Professor Dhaliwal is Professor of Molecular Imaging and Healthcare Technology at the Institute for Regeneration and Repair on Edinburgh BioQuarter and an NHS Consultant Physician in Respiratory Medicine. He is the Co-director of Baillie Gifford Pandemic Science Hub. His particular interests are around interdisciplinarity and start-ups, and he is a member of the CodeBase board.

Collaborating widely with industry, he is an advocate of the need to work across scientific disciplines to innovate. He directs the Translational Healthcare Technologies Group with a focus on co-creating new technologies, early phase experimental medicine and team science.

Professor Dhaliwal already has excellent connections with the Futures Institute, with our thematic work areas and programmes and with people and networks. In addition, he has a personal connection to our new home – as a medic who trained in the building when it was still a hospital.

Professor Kev Dhaliwal, Professor of Molecular Imaging and Healthcare Technology said: ” I am very excited and humbled to be joining an amazing and incredible team at the Futures Institute. I am committed to working across multiple disciplines and EFI is a truly exciting space to do this, with a culture of placing people first, and ensuring the values of friendship, respect and support at the heart of all interactions with collaborators and partners. I am also coming back home to the beautiful Old Royal Infirmary, which has been transformed into a magical environment to learn, be creative and is open to all.”

The appointment follows the announcement of the departure of the current Director, Professor Chris Speed, who is taking up a new role at the Melbourne Institute of Technology in the new year.

Timings for the interim appointment will be announced shortly. The University of Edinburgh will conduct a robust search for a permanent Director and further details will be shared in due course.

Edinburgh Futures Institute is creating a new environment for data-rich learning, teaching, research and innovation – and they are doing it side-by-side with communities, organisations, businesses and industry. Recognising that the biggest challenges facing societies globally are complex and interconnected, and that insight, innovation and impact come from bringing people and knowledge together across multiple disciplines, the Futures Institute collaborates to address complex challenges and make positive impact.

The Data-Driven Innovation initiative has helped establish six hubs at the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University – creating a regional power-house for collaboration with industry partners. These include Edinburgh Futures Institute and Usher Institute on Edinburgh BioQuarter.