SHIP HIT welcomes new Director

The Sexual Health Improvement Programme (SHIP) Health Integration Team would like to welcome Professor Jeremy Horwood to its Directors’ team. Jeremy replaces Dr Katy Turner, who left the University of Bristol in June 2021.

After several years as a SHIP HIT member, Katy became a Director in 2018, bringing expertise, energy, enthusiasm and passion to steering the work of the SHIP HIT during this time.

Katy has had many highlights during her time as a Director, including attracting 50 experts to Bristol for the “Preparing sexual health services to meet the challenge of antimicrobial resistance” event in 2018, then bringing it to an international audience at an event co-hosted with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine the following year. She has also contributed written evidence to the UK Government Select Committee on Sexual Health and appeared alongside fellow Director Dr Paddy Horner at an MP round table meeting in 2019.

Katy says:

“I’d like to say a huge thank you to all my SHIP colleagues, especially the Directors’ team for all your support over the years. I am so proud of what we have achieved so far, and I look forward to seeing the outcomes and impact from the Common Ambition Bristol project and Fast Track Cities.”

Katy’s replacement on the Directors’ team is Jeremy Horwood, Professor of Social Sciences and Health at Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol and NIHR ARC West and theme lead for NIHR Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Behavioural Science and Evaluation. Jeremy brings a wealth of expertise to the role and has been heavily involved in much of the HIT’s work to date, including the evaluation of Unity’s rapid testing and treatment service and developing the Common Ambition Bristol project which aims to co-produce sexual health services with African and Caribbean heritage communities..

Jeremy says:

“I have always been impressed by the energy and dynamism of SHIP HIT members work to tackle health inequities and improve access to sexual health services. Katy has been a fantastic Director and will be a tough act to follow, but I am delighted to take on the challenge.”