University of Birmingham Professor Deirdre Kelly recognised in The Inspirational Women list of Health Service Journal

05-8-2013 — /EuropaWire/ — A professor from the University of Birmingham has won a place on the Health Service Journal’s inaugural list of Inspirational Women.

Professor Deirdre Kelly, the Director of the Liver Unit at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, set up the service in 1989 and has since has developed it into a national and international unit. She has raised the survival rate in children having liver transplants from 40% in 1989 to 90% today and transformed outcomes for children with liver disease. Professor Kelly is an acknowledged national and international leader in this field and is also a Professor of Paediatric Hepatology at the University of Birmingham.

The Liver Unit at Birmingham Children’s Hospital is the leading paediatric liver unit in the world and the busiest liver and small bowel transplant unit in Europe. Many   paediatricians, nurses and other health professionals have been educated there and it also conducts leading edge research into outcomes after transplant, the molecular genetics of liver disease and viral hepatitis in children.

The Inspirational Women list contains 50 women from the field of healthcare, both clinical and non-clinical, and celebrates outstanding leaders and generous mentors who stand out for their passion and ability.

Recognising her drive and dynamism, the judging panel said that Professor Kelly has “inspired generations of paediatricians.”

Professor Kelly said: “I delighted to be on the inaugural Inspirational Women list and the recognition this brings both personally and to the Liver Unit at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.”

The Editor of the Health Service Journal said: “The judges were clear that they were looking for people who live the values they espouse – the authentic leaders.”

Notes to editors

For more information, contact Kara Bradley, University of Birmingham press office, on +44 (0)121 414 5134.