Published on: 15 September 2025
A manager who has worked her way up the ranks to take charge of research which helps save and improve lives has been shortlisted for a national award.
Claire Livingstone is Head of Research at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (STSFT).
She is one of 11 in the running for Manager of the Year (Non-clinical) category in the Nursing Times Workforce Awards 2025.
STSFT Head of Research Claire Livingstone has been nominated as Manager of the Year (Non-clinical) category in the Nursing Times Workforce Awards 2025.
Claire said:
"I was very surprised and extremely honoured by the nomination.
"I don't feel like I need an award as I do what I love every day.
"There have been lots of challenges along the way, including COVID, changes in our organisation and research always evolving, but that's what makes it exciting.
"No two days are the same."
Claire will find out if she’s a winner at a ceremony to be held in November.
She was nominated by Carly Brown, Head of Research Nursing. Carly has told judges she is an “outstanding” manager who has led the team as it has grown and developed into an “extremely successful” environment for research.
This has particularly been in the area of nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals, which has helped deliver a wide range of studies across the Trust’s community. This has also helped boost career opportunities and made research part of the culture in these roles.
She added:
"Claire's commitment to clinical research is evident to all, she is an extremely valued manager to our team and organisation."
Deepali Varma is the Trust’s Director of Research and also works as a Consultant Ophthalmologist at Sunderland Eye Infirmary.
She said:
"Claire is a truly deserving candidate for this award as with her unassuming and responsive approach she overcomes the biggest challenges.
"She is an asset to our team and we wish her all the best."
Claire graduated from her hometown university in Sunderland in 2001 after studying sociology. She later completed a Masters in Leadership and Management at Northumbria University, graduating in 2020.
Her career in research began straight after her degree. She started as a research assistant for a European Commission funded research collaboration which looked at imaging in breast screening over a two-year period.
She went on to work for Sunderland Primary Care Trust in clinical audit and then South Tyneside Primary Care Trust as a research facilitator. When both organisations merged in 2009 to become South of Tyne Primary Care Trust, she was appointed as the Research Lead. She manged a small team and helped oversee an expansion for research in both areas, as well as Gateshead.
She then moved across to South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust in 2012 and supported research sponsored and led by the Trust as Research and Development Lead.
In 2018, she was appointed as Research and Development Manager as South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust and City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust as they formed an alliance. She helped oversee the departments as the Trusts merged the next year.
She was appointed as Head of Research in 2021.
Claire added:
"The research landscape has changed dramatically since I first started my career 24 years ago.
"I've gone from a lone worker to leading a team of approximately 50 staff in a variety of roles and working with a number of different stakeholders.
"I absolutely love what I do, it’s a privilege to lead this team.
"Research is so important. There would be no improvements in care or progress in knowledge and diagnostics without research and it ensures that everything in clinical practice is underpinned with evidence."
To find out more about the Trust’s research work visit this page: Research and Innovation
