Marsden Lecture 2025: jellyfish, doughnuts, Formula 1

Professor Rebecca Shipley, who earned a Queen’s honour for her response to the COVID pandemic, revealed how looking beyond medicine drives new breakthroughs that could mean quicker diagnoses, safer treatments and life-changing results for patients across the capital.

Drawing from real-world examples – how jellyfish movements mimic human heart valves, how donuts are coated in sugar evenly and how motorsport manufacturers influence healthcare – Prof Shipley demonstrated how mathematical modelling can inform patient care.

Prof Shipley positioned the Royal Free London as a global centre for innovation in this field and stressed the need to consult frontline NHS staff to have the biggest impact.

She said: ​“Think of London as a global testbed for innovation and healthcare – we have the opportunity sat there. I think that’s phenomenally exciting.

“The NHS is potentially a great market for innovation: we should unlock the people on the ground treating patients as a reservoir for innovation.

As an advocate for cross-sector collaboration, Prof Shipley reflected on her role in the rapid development of a continuous positive airways pressure device during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In just 100 hours, a cross-sector team of mathematicians, clinicians and Formula 1 manufacturers progressed from concept to prototype, with the final device produced at scale for more than 120 NHS hospitals and the learnings shared globally. It was a clear demonstration of what can be achieved when disciplines collaborate at pace and barriers to innovation are removed.

Prof Shipley said: ​“It really showed the ingenuity of using other sectors’ expertise in healthcare in a crisis. The simple problems have been solved; the big problems that need solving require thinking from different domains. We’re missing a trick if we don’t cross-leverage expertise from multiple sectors. I can’t solve any problems by myself as a mathematician, if I can work with people who are on the coalface treating patients and we can bring together people with more expertise, we’ve got more hope.”

She previously told the Health Service Journal: ​“I was privileged to co-lead this work, which highlighted what’s possible when diverse expertise rallies around a shared goal. Now we must channel this same energy to make the NHS an innovation powerhouse.”

A key message of the evening was London’s strength as a global test bed for research and innovation, and the potential unlocked when sectors work together around a shared purpose.

Innovation is a shared priority for the Royal Free London and the Royal Free Charity. Through philanthropy, the charity helps create the conditions that allow ideas to develop quickly and translate into better outcomes for patients; something that works in parallel to the NHS 10-year plan’s Innovator Passport which intends to slash bureaucracy and speed up the rollout of proven health technologies so patients can benefit from cutting-edge treatments sooner.

Prof Shipley reflected: ​“It has been a real privilege to work with the Royal Free Charity to think creatively about philanthropy and innovation.”

Jon Spiers, chief executive of the RFC, said: ​“Prof Shipley spoke about the solution pipeline: come up with a challenge and then find the solution. That’s also the joy of working for the Royal Free Charity – there’s a synergy between the way the charity operates and her work in healthcare innovation.”

Dr Gillian Smith, group chief medical officer of the Royal Free London, said: ​“We have seen first-hand how innovation can shorten pathways, transform outcomes and change lives, but we have also been frustrated by the many barriers.

“That’s why our partnership with the Royal Free Charity is so important to us. They help create the conditions that allow innovation to take root and grow, to explore what is possible rather than just what is affordable.”

Prof Shipley’s lecture highlighted the need for philanthropic innovation in the NHS to address gaps in healthcare. From funding breakthrough medical research to supporting healthcare institutions like the Royal Free Hospital, innovation will continue to shape the future of healthcare and beyond.