Most high performers invest heavily in their body, their skills, and their environment.
Far fewer give the same attention to the system behind every decision they make.
I focus on that system — the brain — and how it performs in the real world.
About Nick
Dr Nick Hayward
MA (Cantab) MNatSci MBBS FRCR PhD
I’ve quietly been researching and reading brains since 2006.
That path began at Cambridge, where I studied Natural Sciences, specialising in biochemistry and molecular biology. It continued through a PhD in neuroscience and brain imaging, with research conducted in Finland and presented internationally. I then completed graduate-entry medicine at Imperial College London with starred distinctions in both medicine and surgery.
Since then, I’ve over a decade of NHS clinical practice across prehospital medicine, anaesthesia, critical care, and now radiology. I work as a radiologist at Oxford University Hospitals. Along the way, I’ve led clinical research, held university appointments, worked with medtech companies as a Clinical Safety Officer. Continuing with research and presentations, I’ve made many publications. My collaborators have included teams at Aalto University, University of Southampton, and Oxford here. I have led a clinical trial and have supported companies with translational clinical technologies and medtech research.
The through-line across all of it is the brain — how it performs, how it adapts, how it fails, and what imaging reveals that nothing else can.
What I focus on now
Executives, athletes, and professionals invest heavily in their physical health, their skills, and their external performance.
The brain — the system behind every decision, every reaction, every outcome — is rarely given the same structured attention.
This is often true for organisations building in this space, where credible clinical and scientific grounding is not always easy to access.
That’s where my work sits.
I translate neuroscience and clinical experience into clear, usable insight — for individuals who want to perform more consistently, and for organisations developing products, programmes, or strategies where the brain is central.
A little more
Before medicine and neuroscience took over, I was named Intel UK Young Scientist of the Year in 2002 and went on to receive a Grand Award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
The work led to a minor planet being named after me — not something I tend to lead with, but a fair reflection of where the curiosity started. Beyond the brain, I enjoy music, sports, cinema, charity work and comedy.
Scientific rigour
Everything I do is grounded in peer-reviewed evidence and clinical experience. I don’t rely on oversimplified frameworks or wellness generalism — the science is complex, and that’s part of what makes it both interesting and useful.
Clarity
Neuroscience only has value if it changes how people think or act. I focus on making complex ideas genuinely understandable, without diluting what matters most.
Independence
I have no agenda beyond the science. That independence is central to the credibility of my brain performance activities, and something I protect carefully.