Inaugural Lecture: Professor Ros Kane

Lecture Overview:

In her inaugural lecture, Professor Kane will explore why integrating clinical practice with academic rigour is not just an alternative career path, but an absolute necessity for the future of global healthcare. Grounded in her own reality as a Registered Adult Nurse, Professor Kane’s career challenges the traditional divide between theory and practice, championing a dual identity where those who deliver care are the very ones transforming it through evidence.

As a national leader in developing Clinical Academic Careers, Professor Kane will discuss her extensive work—including leading the NHSE and ICA-funded Clinical Academic Careers Internship Programme—in building structured pathways, mentorship, and funding for nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and social workers. Drawing on her experience as the author of the definitive textbook, Evidence-Based Practice for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals (now in its 5th edition), she will highlight the critical role of the "Clinician-Researcher" in translating complex research into improved outcomes. Ultimately, the lecture will outline a vision for a modern, sustainable NHS where thriving, interdisciplinary research environments are embedded directly into the heart of healthcare delivery.

Biography

Ros Kane is a Professor of Nursing and Public Health at the University of Lincoln, where she has worked in the school of Health and Care Sciences for over 20 years.

Professor Kane’s career is defined by a unique interdisciplinary perspective. Originally a Registered Adult Nurse, she transitioned into academia with a BSc in Anthropology and Geography from University College London, followed by an MSc in Medical Demography and a PhD in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where she subsequently worked for 10 years. This blend of clinical expertise and social science rigour has underpinned her work for over three decades.

A prolific author, Ros has published over 160 original research articles, and 5 books including the widely used textbook Evidence-based Practice for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals, now in its 5th edition. Across her career she has secured grants, either as lead or co-applicant of over £21 Million from a range of prestigious funding bodies including the National Institute for Health and Care Research, Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support and NHS England.

Her influence extends nationally, through her role as honorary professor at the Institute for Global Health at UCL and internationally through visiting professorships in Thailand and Indonesia and as an external examiner at The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of South Africa (UNISA). Professor Kane is a Fellow of the European Academy of Nursing Science and the Chair of the UDINE-C International Network of nurse academics. She serves on the Editorial Board for 4 Academic Journals and has been a peer reviewer for a wide range of funding bodies, including the Medical Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, the National Institute for Health and Care research and is a member of the UKRI Talent Peer Review College.

At the University of Lincoln, Ros has been instrumental in shaping the research landscape. Her research portfolio spans key thematic areas of public health: sexual and reproductive health, cancer survivorship, domestic violence and abuse and notably workforce development: she had led the Clinical Academic Careers Internship Programme across the East Midlands to empower the next generation of health and social care researchers.

She has supervised 9 post-graduate research students to completion and is currently supervising 8 others. She has examined 40 PhDs. Professor Kane has been recognised for her teaching leadership, as a Senior Fellow of Advance HE and is a recognised PhD supervisor with the UK Council for Graduate Education.

Tonight, Professor Kane joins us to share insights from a career dedicated to the belief that robust research is the cornerstone of compassionate, effective healthcare.

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