Leadership and Governance

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Professor Julie Jacko, Interim Director

Professor Julie Jacko is Interim Director of the Usher Institute.

Julie joined us in 2023 as co-leader of the Centre for Medical Informatics, focusing on creating/co-creating innovative discovery, solutions, partnerships, programs, systems and collaboratives in health informatics and population health that produce sustainable impact.

Previous to that, Julie moved from the Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she served as Professor and Founding Chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences and Professor in the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship. Professor Jacko received her BS, MS and PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.

Her expertise in health informatics, health IT, population health, and human-computer interaction have generated a career lifetime total exceeding $30 million in externally funded research as either PI or Co-PI. She has over 15,850 total citations. With an h-index of 54 overall, her 180+ publications have appeared in preeminent scientific journals. She was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honour awarded to early career research investigators by the US government. Numerous awards since have positioned her at the forefront of her field.

Passionately committed to addressing historic health disparities for marginalised populations, and vulnerable, under-resourced communities, her recent research funding includes a $1M grant awarded by the Health Foundation of South Florida to lead the PATHWell Collaborative, a public-private partnership focused on achieving health equity for Florida's most disadvantaged communities. She is also the recent PI/Project Director on a Florida Blue Foundation grant focused on preventing opioid and substance abuse by South Florida's vulnerable youth, through education, research, and community health interventions.

An expert consultant in the manufacturing, healthcare and IT sectors, Professor Jacko often serves as a strategist for organisations seeking to improve productivity, profitability, and impact. She has an innate passion for entrepreneurial endeavours. In 2015, she was recognised as a top entrepreneur in Miami for having created “one of the city’s most prolific businesses".

Professor Julie Jacko's profile

Senior Leadership Team

The Usher Institute Interim Director chairs, and is supported by, the Usher Institute Executive as the key strategic decision making committee of the Institute - responsible collectively for management, policy and procedures of the Institute.

The Usher Institute Executive includes representation from each Usher staff neighbourhood in the Usher Building - 

• Heads of Centres for Biomedicine, Self and Society, Global Health, Population Health Sciences and Medical Informatics
• Director of the Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit 
• SRO Health and Social Care Data-Driven Innovation
• Teaching Organisation Lead 
• Director of the Advanced Care Research Centre 
• Director of Professional Services and Head of Communications, Marketing and Engagement. 

The Usher Institute Executive meet fortnightly.

The full Usher Institute Senior Leadership Team includes the Usher Institute Executive plus our Directors of Research/Education/Innovation along with the Chairs of each of our other various committees. These are:

• Usher (Co-)Director(s) of Research (Chair(s) of Usher Institute Research Committee)
• Usher (Co-)Director(s) of Education (Chair(s) of Usher Institute Education Committee)
• Usher (Co-)Director(s) of Innovation (Chair(s) of Usher Institute Innovation Committee)
• Chair of Usher Institute Patient and Public Involvement Committee
• Chair of Usher Institute Health Professional Academics Committee
• Chair of Usher Institute Data and Infotech Committee
• Chair of Usher Institute Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee
• (Chair of Usher Institute Professional Services Committee is Usher Director of Professional Services, who sits on the Usher Institute Executive)

The full Usher Institute Senior Leadership Team meets every two months.

Usher Institute Executive Committee

Usher Institute People | Senior Leadership Team

Committees and groups supporting the Senior Leadership Team

There are various committees and groups which report to the Usher Institute Executive. They all purposefully include membership from across the Institute and across career levels and pathways, include external membership where appropriate and all have clear links to equivalent College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine Committees. They are all in the process of being refreshed so the details here will change shortly.

The Director of Research chairs, and is supported by a Research Committee

Usher Institute Research Committee

The Directors of Education chair, and are supported by an Education Committee. There is an Usher Institute Postgraduate Research Group led by our Director of Postgraduate Research, and student-led Postgraduate Research Society - both of which feed in to both the Usher Education Committee.

Postgraduate Teaching Programmes feed in to the Deanery Postgraduate Teaching Steering Group / Usher Education committee.

The Director of Innovation chairs, and is supported by a newly established Innovation Committee (replacing the former Impact committee).

Usher Institute Innovation Committee

A new Usher Institute Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Committee is in the process of being established, building on work from the Usher Institute Research Committee in the area of PPI.

Usher Institute Patient and Public Involvement Committee

There is an Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) committee which aims to promote and foster the mainstreaming of equality and diversity issues and awareness within the Institute - stimulating and building good practice in relation to EDI across the full range of Usher activities. 

Usher Institute EDI committee

An Usher Institute Data and Infotech Committee is replacing the former Usher Institute Information Services (IS) Committee, that works with the College IS team to feed in to IS strategy. More information to follow soon about this new committee.

Usher Institute Information Services Committee

A new Health Professional Academics Committee, and a new Professional Services committee are in the process of being established. More information to follow soon about these new committees.

Usher Institute Health, Safety and Well-being is managed through a Multiple Occupancy Building Group (MOBUG) for the wider Usher Building - this oversees the implementation and operation of the Usher and University health and safety policies and arrangements.

Usher Building MOBOG (requires University login)

An Usher Building Sustainability Group offers a shared opportunity to shape our practice with sustainability in mind and drive forward sustainability initiatives.

Sustainability at the Usher Building (requires login)

If you are unable to find what you are looking for among the information available at the above links, including direct contacts for each of the committees or information on how to get involved, please let us know by contacting usher.communications@ed.ac.uk

External Advisory Board

Our External Advisory Board is currently being refreshed and we look forward to welcoming our new members shortly.

We give grateful thanks to the previous External Advisory Board which was chaired by Professor John Ioannidis (C F Rehnborg Chair Disease Prevention. Stanford), with members Dr David Blumenthal (President of the Commonwealth Fund), Professor Martin McKee (Professor of European Public Health LSTM), Professor Debbie Lawlor (Professor of Epidemiology, University of Bristol) and Professor Lawrence Gostin (Professor of Global Health Law, Georgetown).