A purple plaque has been unveiled to honour Dr Penny Trayner, in recognition of her innovative contribution to injury rehabilitation. The plaque comes in addition to £50,000, both awarded by UKRI’s Women in Innovation programme.
The funding supports Penny’s development of Goal Manager, a cloud-based software application developed to automate goal setting processes and administration in patient rehabilitation.
Dr Trayner is one of 50 recipients to receive the Women in Innovation Award (2022-2023) from Innovate UK, the government’s innovation agency. Chosen from more than 900 applicants, Dr Trayner has been awarded financial support as well as bespoke mentoring to scale up and bring to market her pioneering business idea.
Millions of people in the UK require rehabilitation for various health conditions every year, as well as many millions more living with the long-term consequences of traumatic brain injuries such as stroke.
Dr Trayner’s work plays a crucial role in the digital revolution in healthcare that will enable faster identification of patients’ difficulties, a more rich and specific understanding of needs, and a joining-up of services and pathways so that rehabilitation and recovery are more efficient.
Penny’s plaque will be installed on the University of Liverpool’s Eleanor Rathbone Building where she undertook her BSc in Psychology and Neuroscience (2000-2003) and her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (2005-2008). Now an Academic Director of the same clinical psychology programme, the plaque will be installed on the very building where she first started her journey in psychology.
Dr Trayner said: “I’m delighted to have been awarded this grant which further catalyses significant advances in the Goal Manager programme. This commemorative plaque is particularly special and I’m enormously proud to have been recognised in this way.
“I hope the award and my work will inspire others to use their skills and training to bring fresh ideas and new hope to wherever they find themselves working after completing their studies.”
L-r Professor Louise Kenny, Professor Sally Sheard, Dr Penny Trayner, Wendy Smith
Wendy Smith, Senior Innovation and Growth Specialist, UKRI said: “I want to congratulate Penny on her achievement, she is a trailblazer and inspiration. Despite being a busy entrepreneur herself, she always makes time for other women entrepreneurs to share her experience, knowledge and insight – offering encouragement for their ambitions. Penny is a huge pleasure to work with and I’m delighted to have been able to join her for the plaque unveiling.”
Wendy Smith speaks at the plaque unveiling