A leading university academic has been appointed to the Board of Directors at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Professor Grace Alderson will take up the post of Non-Executive Director on December 1. She succeeds Nadira Mirza who has come to the end of her three-year term.

Non-executive directors, including the chairman, are not full-time NHS employees rather they are people who live or work in the area and have shown a keen interest in helping to improve the health of local people

Grace, who will continue her work as a part-time Professor of Medical Microbiology at Bradford University, said:

“I’m delighted to have been appointed to the Board and look forward to continuing my contribution to the life of the hospitals in Bradford.

“I have a life-long interest in healthcare – it is an area very close to my heart.

“I look forward to helping shape the future direction of Bradford Teaching Hospitals and promoting the excellent work of the Trust.”

Grace has considerable senior management experience in addition to her academic expertise and has held a range of senior academic roles within the university including senior Pro Vice Chancellor from 2001 to 2004.

She is also a Chartered Scientist, Chartered Biologist and a Fellow of both the Institute of Biomedical Science and the Institute of Biology.

Grace has been a Partner Governor at Bradford Teaching Hospitals since 2004 representing the University of Bradford.

Now as a non-executive director on the Trust’s Board of Directors she will responsible for approving policy, ensuring financial viability and monitoring performance of the organisation.

Congratulating Grace on her appointment, the Trust’s chief executive, Miles Scott, said:

“I’m delighted that Grace has been appointed as non-executive director as she has a long history in management and the academic health profession.

“Grace has already proven herself an effective and popular governor having served on the Trust’s Board of Governors for the past five years and I look forward to working with her during her term as a non-executive director.”

Grace is a member of the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Committee in Bradford and on the Board of Governors of Dixons City Academy.  She has recently been appointed a lay member of the General Dental Council.

She has also been a trustee of a range of charities including the higher education Equality Challenge Unit and QED-UK. For many years Grace was a member of the board of Salitas, a spin out company from the University of Bradford which interfaces with the health sector.