Hilary qualified as a registered nurse in 1985 and specialised in renal nursing. She has worked in both the public and private health sectors in the UK and Ireland. During her career in the NHS, she has undertaken a broad range of roles, including in education, clinical operational management, clinical service design, capital programme management, electronic healthcare application design and deployment.

She led the Research Development & Innovation Department at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, delivering a range of regional and national programmes including the West Midlands Genomics Medicine Centre and managing flagship NIHR research infrastructure including BRC, CRF, HRC, ARC and the West Midlands Secure Data Environment, part of NHS England’s Data for Research & Development Programme. More recently, she has led the Discovery portfolio at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Trust.

In October 2023 Hilary was awarded an Honorary MBE for her services to genomic delivery in the NHS. Hilary took on the role of Senior Responsible Owner for the NHS England Data for R&D Programme in March 2024. In this role she brings together her first-hand experience of the importance and necessity of safe and responsible use of data to identify opportunities for research and innovation with her passion to transform how data is used to drive innovation and improve patient care.