About Us

BestEvidence’s mission is to promote the use of research evidence to inform healthcare decisions across all specialities through training, consultancy and a digital app to provide timely access to high quality research. The BestEvidence project was the brainchild of Dr Amanda Burls, who has spent over 25 years researching and supporting the use of best evidence in healthcare, most recently as Professor of Public Health at City, University of London where she developed the BestEvidence app.

BestEvidence Ltd is a “spin out” company from City, University of London, created to enable the project to be further developed.

The company’s CEO, Peter Westbrook, is a very experienced management consultant, having helped organisations to become more effective and efficient. The Finance Director is Elliot Harris who, was a partner in a nationwide accountancy company.

BestEvidence’s technical partner is B13Technology who have a track record in developing commercial digital platforms in a number of areas, including the medical sector.


Team

Professor Amanda Burls

Professor Amanda Burls

Amanda Burls is a Public Health Doctor who has worked in promoting evidence-based practice since 1993 when she first became a workshop leader for the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP). She conceived and developed BestEvidence while Professor of Public Health at City, University of London. She is a founding member of BestEvidence Ltd and is the company’s Chief Technology Officer


Advisory Board

Dr Anne Brice

Dr Anne Brice

Anne Brice is the Head of Knowledge Management for Public Health England, the expert national public health agency with a mission to protect and improve the nation’s health and to reduce inequalities.

After qualifying in 1983, Anne has had a variety of positions in academic and health libraries, including the University of London, Borders Health Board, and the University of Oxford. She has held a range of national roles, including those with the former National Library for Health, NHS National Knowledge Service, and the Department of Health.

Prior to joining Public Health England she was Head of Knowledge Management at Better Value Health Care, and seconded to the NHS Choices commissioning team at the Department of Health. She helped set up CASP International and has worked internationally with a range of partners and colleagues. Anne’s professional interests include evidence based practice, professional development, and the information professionals role in facilitating knowledge translation. She is currently undertaking a DPhil in Evidence Based Health Care at the University of Oxford in the area of participant experience in internet-based clinical trials.

Professor Nicky Cullum

Professor Nicky Cullum

Nicky Cullum is Professor of Nursing in the Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work in the School of Health Sciences.

She is a member of the Wounds Research Group. Since 1st October 2019, Nicky has been Director of the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration for Greater Manchester. She is an Honorary Professor in Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and an Honorary Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne.

Nicky was made a Dame for services to nursing research and wound care, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, 2013. She was an Inaugural NIHR Senior Investigator and was made a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2012. She was awarded the Anne Anderson Award by the Cochrane Collaboration in 2016 and the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel Achievement Award for contributions to evidence-based healthcare in 2006. Nicky was also a founding member of the Cochrane Collaboration; Coordinating Editor of the Cochrane Wounds Group since 1995, she served on the Coordinating Editors’ Executive (2004 – 2009) and again since 2014. In 2018 she was elected to Cochrane’s Governing Board.