I am an applied social scientist with interests in primary care, digital health and infectious disease research.  I am predominantly a qualitative researcher, but also have experience with quantitative methods and mixed methods approaches (i.e. realist evaluation).  Much of my work focuses on understanding 'what works, for whom, in what circumstances and why' by involving and capturing the opinions of healthcare staff, patients and members of the public.

In addition to my academic work, I also manage the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Behaviour Change and Evaluation, which is a partnership between the UOB and Public Health England in collaboration with the Medical Research Council Biostatistics Unit at Cambridge University and the University of the West of England. I oversee the work of the unit by coordinating existing and new HPRU funded and affiliated projects, offering support to work stream leads and HPRU researchers and identifying new projects for the HPRU business plan. 

Prior to joining the HPRU I project managed a realist evaluation in the Centre of Academic Primary Care (CAPC), this study was designed to assess the end-of-life services offered by Marie Curie in the South West of England. 

Prior to working at CAPC, I was the Project Manager and researcher at the Health Protection Agency (now Public Health England), Primary Care Unit. Whilst in this role I successfully managed and contributed to numerous mixed-methods research studies based in primary care, specialising on controlling infectious diseases and the use of antibiotics in the community. Study topics include, but are not limited to, Helicobacter pylori surveillance in England, MRSA nasal carriage in care home, catheterisation in care home, evaluation of rapid antigen detection tests for group B streptococcal sore throat and management of fungal infections in general practice.  

Before starting my academic career, I was a state registered clinical micrioblogist at North Bristol NHS Trust. The experiance that I gained in this role set the foundation for my academic passion in infectious disease research. 

My NIHR School of Primary Care funded PhD thesis examined general practice patients’ opinions about researchers accessing their identifiable medical records for research purposes and the feasibility of introducing a streamlined research recruitment process into primary care.