Mrs Becky Birch

Mrs Becky Birch

Medicine and Health
EuroTEAM Project Manager

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 371 8115
Email
r.birch@bham.ac.uk
Address
Research & Knowledge Transfer Office
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Becky Birch is the Inflammation Project Manager, in the Research & Knowledge Transfer Office, College of Medical & Dental Sciences.

Becky is currently working on the A-TAP (Arthritis Therapy Acceleration Programme) which is funded by the Kennedy Trust, and is in partnership with the University of Oxford and the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology. 

The A-TAP aims to develop a new taxonomy of disease that moves away from an organ based approach to therapy and towards a process driven & pathway focused driven classification in 4 immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren’s syndrome, spondyloarthropathy and inflammatory bowel disease).  The results will help to treat the cause of disease, not just the symptoms.  We will be collaborating with 6 NHS trusts across the West Midlands and Oxfordshire, as well as pharma industry partners on clinical trials.

Becky has over 12 years of experience working in project management, co-ordination, administration and finance, predominantly within the higher education sector.

Qualifications

  • 2012 ILM Award in Leadership & Management Level 3
  • 2008 PRINCE2 Practitioner
  • 2003 MA, Nottingham Trent University
  • 2002 BA (Hons), Liverpool John Moores University

Biography

From 2003-5, Becky worked for the Royal Navy recruitment headquarters as a financial officer.  She joined Birmingham City University (BCU) in 2005, initially as an administrator for media and business development projects, eventually attaining the post of Enterprise Project Manager.  

During her time at BCU, Becky co-ordinated a number of successful creative and business development projects funded by ERDF (European Regional Development Fund), ESF (European Social Fund), NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts), Birmingham City Council and Advantage West Midlands. 

In March 2013, Becky joined the University of Birmingham as the EuroTEAM project manager.  EuroTEAM was an EU FP7 funded project, aiming to identify new biomarkers in early rheumatoid arthritis.  The project was worth €7m and involved 16 academic institutions / small &  medium enterprises and a panel of 9 patient research partners from across Europe.

Becky was appointed as the Inflammation Project Manager in August 2017.