In the second episode of our Building Capacity: Past, Present and Future series, recorded at the RCPCH Trainee Research Network National Conference in Stafford, we explore stepping outside of standard training routes.

Dr Leila Ellis of the Trainee Research Network speaks with Dr Sharna Shanmugavadivel and Dr Priyen Shah about how their careers have developed beyond the conventional clinical academic route.  They discuss finding opportunities, mentors and how research experience can open doors into areas such as policy, artificial intelligence and health technology.

Sharna and Priyen's experiences show how varied a career involving research can be and how opportunities can emerge from clinical questions, new skills and connections made along the way.

Dr Leila Ellis is a member of the RCPCH Trainee Research Network and the Severn Paediatric Audit, Research and Quality Improvement Network. She is currently undertaking a Wellcome-funded PhD at the University of Bristol.

Dr Sharna Shanmugavadivel is a PEM GRID trainee specialising in paediatric emergency medicine and has an interest in public health and health policy. She completed an NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship after completing an OOPE as the HeadSmart fellow and currently leads the Child Cancer Smart campaign. Sharna was most recently appointed by the Secretary of State to Vice-Chair England's first Children and Young People's Cancer Taskforce at the Department of Health and Social Care using research to inform the recently published National Cancer Plan. 

Dr Priyen Shah is a paediatrician and Head of AI at Lantum. His background spans paediatrics, machine learning and infectious-disease research, and he now works on the application of artificial intelligence to healthcare workforce planning. 

Explore the resources mentioned in this episode:

• RCPCH Trainee Research Network - https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/rcpch-trainee-research-network - find out about the national network, regional trainee research networks, research resources, and opportunities to get involved. 
• Child Cancer Smart  – https://www.cclg.org.uk/childcancersmart - an evidence-based campaign for families and professionals aiming to improve earlier diagnosis of cancer in children and teenagers. 
• Lantum  – https://www.lantum.com/ - a healthcare workforce platform that supports NHS and other healthcare organisations with staff rostering and workforce management. 
• Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) fellowships  – https://post.parliament.uk/fellowships/ - placements for researchers interested in gaining experience of how evidence is used in Parliament and policymaking. Fellows may contribute to parliamentary research briefings or work with Select Committees and other parliamentary teams.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speakers and not necessarily to their employers, organisations, RCPCH or any other group or individual.

In the first episode of our Building Capacity: Past, Present and Future series, recorded at the RCPCH Trainee Research Network National Conference in Stafford, we explore some of the different ways paediatricians can become involved in research. 

Dr Leila Ellis of the Trainee Research Network speaks with Professor Will Carroll, Professor Damian Roland and Dr Jon Elliot about the current child health research landscape and why research should be part of everyday paediatric practice. They discuss the importance of building research capacity beyond traditional academic centres, how collaborative networks can help answer clinically important questions, and the opportunities available for resident doctors to contribute to research at different stages of their careers.

Dr Leila Ellis is a member of the RCPCH Trainee Research Network and the Severn Paediatric Audit, Research and Quality Improvement Network. She is currently undertaking a Wellcome-funded PhD at the University of Bristol.

Professor Will Carroll is the Honorary Professor of Child Health at Staffordshire Children's Hospital. He has gradually carved out a career in medical education and paediatric research to complement his years as both a general paediatrician (11 years as a consultant) and a respiratory paediatrician (11 years). He is the ex-officio RCPCH Joint Officer for Research and the RCPCH Officer for England (West). 

Professor Damian Roland is a past chair of PERUKI where he led on developing the research group into a self-sustaining organisation that delivers care through over 70 affiliated Children's Emergency Departments in the UK and Ireland. He is a Paediatric Emergency Medicine Consultant at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, the System Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care at the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire ICS and the NHS England lead for the deteriorating child. 

Dr Jon Elliot is a Neonatal GRID Resident at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Co-Chair of NeoTRIPS, the national neonatal resident doctor-led research and quality improvement network. 

