Prof. Diane Playford

Professor Diane Playford trained in Neurology at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square with the intention of working in neurological rehabilitation. She has held a number of consultant posts in both district and regional units throughout her career. The earlier part of her career she worked with people with progressive neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis and more recently with people who have severe brain injury and their families. Interested in increasing the evidence base and being aware of the latest advances she pursued an academic career working at the University of Nottingham, UCL Institute of Neurology and the University of Warwick where she held the chair in Neurological Rehabilitation. Professor Playford also held the Director of Research role at the Royal Hospital for Neurodisability. Her main research interests are in goal setting, vocational rehabilitation and profound brain injury. She has been fortunate to obtain, with colleagues, more than £4.5m in research funding, and has published 120 peer reviewed papers, and more than 10 book chapters.

She has been involved in setting national standards through guideline development, including three for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence including chairing the NICE Clinical Guideline on Stroke Rehabilitation, Vice Chair for the Royal College of Physicians Prolonged Disorder of Consciousness guidance, and three for the British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine where she was lead author for vocational rehabilitation guidance. She was privileged to be President of the British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine 2016- 2018 and Chair of the Joint Speciality Committee, Royal College of Physicians & British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine between 2012 -2014.