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Liz Breen1

Director of the Digital Health Enterprise Zone (DHEZ), University of Bradford, Reader in Health Service Operations, University of Bradford
Dr Liz Breen is the current Director of the Digital Health Enterprise Zone, an innovation facility based at the University of Bradford. She is also a Reader in Health Service Operations having held previous position of Senior Lecturer in Operations Management at the University of Bradford Faculty of Management and Law for 13 years.

Prior to this she worked in the University of Manchester Business School as a Lecturer in Operations Management and within the NHS.

Liz’s research focuses on improvement in healthcare service supply chains with a specific interest in the pharmaceutical supply chain. Her work aims to better understand healthcare systems so that they can be improved to ensure greater patient safety and optimal care. Ongoing projects in this area include an evaluation of stressors affecting 999 call handlers with the Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) and the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on community pharmacies. Liz is deputy theme lead for the Safe Use of Medicines in the Yorkshire and Humber Patient Safety Translational Research Centre and co-lead on the Process Evaluation stream of the NIHR-funded ISCOMAT study, focusing on patient safety and medicines transitions. She is also co-investigator on an NIHR-funded study examining access to medicines at end of life, the ActMed study.

Projects focusing directly on the pharmaceutical supply chain explore areas such as medicines shortages, medicines waste management, supply chain risk and medicines deliveries during the pandemic.

She is keen to develop the profile and relevance of Operations and Supply Chain Management in healthcare service supply chains within her research, teaching and business engagement.

ADHD drug shortages are affecting patients in the UK – here's why they're happening

Nov 08, 2023 12:08 pm UTC| Health

Millions of people in the UK who take drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are facing difficulties getting their prescriptions filled due to shortages. These shortages are currently affecting four of...

Price inflation: five ways stronger UK supply chains can help reduce rising food costs

May 25, 2023 14:34 pm UTC| Economy

Annual price inflation has recently fallen below double digits, but food costs are still rising rapidly. Official UK figures show food prices rose by 19.1% in the year to April 2023. To prevent further increases, the UK...

How the 'tripledemic' is restricting cold and flu medicine supplies – and what to do if you're affected

Jan 24, 2023 05:41 am UTC| Health

This winter has been one of the worst on record for the NHS. Ambulance and AE waiting times are at all-time highs, and many are struggling to access emergency treatment. Patients are now reporting difficulties accessing...

Omicron: Britain plans to vaccinate 25 million in two months – but can it be done?

Dec 04, 2021 02:00 am UTC| Health

What impact the new omicron variant will have is still unknown. But with early data suggesting it could be the most transmissible form of the virus yet and that it could be less susceptible to existing antibodies it...

AstraZeneca vaccine: how to fix supply issues

Mar 22, 2021 13:59 pm UTC| Business Health

If you thought that vaccine hesitancy was the biggest challenge of the pandemic, think again. A new challenge is approaching: supply chain hesitancy. The potential for interruption along vaccine supply lines may lead to...

Economy

Gold and Silver Prices Rebound After Volatile Week Triggered by Fed Nomination

Gold and silver prices climbed on Friday, closing out an exceptionally volatile week in the precious metals market following a historic selloff. The turbulence was sparked by the nomination of former Federal Reserve...

RBI Holds Repo Rate at 5.25% as India’s Growth Outlook Strengthens After U.S. Trade Deal

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday kept its key repo rate unchanged at 5.25%, a widely expected decision that reflects confidence in Indias strong economic growth and easing external pressures following a major...

Japan Economy Poised for Q4 2025 Growth as Investment and Consumption Hold Firm

Japans economy is widely expected to have returned to growth in the final quarter of 2025, supported by strong corporate investment and resilient consumer spending, according to a recent Reuters poll of economists. The...

Asian Stocks Slip as Tech Rout Deepens, Japan Steadies Ahead of Election

Asian stock markets mostly declined on Friday, tracking sustained losses in global technology shares and a weak lead from Wall Street, while Japanese equities managed to stabilize ahead of a closely watched national...

Japanese Pharmaceutical Stocks Slide as TrumpRx.gov Launch Sparks Market Concerns

Shares of major Japanese pharmaceutical companies fell sharply in early Tokyo trading on Friday after the launch of TrumpRx.gov, a new U.S. government-backed website offering discounted prescription medicines to American...

Politics

U.S. to Begin Paying UN Dues as Financial Crisis Spurs Push for Reforms

The United States will make an initial payment toward the billions of dollars it owes the United Nations within weeks, according to comments made by U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz in a recent interview with Reuters. The move...

Norway Opens Corruption Probe Into Former PM and Nobel Committee Chair Thorbjoern Jagland Over Epstein Links

Norways economic crime police unit, Økokrim, has opened an investigation into former prime minister and former Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland on suspicion of aggravated corruption, authorities...

Iran–U.S. Nuclear Talks in Oman Face Major Hurdles Amid Rising Regional Tensions

Iran and the United States are preparing for high-stakes nuclear negotiations in Oman on Friday, but deep disagreements over the agenda and escalating regional tensions suggest that meaningful progress will be difficult....

Trump Allegedly Sought Airport, Penn Station Renaming in Exchange for Hudson River Tunnel Funding

U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly offered to release frozen federal funding for the $16 billion Gateway Hudson River tunnel project in exchange for Democratic Senator Chuck Schumers support for renaming Washington...

TrumpRx Website Launches to Offer Discounted Prescription Drugs for Cash-Paying Americans

U.S. President Donald Trump has launched a new website called TrumpRx, aimed at helping Americans lower their prescription drug costs by offering discounted prices for those who prefer to pay cash instead of using health...

Science

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

Global PC Makers Eye Chinese Memory Chip Suppliers Amid Ongoing Supply Crunch

Major PC manufacturers including HP, Dell, Acer, and Asus are reportedly exploring the option of sourcing memory chips from Chinese semiconductor companies for the first time, as a prolonged global supply crunch continues...

OpenAI Expands Enterprise AI Strategy With Major Hiring Push Ahead of New Business Offering

OpenAI is significantly accelerating its enterprise AI strategy by hiring hundreds of new employees for its technical consulting division, according to a report by The Information, citing a person familiar with the...

SoftBank Shares Slide After Arm Earnings Miss Fuels Tech Stock Sell-Off

SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) shares tumbled sharply on Thursday, tracking a steep decline in Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) after the UK-based chip designer reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the December quarter....

Nvidia, ByteDance, and the U.S.-China AI Chip Standoff Over H200 Exports

The U.S. government is prepared to allow Chinas ByteDance to purchase Nvidias advanced H200 AI chips, but negotiations remain stalled as Nvidia has not agreed to the proposed conditions governing their use. According to...

Sony Q3 Profit Jumps on Gaming and Image Sensors, Full-Year Outlook Raised

Sony Corp (TYO:6758) reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings, driven by solid performance in its gaming, music, and image sensor businesses. The Japanese conglomerate also raised its full-year forecast,...