Mrs Irene Soulsby, Public Representative

I’m a cancer survivor and always say that “I’m here because of research”. However, research can take many forms, and about 10 years ago I accidentally came across Public Involvement at Newcastle University. Since then, I have taken part in many projects about health. This led me to becoming a public member of the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration for the North East and North Cumbria, and also the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Behavioural Science

I became a member of PHIRST Fusion late in 2021 and have so far been involved in observing projects, so I can get an idea of what it’s all about. I’m really enjoying being part of PHIRST and hope to bring my experience of the last 10 years into the projects. It’s great to have the opportunity of being involved!