Nigel Lloyd is a Senior Research Fellow for PHIRST Connect. For the past 20 years he has specialised in conducting community-focused research and evaluation with initiatives that aim to bring about positive outcomes for marginalised communities. He has worked as a researcher in academia and industry, and as a consultant has conducted more than 60 different research projects. He has worked as a National Coordinator for the National Evaluation of Sure Start and has been an Analytical Associate with the UK Department for Education. His key areas of expertise include: Impact and outcomes measurement; evaluation capacity building; evaluating community-based initiatives; and impact measurement for services for children and families, health promotion and improvement programmes, and community-focused, multi-agency initiatives.
Amander Wellings is the Public and Patient Involvement Co-applicant at PHIRST Connect. She is a neuro-diverse, lifelong family carer/service user, with wide experience of health and social care. She holds an MA in Medical Sociology from the University of East Anglia and is a founding member of the Patient and Public Involvement in Research (PPIRes) Norfolk PPI group and alumni of the NIHR INVOLVE advisory group writing national PRI guidance and advising on PPI strategies. She has commented on numerous study designs, creating and co facilitating training, management, and steering groups she has accumulated vast experience in patient and public involvement. Her key areas of expertise include: Patient and Public involvement in research.
Dr Adam Wagner is a health economist based at the University of East Anglia (UEA), working as a Senior Research Fellow in the Norwich Medical School (within the Health Economics Group). He works across a range of different projects, leading and supporting the delivery of health economics within them, along with contributing statistical input as appropriate (previously he has also worked as an applied medical statistician). His work focuses non-exclusively on economic evaluations, including within trials (such as INHALE and FluCare), but also in other settings (such as investigating the implementation of remote monitoring). He is also heavily involved in the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East of England as (interim) lead of its Health Economics and Prioritisation in Health and Social Care theme.
Julia Jones is Professor of Public Involvement and Health at the University of Hertfordshire and Co-Chief Investigator for the NIHR-funded PHIRST Connect. Julia is an experienced health researcher with a strong record of conducting international and interdisciplinary research in the fields of patient and public involvement (PPI), mental health and kidney care. In her role at the University of Hertfordshire, Julia leads the Patient Experience and Public Involvement Research Unit in the Centre for Research in Public Health and Community Care (CRIPACC) in the School of Health and Social Work. Working collaboratively with service users and carers in research is central to her research practice, which includes chairing the Public Involvement in Research group (PIRg) based in CRIPACC. Her key areas of expertise include: Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in health and social care research; mental health of children and young people; and; conducting research on sensitive topics.
Dr Gavin Breslin is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, Ulster University, Northern Ireland. He is a Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist, and Registered Practitioner of the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC). Gavin has published extensively in the area of mental health and well-being. He has published two books. He led on systematic reviews, cross sectional, prospective, and case studies on mental health, and has designed RCT interventions using psychological behaviour change theory to enhance health and well-being for children and adults in schools, sports clubs, prisons, secure hospitals and workplace settings. His key areas of expertise include: health behaviour change, intervention design to improve health and wellbeing.
Dr Katie Newby is Associate Professor in Health Behaviour Change at the University of Hertfordshire. She is a Co-Investigator, leading on the Welsh National Exercise Referral Scheme (NERS) Evaluation, at PHIRST Connect. Her research focus is on the development and evaluation of complex health behaviour change interventions. She has worked on a diverse range of public health projects focussing on, for example, sexual health, vaccination uptake, smoking, and physical activity. Her key areas of expertise include: Interventions to change health-related behaviour; Digital technology and methods; co-design; risk appraisal; sexually transmitted infections and sexual behaviour.
Dr Suzanne Bartington is Clinical Research Fellow at the Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham and Honorary Consultant in Public Health (UK Health Security Agency). Suzanne has cross-cutting interests in development of new methods for monitoring, analysing and modelling impacts of air quality interventions Key areas of expertise: sustainable transport; environmental public policies; active travel.
Dr David Wellsted is Reader of Health Research Methods. He has worked for more than 15 years in health research, having previously completed a Doctorate in the Psychology of attention and hearing. He has led the Hertfordshire site of the National Institute for Health Research, East of England Research Design Service since 2008. He has been an active member of teams delivering more than 15 funded clinical studies, including 8 clinical trials, and is currently working on 6 funded studies. His areas of expertise include: Health Research Methods, quality of life, depression and distress, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Nigel Smeeton is a Social Statistician at the Centre for Research in Public Health and Community Care, University of Hertfordshire. Most of his research has involved the application of statistical methods to psychiatry, asthma, and stroke. He has published an introductory book on dental statistics and is co-author of a text on nonparametric statistical methods. Nigel has an interest in the influence of ethnicity in medical and social issues and is currently engaged in an education intervention for bowel cancer screening in Asian communities. His key areas of expertise include: adolescence; cohort studies; ethnicity; observer agreement; patient and public involvement; statistics; stroke, pollution and climate.
Dr Neil Howlett conducts research in the area of physical activity and behaviour change, and is a Co-Investigator at PHIRST Connect. Neil has expertise in behaviour change methodology including: designing, implementing, and evaluating interventions to help individuals, communities, and populations change a range of health behaviours; evidence synthesis such as systematic reviews and meta-analyses; broad knowledge of behaviour change theories; training a range of health professionals in behaviour change and communication skills; input into national behavioural science strategies. He is principal investigator on Department of Health, Lottery, and Local Enterprise Partnership-funded grants with the charity HENRY, both evaluating volunteer-delivered parenting programmes and developing a new teenage programme focused on physical activity and eating behaviours. Additionally, Neil helped in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the Sport England-funded Active Herts project. Neil has been a successful lead or co-applicant on nearly £5 million of grants. Key current projects include the large NIHR-funded READY and PHIRST grants. Neil is also a Trustee for the Behavioural Science and Public Health Network charity.
Ben Barr is Professor in Applied Public Health at Liverpool University and joint-Chief Investigator for PHIRST LiLaC. His research focuses on using natural experiments to evaluate the health inequalities impact of local and national social, welfare, economic and health policies. He has a particular interest in research that enables local government to promote health equity by addressing the social determinants of health. He previously worked in roles in applied public health in the UK for the NHS and Health Protection Agency before taking up an academic post.
Emma Halliday is a Senior Research Fellow based at Lancaster University and joint-Chief Investigator for PHIRST LiLaC. She spent four years working with NHS Health Scotland’s policy evaluation team and has worked closely with local authorities and community organisations to deliver evaluations of place-based interventions including regeneration, air quality, physical activity and community engagement initiatives. Her areas of expertise include: qualitative methods, public involvement and social determinants of health.
