RCOT Research champions

Alexander Smith 

Stroke Specialist Occupational Therapist / Stroke Association Postgraduate Fellow 

Wales;West Midlands; 

Stroke, Neurological Conditions, Rehabilitation, Patient Reported Outcomes, Outcome Measurement, Psychometrics & Clinometrics, Realist Methodology. 

Alison Holden 

Consultant Occupational Therapist 

North West 

Dementia and driving cessation, dementia and sensory impairment. Masters in Dementia Care and in Health Research; leads on AHP Innovation and Research Forum and journal club 

Amberley Prince 

Senior Occupational Therapist - Team Lead / Clinical Academic Intern 

West Midlands 

Burns therapy and tissue viability 

Anna Jager 

Professional Development Lead 

South East   

Paediatrics; Functional Neurological Disorder; Student Placements; Role Emerging Placements; Upper Limb in Cerebral Palsy 

Annabel Heaslop 

Senior Lecturer, Occupational Therapy/ Joint Course Lead BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy 

West Midlands 

Experience as clinical researcher; published researcher; interested in research related to occupational therapy practice education; currently undertaking an MA in education 

Annette O' Donoghue 

Clinical Research Therapist/Advanced Occupational Therapist 

North West 

Outcome measures, learning disabilities, assistive technology, hospital discharges 

Austin Booth 

Liaison and diversion practitioner 

Northern and Yorkshire 

Public health; Organisational behaviour; Digital healthcare 

Bryony Helen Gettins 

Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist 

Wales 

Person-centred practice - within hospital settings, clients' and clinicians' views of this;  

Specific interventions - effectiveness and contribution to management of risk, link with occupational performance / occupational meaning, use within hospital and community settings, collaborative decision-making between therapists, clients and significant others; qualitative projects. 

Carolyn Dunford 

Reader in Occupational Therapy 

London 

Children, young people and families, evidence-based practice, knowledge translation, goal setting 

Catherine Cullen 

Advanced Specialist Occupational Therapist 

N. Ireland 

Paediatrics; autism; regional support networks in autism across health and education settings; promoting and disseminating good practice through developing and delivering training and facilitating peers groups.  

Chris Lovegrove 

NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow 

South West 

Neurorehabilitation and living with long-term neurological conditions and anxiety in Parkinson's. Funded NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow (NIHR301565) working on a three-year project to co-produce and feasibility test an occupation-based complex intervention to help people with Parkinson's live well with anxiety. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research.   

Clair Le Boutillier 

Post-doctoral THIS Institute Research Fellow 

London 

Healthcare improvement researcher, joint deputy director of the Qualitative Applied Health Research Centre (QUAHRC) at King’s College London  

Corinna Green 

Urgent Community Response Therapy Lead and Care Home Support Team Lead 

South-East   

Urgent Care; Falls; Postural Management; Care Home Support 

David Roderick Lacy 

Senior Lecturer Occupational Therapy 

Eastern 

Module leader for Research Methods which involves developing the skills and knowledge of apprentices to understand the research process and critically evaluate occupational therapy research. 

Donna Kennedy 

Hand Therapist, Senior Clinical Academic for Occupational Therapy 

London 

Experience in delivering workshops for Trust staff on clinical audit and service evaluation. Previously won funding to develop a PPI group to support research delivery of the Imperial College London Pain Research Group. Also won funding to develop an innovate, patient co-designed, hand therapist delivered hand fracture clinic. Published on topics of evaluation and treatment of rheumatological conditions of the hand and sat on a NICE panel as a clinical expert. Experience in quantitative study design, patient focus groups, surveys and a Delphi study. I have developed a Core Outcome Measurement Set for the evaluation of scars in the wrist and hand. Interested in how we engage patients in research design and delivery and the co-design of care. 

Dr Vanessa Abrahamson 

Research Fellow 

South-East  

Neuro-rehabilitation; stroke; traumatic brain injuries; community rehab & long-term conditions; intermediate care/short term rehab after transition home from hospital. Other projects include end of life care at home ('hospice at home') and the autism diagnostic pathway for children and young people - both used realist methodology. 

Emma Barton 

Head Occupational Therapist, Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster (Mental Health and Community Independence Services) 

London 

Older adults, Dementia; Starting to explore adult mental health research opportunities for OT colleagues 

Emma Dudzinski 

Lecturer in Occupational Therapy 

Eastern 

Qualitative research, literature reviews, dementia care, social care 

Academic profile page: https://research-portal.uea.ac.uk/en/persons/emma-dudzinski  

Frank Lai 

Assistant Professor 

Northern and Yorkshire 

Cognitive Aging, Dementia Care, Health Inequality 

Hannah Simpson 

Band 6 Occupational Therapist 

South East 

To support people to live well and as independently as possible at home in the later stages of their lives. 

