About
I am a senior research fellow based at the NIHR Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (NETSCC) and joined the team in 2009. We provide and deliver high quality research that meets the priorities of the NIHR to inform decision-making, policy and practice. We are situated within the NETSCC Insight team which is made up of researchers, evaluators, analysts, methodologists, project and programme managers. As part of the Insight team, we also conduct research, provide support and expertise across the School of Healthcare Enterprise and Innovation.
Our research is predominantly focused around the discipline of Research on Research, which has grown substantially over the last ten years and is gaining momentum due to increased interest in areas such as research culture, research integrity and open research. Our research focuses on addressing gaps in evidence, adding value by informing research assessment and management policy and practice, and maximising the value of research to the NIHR and the wider research community. We do this by contributing to the wider evidence base on research management practices (from initiation of research through to dissemination, engagement and mobilisation) to ensure that increased sharing and comparability of research promote transparency, reproducibility, and better use and re-use of research.
Research
Research interests
- Research on Research (currently focusing on peer review and decision-making in research funding and burden of post award management)
- Netnography / Ethnography
- Qualitative research / Mixed methods
- Review methodologies (particular focus on scoping reviews)
- Implementation Science and Knowledge Mobilisation
Current research
Responsibilities include
Peer reviewer for
(Journals) Trials, BMJ Open, Contemporary Clinical Trials, FACETS (multidisciplinary open access science journal based in Canada), BioMed Central series, Journal of Medical Internet Research, F1000 and PLOS series.
(funding organisations and charities) National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Health Research Council (HRC) of New Zealand and Breast Cancer Now
Associate Editor for Health Research Policy and Systems.
Editorial board member for Contemporary Clinical Trials.
Research Advisory / steering groups: UoS PDA steering committee, UoS Concordat working group, UoS TRANSFoM working group, UoS Future Ways of Working stakeholder advisory group, NIHR Maximising Impact steering group, RoRi randomisation steering group, NIHR Innovation project advisory group, Ensuring Value in Research (EViR)
Member of the Social Research Association
Member of the School of Healthcare Enterprise and Innovation Inclusion network and Sustainability working group
Research projects
Completed projects
Publications
Teaching
Personal Academic Tutor for the Faculty of Medicine
Biography
I have held a number of research positions at the University of Southampton since 2002 and joined NIHR Evaluations Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (formerly known as NCCHTA) in 2008. I worked in various roles at NETSCC, including portfolio management of HTA funded research before taking a secondment in 2009 to work on a HTA funded project for three years. Since 2012, I've led, managed and supported the strategic development and management of the Research on Research (RoR) programme alongside leading and conducting prioritised research for the NIHR.
I have more than 10 years’ experience of working in the Research on Research discipline and have led a number of studies over that time. I currently lead a netnographic study on funding committee practice as part of the wider strategic priority of peer review and research funding decision making practice. I am an established researcher in RoR and continue to work in this area of research building on and addressing important questions that adds value, enhances and benefits the commissioning, conduct and dissemination of NIHR funded research.
I began my research career at the Southampton Education School (Faculty of Social Sciences) where I was involved in a drug education programme on behalf of the Home Office. I later held a researcher’s position in the Faculty of Medicine where I was involved in a British Liver Trust project on Chronic Liver Disease. I then moved to the Faculty of Health Sciences where I was involved in the extended formulary independent nurse-prescribing project and the Cancer, Palliative and End of Life research group managing large datasets of Views of Informal Carers Evaluation of Services (VOICES) data for publication.
I currently sit on a number of steering and advisory groups for the NIHR and other funding organisations. I also provide academic support to medical students (PAT) and represent the School of Healthcare Enterprise and Innovation (HEI) at the postdoctoral association (PDA) steering committee.
I am committed to conducting high-quality interdisciplinary research that addresses uncertainties and gaps in the evidence to inform and facilitate improvements to the management of research (from a funder’s perspective). I have a strong research commitment to ensure that research is transparent, open and accessible to those who can benefit from the outcomes and contributes to improving the health of the public.