Meet the Team

Dr Neville Young joined Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber in June 2016. He has a real interest and track record in supporting the delivery of high-quality research and innovation, in particular in helping create the evidence need to drive the adoption at scale of well evidenced health technology. Neville has a leadership role within the network, liaising on the NIHR on their i4i program, with the NHSX AI lab, SBRI funding, the National Innovator Accelerator program (NIA), with NICE and with the several trade associations such as BIVDA and the ABHI. He also has an interest in international activity, promoting export opportunities for UK based innovators and creating a safe landing space for international companies.

Dr Young has worked as an academic researcher, a drug trial manager, a consultant, as a director for a health tech start up and is focused on helping to identify and support the “pull” from the healthcare systems for innovative health technologies.

He completed his doctorate in Molecular Embryology from King’s College London, before working at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and then the Institute of Molecular Bio-Sciences in Queensland, Australia before returning to the UK and working in research development, HealthTech innovation and at the health innovation network

Tim leads on the Propel Healthtech Accelerator start-up programme and our International Boot Camp programme. He is responsible for the content, delivery and development of the programmes. The propel International boot Camp has now been delivered to Nordic, Indian, US and Canadian innovators.

Tim plays a key role in the Enterprise and Innovation team at Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber with the remit of supporting HealthTech innovators with their journey into the NHS.

Before joining the organisation, Tim worked for over twenty years in the Primary Care Digital Healthcare sector, with experience of implementing primary care clinical systems across the Yorkshire, North East & Scotland region. With a wide range of experience in Product Development, Growth and Strategy, which has included leading on the development of the UK’s first GP Online booking and medication request app. As well as growing the number of active users of the product to over five million patient users.

Jude leads the Propel Healthtech Scale‑Up Programme, with responsibility for programme development, delivery and mentoring, as well as building a strong partner network to support the growth and adoption of innovations developed by scaling healthtech companies. She plays a key role in helping these organisations extend their reach across the NHS and wider health and care system.

Drawing on her front‑line NHS experience as a GP, alongside first‑hand leadership experience in a rapidly scaling healthtech company as Clinical Director, Jude brings a deep understanding of both clinical needs and the realities of digital health innovation. Her work has spanned product development, clinical safety, partnerships, customer success, implementation and marketing, giving her broad insight into the operational, regulatory and commercial challenges faced by growing digital health companies.

Jude has extensive experience in strategic leadership and stakeholder engagement, working closely with NHS system partners, academic collaborators and evaluation organisations to support evidence‑based innovation. She is committed to helping healthtech companies navigate NHS complexity so that the most effective innovations can reach patients at scale, improve outcomes and support NHS staff with tools that enable better, more sustainable care.

Laura works across both the Start-Up and Scale-Up Propel Healthtech programmes as Evidence and Impact Manager, leading on programme assurance, impact measurement and telling the story of the programme’s outcomes.

Before joining the organisation in November 2025, Laura spent 16 years working in evaluation and research across the NHS, VCSE and central Government- including leading the implementation of the first cross-organisation impact framework for the Alzheimer’s Society and co-leading the evaluation of the New Care Models vanguard programme at NHS England.

Her expertise is in delivering complex, mixed method evaluation programmes and building organisations’ capability in using evidence and learning.

Tom works as the Communications Manager on the Propel HealthTech Accelerator, working across the start-up, scale-up and international boot-camp programme, and leading on the strategic communications of programme progress and its achievements.

With over a decade of experience working in communications and marketing roles, Tom joined the Propel HealthTech Accelerator in December 2025 after spending almost seven working as part of Health Innovation Manchester’s communications team, and recently leading on communications for the Greater Manchester Health Innovation Accelerator.

Tom’s expertise lies in strategic communications, content production, website development, social media and digital marketing. In 2025, Tom was a named finalist for the commsHERO of The Year Award at the commsHERO Awards.

Olivia Burns is the Healthtech Startup Navigator at Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber, where she leads the Propel programme, supporting healthtech startups through market entry, scaling, and expansion within the UK healthcare system. She works at the intersection of innovation, commercial strategy, and system adoption, enabling companies to successfully navigate NHS pathways and deliver scalable impact.

She is the founder of Hypoplas, a medical design company focused on dignity-led, sustainable innovation in patient care, and was selected for the inaugural NHS Patient Entrepreneur Programme. One of the first UK survivors of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, Olivia has undergone multiple surgeries, including four pioneering open-heart procedures, informing her pragmatic, systems-aware approach to healthcare innovation.

Olivia holds an MBA in Health from UCL’s Global Business School for Health, where she holds the Future Leaders Scholarship. She has been recognised with accolades including Medilink’s One to Watch, Innovate UK’s Unlocking Potential, and TiE Global Women UK Finalist, and serves on the United Kingdom Digital Health and Care Innovation Committee.

Olivia regularly contributes to national healthcare innovation discourse through speaking engagements at HETT North and BMJ Future Health, appearances on the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons podcast, the Healthtech podcast and as a BMJ peer reviewer and co-author of multiple policy-defining journal articles.