--- title: Professor Robert Wachter appointed new chair of scientific advisory board description: Robert Wachter, MD - Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California – will take over as chair of THIS Institute’s scientific advisory board. image: https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/hubfs/Wachter%20headshot.jpg --- [![THIS Institute. The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute.](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/hubfs/logo-dark-this.svg) ![THIS Institute. The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute.](https://mk0thisinstitut0r1om.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/themes/this/img/logo-this.svg)](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/) - About - [About THIS](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/about/) - [Who we are](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/about/who-we-are/) - [What we do](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/about/what-we-do/) - [Vacancies](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/about/vacancies/) - [Research](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/research/) - [Our research](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/research) - [Projects](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/projects/) - [Outputs](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/outputs/) - Fellowships - [Introduction](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/fellowships/) - [Fellows](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/fellowships/meet-the-fellows/) - [Stories](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/fellowships/stories) - [Events](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/events/) - [Podcast](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/podcast/) - [Blog](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk) - [Contact](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/contact/) [![The Health Foundation.](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/hubfs/hf-logo-colour.svg) ![The Health Foundation.](https://mk0thisinstitut0r1om.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/themes/this/img/logo-hf-white.svg)](https://www.health.org.uk/) - 3rd February 2020 - 2 min read # Professor Robert Wachter appointed new chair of scientific advisory board #### Robert Wachter, MD - Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California – will take over as chair of THIS Institute’s scientific advisory board. [![Danielle Doyle](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Danielle-Doyle_3273-square-740x740.jpg)](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/about/people/danielle-doyle) [Danielle Doyle](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/about/people/danielle-doyle) Bob Wachter Robert Wachter, MD - Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California in San Francisco – will take over as chair of [THIS Institute’s scientific advisory board](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/about/governance/#scientific_advisory_board) in February. A prominent academic, he is the author of several books, including a [New York Times best-seller on digital health](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/26/science/review-digital-doctor-robert-wachter.html) and an acclaimed [textbook on patient safety](https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/book.aspx?bookID=2203). As chair of the national advisory group on health information technology in England, he led the highly influential [2016 report on digitising the secondary care system](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/using-information-technology-to-improve-the-nhs). > "Bob’s extensive experience and insight will help guide our scientific strategy." [Professor Mary Dixon-Woods](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/about/people/mary-dixon-woods/), Director of THIS Institute said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Professor Wachter as our new chair. He is an exceptional academic leader and ambassador for research on healthcare improvement and patient safety. At THIS Institute we have an ambitious mission to build an evidence base for healthcare improvement. Bob’s extensive experience and insight will help guide our scientific strategy.” [Will Warburton](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/about/people/will-warburton/), Director of Improvement at the Health Foundation, which funds THIS Institute, said: “Professor Wachter replaces Professor Sanjay Saint, who was the inaugural chair of THIS Institute’s scientific advisory board. I am hugely thankful to Sanjay for his generous and wise guidance and leadership during his time as chair. He has played a central role in the development of the institute’s research and fellowship strategy. His knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm ensured that THIS Institute achieved the best possible start.” [Professor Wachter](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/about/people/robert-m-wachter-md/) said: “I’m delighted to join The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute as chair of the scientific advisory board. I have long admired the work of Professor Dixon-Woods and her colleagues at Cambridge, work that has transformed our understanding of improvement studies and generated much of the key evidence informing best practices around the globe. I look forward to working with the team as we continue to create an evidence base that supports replicable and scalable improvements in healthcare, addressing questions that really matter to patients, staff, and other key stakeholders.”       Themes - [healthcare](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/tag/healthcare) - [research](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/tag/research) - [fellowships](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/tag/fellowships) - [THIS Space](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/tag/this-space) - [citizen science](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/tag/citizen-science) - [launch](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/tag/launch) - [Elements](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/tag/elements) - [governance](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/tag/governance) - [board](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/tag/board) - [patient and public involvement](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/tag/patient-and-public-involvement) - [ppi](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/tag/ppi) - [COVID-19](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/tag/covid-19) - [consensus-building](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/tag/consensus-building) - [general practice](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/tag/general-practice) - [maternity safety](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/tag/maternity-safety) - [thiscovery](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/tag/thiscovery) ## Subscribe to our blog ![Paper_Planes](https://f.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/5328759/This%20Institute/Images/group-19%20(1).png) ## Related posts #### [Combining academic rigour with the real concerns of the people who use and work in the... ![Joann Leeding](https://www.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/JoannLeeding_3718-square-740x740.jpg) Joann Leeding - 28 February 2019 - 2 min read New board to advise on engagement and involvement in research](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/new-board-to-advise-on-engagement-and-involvement-in-research) #### [Research that leads to practice change: a conversation with Sanjay Saint ![Daniel Punch](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/26e246888e499ece00835fd5f8dbb8ae) Daniel Punch - 3 July 2018 - 5 min read Research that leads to practice change: a conversation with Sanjay Saint](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/research-leads-practice-change-conversation-sanjay-saint) #### [THIS Institute is collaborating with seven local Healthwatch organisations across England... ![Dr Jordan Moxey](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/hubfs/Imported%20sitepage%20images/IMG_3550-scaled-e1601638818148-740x740.jpg) Dr Jordan Moxey - 12 July 2021 - 2 min read New collaboration with Healthwatch on daily challenges faced by GPs](https://blog.thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk/new-collaboration-with-healthwatch-on-daily-challenges-faced-by-gps) - - [![The Health Foundation.](https://mk0thisinstitut0r1om.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/themes/this/img/thf-tagline-white.svg)](http://www.health.org.uk/) ### Sign up to receive the latest news, reports and articles from THIS Institute. 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