John Simpson is the BRC Scientific Director, a key member of the BRC Strategic Leadership with a focus on ensuring scientific quality across BRC activities. John is a Professor of Respiratory Medicine at Newcastle University, an honorary consultant chest physician at Newcastle Hospitals and Director of the NIHR Newcastle In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative. His research interests largely focus on infection in critically ill patients, including the development of diagnostic tests for ventilator-associated pneumonia and sepsis. He was also the driving force behind the establishment of Diagnostics North East – a collaboration between the NHS, academia and the Academic Health Science Network working across the North East to help industry partners develop, evaluate and encourage adoption of new diagnostic tests