New chair of health technology commissioning board

PA 301/09 Professor Hywel Williams, Director of the Centre for Evidence Based Dermatology at The University of Nottingham, has been appointed as the new chair of the National Institute of Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme Commissioning Board — which considers the scientific merit of research applications to promote health, prevent and treat disease and improve rehabilitation and long term care. Hywel Williams, Foundation Professor of Dermato-Epidemiology, will also serve as Deputy Director of the HTA programme which is the largest funder of clinical trials in the UK with an annual budget of £80m. Professor Williams said: "I have worked as a member of the HTA Commissioning Board for the last four years, and although it has been hard work at times, I have enjoyed every minute of it. Chairing the Board will take me to another level of responsibility, but I will be supported by a superb team and a great mentor in the outgoing chair, Jon Nicholl. I am looking forward to playing my part in making the NHS the best place in the world for research that matters to patients." - The HTA programme, part of the National Institute for Health Research, commissions research to meet the urgent needs of national NHS decision-making bodies and policy customers, providing the scientific evidence to inform their decisions. It aims to provide reliable and relevant information to help inform decisions on health policy, clinical practice and the management of services.