I began work with the Manchester Biomedical Research Centre in July 2023 for the Inclusive Research (IR) Team. Alongside the PPIE and EDI teams the IR Team seeks to make the invisible visible and build methodologies throughout the research process, ensuring good science and that research outcomes are relevant and meaningful. Read more at: Manchester BRC IR

Prior to this (since Oct 2020) I was working with The Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health / Thomas Ashton Institute on the PROTECT project COVID-19: Transmission and environment looking at Covid-19 and impacts in different work settings e.g. Public transport, areas of enduring prevalence, power generation and themes across sectors etc. Also GP perceptions of work and health related services and return to work.

Previously, I worked as part of the organisations theme within the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre for many years, before it became part of the Health Policy, Politics and Organisation (HiPPO) Research Group within the Centre for Primary Care (CPC),  where I was deputy lead of HiPPO. We then became part of the bigger Health Policy Organisions and Economics (HOPE) group within CPC as the Centre expanded.

I undertake all aspects of research from bidding for grants, project design, through data collection (Interviews, observations, FGDs, surveys etc) and project management, analysis and dissemination.

I am part of supervisory team for a student in the IR Team (BRC). Two of my PhD students successfully graduated in programme in 2014, another in 2015, two jointly supervised with Dept of Politics in 2019 and 2023 and one with AMBS in 2024. I have also been an advisor to many PhD students and supervised many Masters level students. I currently mentor 2 PhD students and participate on the UoM Gold Mentoring Scheme.

I joined the University (Dept of Health funded National Primary Care Research and Development Centre (NPCRDC), having worked in various policy/research roles within local government for the previous 6 years in the NW of England.

At NPCRDC I worked on projects evaluating the implementation of PCG/Ts and various associated partnership projects, before completing a 3 year study around the development of local authority health scrutiny gaining a PhD. This led to the national evaluation project on health scrutiny in collaboration with researchers from Manchester Business School and Dept of Politics (at Manchester) funded by the Centre for Public Scrutiny.

I have undertaken external consultancy work which has included specialist advice, case studies, literature reviews, lectures and workshop facilitation.

I was part of the team that undertook research into the introduction of practice based commissioning and research looking at alternative primary care providers in England.

Between January 2011 and December 2018 I was part of PRUComm (Health Policy Research Unit on Commissioning and the Healthcare stystem - PRUComm http://www.prucomm.ac.uk/)

I have worked on a project investigating the development, operation and functioning of the public health system (case study - obesity - PHOENIX: An investigation of the public health system in England) and was part of the research team for a further project on competition and co-operation within local health economies.

I have also worked on a project funded by the Health Foundation to evaluate and understand health and social care devolution in the Greater Manchester area, along with colleagues from Manchester Business School and the NIHR Manchester CLAHRC. More details can be found at: http://clahrc-gm.nihr.ac.uk/2015/10/learning-from-devo-manc-researching-health-and-social-care-devolution/ .

I have researched New Models of Care (Vanguards) in the English NHS  - to determine the extent to which the Vanguard programme has resulted in implementation of new service models.

Between Oct 2020 - July 2023 I worked on the PROTECT project COVID-19: Transmission and environment looking at Covid-19 and impacts in different work settings e.g. Public transport, areas of enduring prevalence, energy production etc. and on a project looking at work and health. Since 2023 I support the Manchester Biomedical Research Centre, Manchester Clinical Research Facility and the Manchester HealthTech Research Centre (Inclusive research) and am part of the Health Determinants Research Collaborative Manchester (with Manchester City Council 2025-2029).

Other research interests include partnership working, links with local government, patient and public involvement, accountability / governance, commissioning, retun to work and wellbeing of workers, qualitative methods and (health and care) policy.

I led the develop of the health policy module on the online MPH / MRes. which I also jointly taught on between 2007 and 2009. Since then I have spent some time as a tutor and supervised various MPH dissertations. I have also supervised Masters students in Occupational / environmental health

I have run ad-hoc seminars / workshops for Manchester Business School, Warwick Business School, INLOGOV etc on health scrutiny, hospice care and clinical engagement in primary care commissioning.

Health Policy and Politics Network - http://hppnuk.wordpress.com

Honorary Research Fellow at LSHTM - http://www.lshtm.ac.uk

Member of the Committee (5) on the ethics of research on human beings (Manchester University) 2013-2016

Qualitative methods including interviews, observation and documentary analysis. Our team pioneered the use of observation within NHS settings.

Mixed and survey methods, focus groups and citizens panels.

BA Soc Sci (Hons) Geography

MA Applied Population Research

PhD

Between 2015/17 I was a Board member for Warrington Housing Association - http://www.wha.org.uk/

Facilitation of Sarah's Stars - support group for young women with breast cancer in Warrington and the surrounding area. See more at: http://makeadifferencemcr.tumblr.com/post/64760787215/i-help-young-women-diagnosed-with-breast-cancer