unit was created in 1991.

Keith was awarded the CBE in the New Year Honours list in January 2013 for Services to Medicine and Health Care. In 2013 he was awarded £4.2 million to set up the Welsh Wound Innovation Initiative, part of which has enabled the setting up of the first Wound Healing Centre in the World. The centre is designed to coordinate academic activity, both in terms of teaching and research, in addition to providing a coordinated approach to the care of patients with wounds. In 2014 he was awarded the The Learned Society of Wales Fellowship.

Maureen Fallon: RGN, BSc, MBA, IA

Chief Operating Officer

Maureen has spent over 25 years in the NHS in clinical, academia and managerial roles in NHS England and Wales. She graduated as a gistered General Nurse from King’s College London and went on to obtain a First Class Honours BSc degree. In 1995, Maureen obtained an MBA at Cardiff Business School and more recently she has qualified as an Improvement Advisor from the Institute of Healthcare Improvement, Boston.

Currently, Maureen has a dual role; working with the Welsh Wound Innovation Centre (WWIC) as Chief Operating Officer and also as a Senior Improvement Officer in Welsh Government responsible for the implementation of Recommendation 2 of the Flynn Report ~ summarily the development and implementation of a robust reporting system for deep pressure ulcers (Grade III; IV and unstageable) within the Care Home sector in Wales. Up until August 2016, Maureen held an Assistant Director post in Cardiff & Vale UHB for Clinical Innovation and Improvement and was pivotal to significant service transformation developments across the UHB as well as having a responsibility for building improvement capacity and capability.

Maureen joined WWIC in April 2015 with a specific remit of strengthening the managerial infrastructure and developing and delivering a successful and sustainable operational plan. With an extensive and varied experience at clinical, educational, research & development and managerial levels, Maureen has a broad skill set which ideally lends itself to developing the first Wound Healing Centre in the World. WWIC, as a not-for-profit company is designed to be an interface between Industry; Academia and the NHS to effectively innovate and improve the care of patients with wounds. Building on this platform, Maureen’s role at WWIC is providing a route map for clinical innovation in the NHS in terms of the governance, contractual and operational management of a not-for-profit business working effectively and in partnership with the private, academic and public sector organisations

Professor Michael Clark: BSc(Hons), PhD

Commercial Director

Michael Clark is Commercial Director, Welsh Wound Innovation Centre and Director of the Welsh Wound Network. A zoologist by training, Professor Clark has worked in tissue viability and wound healing since 1980. He is Professor of Wound Study, Birmingham City University supporting their Wound Healing Practice Development Unit one day a week.

Between 2003 and 2009 he was a member of the Wound Healing Research Unit, Cardiff University and had responsibility for physical measurement research within the WHRU. From 2009-2013 Professor Clark managed the Welsh Wound Network while also acting as an independent consultant.

Professor Clark was Chief Executive of the Lindsay Leg Club Foundation and has been a recent President of the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel. He was Editor in Chief of the Journal of Tissue Viability from 2000 to 2010 and now serves as Emeritus Editor of that publication.

Trudie Young: RMN, RN, Dip N, MSc, PGCE

Director of Education and Training

Trudie Young is Director of Education and Training for the Welsh Wound Innovation Centre. She previously worked clinically as a tissue viability nurse with Aneurin Bevan Health Board having been a nurse since 1979, and now works at Velindre NHS Trust.

Trudie is active across several wound care organisations including serving as a trustee of the Lindsay Leg Club Foundation. She has been Chair of the Scientific Committee of the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel and Chair of the UK Tissue Viability Society. Within Wales Trudie is a former Chair of the All Wales Tissue Viability Nurses Forum and a member of the management group of the Welsh Wound Network. She lectures on tissue viability for the University of South Wales.

Nicola Ivins: MSc, RGN

Clinical Research Director

Mrs Nicola Ivins RGN MSc has significant experience in wound healing, following the completion of her training at the University Hospital of Wales. Now working within the Welsh Innovation Centre her current role is Director of Clinical Research focusing on both academic and commercial clinical trials in wound healing. She leads the team of research nurses and completed her MSC in Wound Healing and Tissue Repair in 2009.

Nicky has extensive experience in undertaking clinical trials and evaluations and published many articles in nursing and wound related journals.

Samantha Holloway: MSc, FHEA, PGCE, RN

Reader Program Director

My role encompasses both undergraduate and postgraduate activities within the School of Medicine. Working as a Reader I am responsible for delivering the Masters in Wound Healing and Tissue Repair which continues to be held in regard both nationally and internationally. I also provide specialist advice on wound healing for the medical undergraduate programme. I am the current External Examiner for the University of Huddersfield. I have been a member of the International Skin Tear Advisory Panel since 2011 and currently the Regional Director (Europe) and Fund Raising Committee Chair. I am also on the Council and Executive for the European Wound Management Association (EWMA) and Chair the EWMA Education Committee providing advice on the educational activities of the association. I have been part of the expert review panel for a number of NICE MTEP assessments of dressings and devices for wound healing. I also currently hold the position of the Chair of the EWMA Teacher Network who are working on a number of projects examining Wound Management curricula for nurses across Europe. This is part of a wider initiative by EWMA to develop and disseminate a curriculum for Physicians and Post-registration education for Nurses. I am the Academic Editor for the Wounds UK journal and on the Editorial Board for the Chronic Wound Care supplement of the British Journal of Community Nursing and also undertake peer review of manuscripts for the same journal as well as the British Journal of Nursing, Journal of Wound Care and International Wound Care Journal. I have published / co-authored over 40 publications and have also supervised 39 Graduates to successful completion of the MSc in Wound Healing and Tissue Repair.

Kirsten Mahoney: RGN, Dip Dn, BSc, MSc, IP

Senior Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist & Operational Program Improvement Lead

Kirsten has gained significant experience of working within the sphere of wound healing. Starting in Cardiff and Vale Health Board Primary as a District Nurse Team leader then progressing to leading the Community Wound Team as a Clinical nurse specialist in 2007.

Kirsten has been on secondment from Cardiff and Vale UHB up to December 2019 and has recently joined WWIC on a permanent basis. Her role assists in providing partnership working across the NHS and independent sector and to identify gaps in service provision to improve wound care practice across Wales. She has recently been the project lead for several improvement projects within the NHS. Kirsten is also a member of the All-Wales Tissue Viability forum, the Leg Ulcer Forum Executive Committee and Shared Services Procurement Product Group.

Kirsten is an Honorary Lecturer at Cardiff University and supports students on the B.Sc and M.Sc wound healing programs. Other activities include peer reviewing articles for publication, writing articles published in national wound and nursing journals and has also presented at conferences on a national and international basis.