We are delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Clara Strauss as the new Co-Director of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration Kent, Surrey and Sussex (ARC KSS), effective from January 2025.
In this newly established role, Professor Strauss joins the senior management team at the ARC KSS, working closely with Professor Stephen Peckham, the current Director, and the wider leadership team to enhance strategic leadership. Her role includes:
- Oversight of ARC KSS activities, working with the senior team to meet programme goals.
- Supporting applied health and care research across the region, by engaging with clinical, professional and patient/ public groups to foster collaboration and the translation of research into practice (knowledge mobilisation).
- And, strengthening the process of improving the ability of individuals and organisations to develop, implement and sustain high-quality research (research capacity building).
Professor Stephen Peckham, ARC KSS Director, says:
"I'd like to welcome Clara to the ARC. She brings a wealth of expertise and passion for strengthening applied research capacity and activity within Kent, Surrey, and Sussex. Her dedication to impactful research, collaboration, and innovation will help drive the organisation's mission to improve health and care outcomes for the communities we serve."
Professor Strauss, says: “I feel privileged to be joining the ARC KSS team and having the opportunity to contribute to successful knowledge mobilisation and implementation of evidence-based health and social care approaches across Kent, Surrey and Sussex so that people living in the region can benefit from high quality care and treatment.”
About Professor Clara Strauss
Professor Strauss is a leading mental health researcher with an international reputation and extensive experience in knowledge mobilisation and implementation.
Currently, Professor Strauss holds dual roles as a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Sussex and as the Deputy Director of Research at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT). She also brings over 20 years of experience as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and has successfully led NHS teams responsible for implementing research evidence into practice.
Her leadership roles include:
- Co-Lead of Sussex Mindfulness Centre (SMC) at SPFT, which has pioneered implementation of evidence-based, NICE-recommended mindfulness approaches for depression and staff wellbeing.
- OCD Clinic Lead at SPFT, where NICE-recommended research evidence is translated into impactful patient care with the guidance of a Lived Experience Advisory Panel.
- Leadership in mental health research at the NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN), where she co-leads the mental health speciality in KSS and has contributed to national priorities for mental health research.
Professor Strauss is widely regarded for her collaborative, co-production-focused research. Her contributions include:
- Forty-five peer-reviewed journal articles published in the past five years.
- Leadership as Chief Investigator or co-applicant on 22 funded studies, generating £8 million in research income, primarily from NIHR funding.
- Chairing and serving as an expert member on several Trial Steering Committees for NIHR-funded studies.
Professor Strauss has a strong track record of bridging research and practice:
- She led on the health chapter of the Mindful Nation Report (2015), which informed parliamentary recommendations to expand access to NICE-recommended mindfulness therapy for depression.
- Sussex Mindfulness Centre, that she co-leads, has led the training of nearly 200 mindfulness therapists across NHS Talking Therapy services in England, significantly expanding access to Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), a NICE-recommended therapy for depression.
- Through SMC, she has co-led initiatives to integrate NICE-recommended mindfulness approaches for workplace wellbeing programs for NHS and public sector staff.
Professor Strauss is a dedicated mentor to the next generation of researchers, she:
- leads Early Career Researcher (ECR) development for mental health PhD students and clinical academics in the Sussex Mental Health Research Centre in the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex
- sits on the Management Group for ECR Training in the Sussex-wide Health Research Partnership (HRP), and
- has successfully supervised 13 PhD students and over 20 Clinical Psychology trainees through their doctoral research.
