Professor Carl Thompson

Profile

Professor Carl Thompson is Professor of Applied Health and Social Care Research and Dame Kathleen Raven Chair in Clinical Research at the University of Leeds. His work focuses on how research evidence, data and technology can improve decision-making, care quality and workforce support in adult health and social care, particularly for older people. He leads and contributes to NIHR-funded programmes examining technology-enabled care, digital innovation, implementation in real-world care settings, and the use of routinely collected care data for research and improvement. During the COVID-19 pandemic he led the NIHR's CONTACT study of digital technology and infection control in care homes, informing the work of the SAGE and SPI-MO committees for social care. He has written three books, 150 peer-reviewed scientific papers and led or collaborated on more than £25m in competitive research funded applied research from NIHR, UKRI and industry. He is a core partner in NICHE-Leeds, a collaborative care home research partnership, and contributes to funding and advisory work in the UK and internationally, including previous service on the NIHR HSDR funding committee, Dutch, Canadian and Irish funding panels. Carl’s current portfolio includes research on stakeholder preferences for social care technologies (SENSITISE), data and technology in the social care workforce, and embedded research partnerships with care providers. He is particularly interested in making digital innovation useful in health and social care, proportionate and grounded in the realities of everyday care.

Current PhD students are looking at the adoption of photobiomodulation in children’s cancer services (Claudia Heglie, Dentistry), optimising knee sensort technology for rehabilitation and safety (Davide Ottoviani, Medicine), and the use of AI by social workers and Local Authority staff (Laura Haviland, Healthcare). I was formerly Director of Research in the School of Healthcare and Pro Dean for Applied Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds. I am a former NHS Foundation Trust Non Executive Director and have visiting positions at University of East Anglia and University of Alberta, Canada.

Primary investigator (PI)

• SENSITISE - (optimiSing tEchNology’S contrIbuTIon to Social carE)

Co-investigator (Co-I)

• Implementing a digital self-management tool within an orthopaedic knee pathway: a mixed-methods feasibility study

Qualifications

• DPhil, Social Policy, University of York, 1996
• BSc Hons (1st class with distinction), Social Policy, University of York, 1993
• RN, York College of Nursing, 1989

Student education

I teach a range of sessions in areas of medical informatics, decision making and judgement and leadership in the faculty of medicine and health. I supervise undergraduate research dissertations and support students as part of the NIHR's Fellowship Scheme (from Pre Doctoral to Post Doctoral) and those undertaking masters level study.  

Research groups and institutes

• People, systems and services

Current postgraduate researchers

• Lucy Hall