From wedding photographer to Deputy Head: how infrastructure helped shape a research leader

“Research stopped feeling like simply another area of the NHS and started feeling like something I genuinely wanted to build my career around.”

Like many people working in research today, BRC: Birmingham’s Deputy Head Zohur Miah did not follow a traditional path into the profession.

After studying Psychology at Coventry University, he worked as a wedding videographer and cinematographer while saving towards postgraduate study.

“I always wanted to continue studying, but funding a master’s degree was a challenge,” he recalls.

Everything changed when he spotted an opportunity at University Hospitals Birmingham through the Annex U graduate development programme.

The programme offered something unusual: practical NHS experience alongside a funded master’s degree, protected study leave and structured professional development.

“It took away the financial pressure,” says Zohur, “and it also gave me the opportunity to gain experience in a range of areas while continuing my education.”

Discovering research

During the programme, Zohur rotated through a range of departments, gaining experience in knowledge transfer, communications, informatics, reporting and performance management.

It was his placement in research study set-up that proved transformative.

Working alongside clinicians, researchers and industry partners, he began to see the connection between operational research activity and patient care.

“Some of the studies involved patients with serious conditions who had limited treatment options available to them. Seeing the link between all of the administrative, operational and regulatory work involved in opening a study and the real patient at the end of that process was extremely powerful.”

“That was probably the point where research stopped feeling like simply another area of the NHS to me and started feeling like something I genuinely wanted to build my career around. Even though I wasn’t a clinician or laboratory scientist, I could see that the work I was doing could still have a direct impact on whether patients were able to access new and potentially life-changing treatments.”

Growing through the NIHR BRC: Birmingham

After completing the graduate programme and a master’s degree in Health Psychology, Zohur moved into increasingly senior research management roles.

He worked on the national UK-PBC programme on primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) before leading the NIHR BioResource cohort for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

These opportunities brought him into close contact with the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Birmingham and provided exposure to increasingly complex research programmes, national collaborations and strategic leadership – and eventually led to his appointment as Deputy Head for the BRC.

“The NIHR and BRC have played a significant role in my development, both professionally and personally.”

“I have been fortunate to work across increasingly complex research programmes, develop national networks and work with clinicians, academics, industry partners, research teams and patients.”

Paying it forward

One theme runs throughout Zohur’s career: the importance of people who invest in others.

“Sometimes development is not about someone giving you all the answers. It is about having people who encourage you to think differently, recognise strengths that you may not yet see in yourself and give you the confidence to take opportunities that initially feel outside your comfort zone.”

As he progressed into leadership, he became determined to do the same for others.

As his career developed, he helped recruit and mentor later cohorts for the Annex U programme. Several of these individuals have since progressed into leadership roles managing national research programmes, while others have gone on to successful careers in the life sciences sector.

For Zohur, this may be one of the most rewarding aspects of his role.

“I benefited greatly from people taking a chance on me and giving me opportunities throughout my own career, so being able to help others progress is something I value.”

Looking ahead

Today, Zohur helps create the environment in which hundreds of researchers and studies can succeed across the BRC.

His story demonstrates that research careers are not limited to scientists and clinicians. With the right opportunities, support and mentorship, people from many different backgrounds can play a vital role in improving healthcare through research.

“I quickly realised there is a huge ecosystem around research and that people with backgrounds in management, technology, communications, data, operations and many other areas are essential to making it happen.”

“Before entering the field, I probably had a fairly traditional idea that research careers were mainly for doctors, scientists or academics”, explains Zohur. “I quickly realised there is a huge ecosystem around research and that people with backgrounds in management, technology, communications, data, operations and many other areas are essential to making it happen.”

While his role has changed significantly over the years, the motivation remains the same:

“Knowing that the work being done across the BRC is intended to improve care and outcomes for patients.”