Ali is the Research Impact Manager for the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Leeds, where he leads the development, support and monitoring of knowledge exchange (KE) and research impact activity. He sits on the University’s Research Impact and KE Steering Group, which provides oversight of research impact and KE activity, and co-leads the University’s Impact Network, a community of practice aimed at bringing staff together with an interest or responsibility for impact activity to develop skills, gain knowledge and improve service delivery. Externally, he is a member of the Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN) Government Areas of Research Interest and Devolved and Regional sub-committees. In 2021, he was an external evaluator for the inaugural KE Concordat, a sector-led initiative to recognise, develop and improve the ways higher education providers engage in KE, where he examined England-wide institutional KE action plans. Before entering higher education, he was a journalist and communications professional. He ran communications campaigns for national charities, was associate publisher for 13 healthcare publications, was editor of the Journal of Paramedic Practice, and a founding member of the Larrey Society, an independent cross-sector think tank established to help shape the future policy of emergency medical services.
Fun fact about Alistair
As a teenager, Ali had a call-back audition for a leading role in the TV programme Skins, ultimately losing out to the now-Hollywood star Nicholas Hoult.