Explore the resources mentioned in this episode:

• RCPCH Trainee Research Network - https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/rcpch-trainee-research-network - find out about the national network, regional trainee research networks, research resources, and opportunities to get involved. 
• RCPCH Progress+ domain resources: Research and scholarship - https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/rcpch-progress-domain-resources-research-scholarship - resources supporting the research and scholarship domain of the paediatric curriculum. 
• Paediatric Emergency Research in the UK and Ireland (PERUKI)  - https://www.peruki.org/ – a collaborative network supporting multicentre paediatric emergency medicine research across the UK and Ireland. PERUKI also accepts study proposals and provides information for clinicians interested in joining the network or bringing forward a research idea. 
• NeoTRIPS - https://neotrips.org/ – a national neonatal study group using resident doctor networks to deliver large-scale research and quality improvement projects. 

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speakers and not necessarily to their employers, organisations, RCPCH or any other group or individual.

How can we manage major career transitions? How do we ensure colleagues get the support needed to succeed?

In this final episode of our series on leadership conversations, Dr Jonathan Darling speaks with Dr Chakra Vasudevan about his work in medical education, patient care and supporting others.

From training in India to his move to the UK, to his current role as Head of School in Yorkshire and new RCPCH Officer for Recruitment, Chakra shares the experiences and lessons that have influenced his approach to leadership and professional development.

• Read Jonathan's reflections and download the transcript from episode 15 on RCPCH website: https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/news-events/news/2026-09/leading-way-episode-15-giving-leadership-go-dr-chakrapani-vasudevan
• Discover more of our podcasts on RCPCH Learning: https://learning.rcpch.ac.uk/home/podcasts/

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speaker and not necessarily to their employer, organisation, RCPCH or any other group or individual.

About Chakra

Chakra is a Consultant Neonatologist based at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is currently Head of School in Yorkshire, after being a Training Program Director there for several years. He is also the new RCPCH Officer for Recruitment and previously served as the Officer for Education.

How can you use your voice to enact impact?

In the penultimate episode of our Leading the Way series, Dr Jonathan Darling, our recently departed Vice President for Education and Workforce, speaks with his successor, Dr Yincent Tse, a paediatric nephrologist. The two share valuable insights into leadership, quality improvement and the positive mindset needed to create lasting change.

Jonathan and Yincent discuss the importance of saying 'yes' to opportunities, but also knowing when it is time to move on. Yincent encourages leaders to talk to as many people as possible and to celebrate their colleagues. Coming from a quality improvement background, he approaches his work and leadership by bringing people together, starting small, using the psychology of change and measuring impact.

Yincent reflects on his experience growing up with a stammer and how this drove him to use his voice to make connections and centre the voices of his colleagues and patients. An example of this is KidzMed, which started as a conversation between Yincent and his colleagues and patients about the challenges of liquid medicine for children. The result was a QI project across hospitals which converted many CYP from liquid to tablet medicine.

Yincent leads with a positive attitude that drives solution-oriented change. Two taekaways for listeners: use your voice and apply quality improvement principles.

• Read Jonathan's reflections and download the transcript from episode 14 on RCPCH website: https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/news-events/news/2026-08/leading-way-episode-14-leading-through-improvement-dr-yincent-tse
• KidMed resource for helping your child to swallow tablets on Medicines for Children: https://www.medicinesforchildren.org.uk/news/helping-your-child-to-swallow-tablets-new-resources-from-kidzmed/
• Grand round webinar series on RCPCH website: https://learning.rcpch.ac.uk/home/webinars/rcpch-grand-round-webinar-series-2025-26/
• Trainee Research Network on RCPCH website: https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/rcpch-trainee-research-network
• Discover more of our podcasts on RCPCH Learning: https://learning.rcpch.ac.uk/home/podcasts/

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speaker and not necessarily to their employer, organisation, RCPCH or any other group or individual.

About Yincent

Dr Yincent Tse is a paediatric nephrologist in Newcastle. He served as our Area Officer for North England, later co-chaired our joint Medicines Committee and lead on our Grand Rounds webinar series. In May 2025, Yincent started his post as Vice President for Education and Workforce.

How can paediatricians get started in research alongside clinical work?

This RCPCH podcast is the second in of our series on Research and Child Health. In this episode Davide, a College staff member from the Research and Evidence Team, is joined by Professor Will Carroll, respiratory paediatrician and previous Officer of Research at the College. The two discuss how paediatricians at any level can get started in research alongside a clinical role.

Will shares his experience in building research infrastructure for issues regarding children and young people in district general hospitals. He reflects on the challenges he faces, from limited time and funding to balancing priorities. Will highlights the supports available to paediatricians at various stages of their careers, such as trainee research networks, the NIHR and your local research and innovation department.

If you are enthusiastic about research, tune in to hear Will's journey and advice for getting started.

• Read our news page summary and download the transcript from episode 2: https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/news-events/news/2026-08/child-health-research-2-getting-started-finding-support-professor-will
• Discover more of our podcasts on RCPCH Learning: https://learning.rcpch.ac.uk/home/podcasts/

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast relates only to the speaker and not necessarily to their employer, organisation, RCPCH or any other group or individual.

About Will

Professor Will Carroll is a consultant respiratory paediatrician at University Hospitals North Midlands, Honorary Professor in Child Health at Keele University and RCPCH Area Officer for West England. He is also our previous Officer for Research.

How can we build services that better understand population needs?

In this episode, Dr Jonathan Darling speaks to Dr Nadeem Moghal, Director and Chief Medical and Innovation officer at Strasys. The discussion moves beyond traditional leadership theory and focuses on the practical realities of leading in complex environments, particularly where transformation and service improvement are required.

The two explore the challenge of building better services in increasingly complex systems. Using the example of paediatric services, Nadeem discusses the fragility that can exist within healthcare systems and the importance of understanding population needs. He highlights the growing importance of evidence-based leadership and a system-wide perspective when planning for the future.

Jonathan and Nadeem share several powerful insights on leadership, personal development and driving meaningful change. Leadership is not simply about directing others; it is about having the courage to grow, the determination to drive change and the resilience to persevere when the path becomes difficult.

Read Jonathan's reflections, see Nadeem's recommended authors and comments and download the transcript on the RCPCH website

About Nadeem

Most healthcare consultants observe the system from the outside. Nadeem Moghal has spent over 30 years inside it, as a clinician, a senior leader, and a patient. That combination of perspectives shapes everything he does at Strasys.

At Strasys, Nadeem leads the firm's clinical and innovation agenda. He is passionate about improving healthcare equality and life chances, and has been pioneering population-centric healthcare reform. His recent work includes supporting the reshaping of care for children and young people with Alder Hey, developing national healthcare quality governance capability, and enabling integrated care health systems to think and operate differently.

He questions current approaches, encourages different thinking, and works with leaders to build more equitable communities. Thinking differently, underpinned by data analytics and connected to real stories, is what makes Strasys his natural home.

Want to know more about the RCPCH's Assessment Review particularly what, why, when and how it's going to affect you? This podcast episode aims to do just that by bringing together some of the College faculty who have been involved through the planning, development and pilot stages.

Dr Cathryn Chadwick, outgoing Vice President for Training and Assessment, Dr Josh Hodgson, Chair of the RCPCH Trainee Committee and Dr Sarah Hallett, Trainee Representative for Assessment at the RCPCH, discuss proposed changes to workplace-based assessments which are designed to better reflect real clinical practice.

Cathryn has been leading the work to review the assessment programme within the Progress+ curriculum for doctors in postgraduate paediatric training. After two pilots and a consultation on the new workplace-based assessments, the proposed changes have been submitted to the General Medical Council for approval. Drawing on insights from trainees, trainers and College teams, the review marks a significant step towards embedding assessment within everyday clinical work.

In this conversation, Cathryn, Josh and Sarah outline the Assessment Review process, proposed changes, and predicted timeline for implementation, and address concerns that have come up along the way.

• Learn more and keep up to date with the Assessment Review process - on RCPCH website
• Read our news page summary and download the transcript from episode 1 - on RCPCH website
• Discover more of our podcasts - on RCPCH Learning

About Cathryn

Cathryn is the outgoing RCPCH Vice President for Training and Assessment, a post she has held since 2021. She is a General Paediatric Consultant at Northampton General Hospital where she has a neonatal interest. Cathryn is excited by the opportunities in the new curriculum for trainees to develop capabilities to provide holistic, joined up care for children and young people.

About Josh

Josh is the Chair of the RCPCH Trainee Committee and a Paediatric Intensive Care Medicine trainee based at the Evelina London Children's Hospital. He is an Associate Fellow of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management (FMLM and a member of the Academy of Medical Educators and an Instructor for the Resuscitation Council (UK).

About Sarah

Sarah is the trainee rep for Assessments at RCPCH and an ST6 (S1) in General Paediatrics in the East Midlands. She has provided trainee input throughout the Assessment Review and also sits on the Training Quality and START Boards, as well as the SPIN Working Group.