Harriet Clarkson 

Specialist Occupational Therapist 

Eastern 

Community mental health, Occupational therapy group interventions, Family-centred occupational therapy, ACT, Compassion-focussed interventions, Sensory integration, Occupational therapy outcome measures within mental health 

Helen Atkin 

Assistant Professor 

Northern and Yorkshire 

Participatory research, action research, qualitative research, public involvement in research 

Helen Claire Hart 

Assistant Professor 

Northern and Yorkshire 

Refugee mental health and occupational opportunities/application of theory for marginalised groups 

Hilary Lewis 

Senior CBT Therapist and Occupational Therapist. From April 2023: NIHR Doctoral Clinical and Practitioner Academic Fellow 

Northern and Yorkshire 

Persistent Physical Symptoms / Medically Unexplained Symptoms; Mental health; Chronic pain 

Jay Webster 

PhD Student 

Scottish Western 

Public involvement in health and care research 

Jennifer Beal 

Cygnet Health Care - Head of Occupational Therapy and University of East Anglia - Doctoral student 

London 

MSc Occupational Therapy; 25 years of mental health experience; public and private sector; responsibilities in a wide range of mental health services from intensive care, locked learning disability, personality disorder, low secure care and step-down services. Interests in use of sensory integration in adult mental health services. 

Jennifer Woods 

Macmillan Dementia and Frailty Specialist 

North West 

Onco-geriatrics, social frailty, social participation, older people, dementia, cancer, quality of life, 

Joanne Chalmers 

MSc Student Pre Reg (1st year) 

Trent 

Care of older people, prehabilitation and rehabilitation, the value of movement and exercise, green and blue therapy, as well as the role of OT in primary care and public health, and how OTs compliment social-prescribing link workers. Experience as an academic researcher in skin disease and allergies; pharma and medical charity experience and as a Research and Evidence Manager in a CCG. 

Joy McLaggan 

Senior Occupational Therapist 

South East   

Social care, reablement, equipment, adaptations, increasing research capacity within social care, student placements, OT recruitment / careers within social care. More specifically: exploring the use of ‘autophotography’ as research methodology in the field of equipment and housing adaptations and exploring how routine / everyday practice can provide us with research evidence.  Mixed-methods and qualitative research as well as peer reviewing and ethics applications. Have completed an NIHR funded Masters in Clinical Research.  

Kim Griffin 

Occupational Therapist / Director GriffinOT 

London 

Paediatric occupational therapy; Universal online supports; Autism; School/academic performance; Sensory and regulation 

Kirsty Thomas 

Occupational Therapist 

South West 

Background in community stroke and neurological conditions; working in a community health and social care team and working with people in their own home and community. Interests in: enabling people to stay at home safely and barriers to this; helping the older generation remain connected to the community. 

Laura Rossiter 

Research associate and Occupational Therapist 

South West 

Cancer-related fatigue. Using simulation to prepare students in occupational therapy, physiotherapy, podiatry and nursing for clinical placement. Self-care and rheumatoid arthritis 

Lindsey Hoffman 

Senior Occupational Therapist (Acute and Emergency Medicine) 

London 

frailty, dementia, hospital admission prevention, social determinants of health, and use of mind-body modalities  

Lynsay Duke 

Associate Director for AHPs in Neurological and Specialist Services, Professional Lead, Neurological Occupational Therapy/Advanced Occupational Therapist 

CNTW AHP research, development and innovation lead 

Northern and Yorkshire 

Neurological rehabilitation; Spasticity management; Upper limb surgery for spasticity; Thermoplastic splinting for neurological conditions; Patient involvement in research 

ResearchGate 

Mary Bamgbade-Ogunlayi 

Principal OT 

South East   

Masters in Clinical Neuroscience; quantitative research in reminiscence therapy and Dementia; research interests within workforce development, especially the complexities and the challenges ahead for a future Occupational Therapy labour market within social care; currently completing a professional doctorate where I intend to use a mix methodology of both qualitative and quantitative approaches; experienced in research projects in various areas of social care 

Matias Arguello Narganes 

Health Care Support Worker/ Student 

Scottish Northern 

Disability; Mental Health; Neurology; Neuro Rehabilitation; Sports 

Faith Brown 

Clinical and Education Lead 

Wales 

Expertise in wheelchairs and related assistive technology (seating, control systems, etc), my primary current research interest lies in interdisciplinary research between occupational therapy and adjacent fields. For example, testing principles from online user interface design map to OT person-centred practice with consideration of the person, task and environment.  

Michelle Black 

Research Assistant (occupational therapist) 

Eastern 

Long covid, community/ MDT working, end of life care, continuing professional development, managing teams, implementing change, 

Naomi Brown 

Regional Clinical Specialist OT & Clinical Lead 

N. Ireland 

Regional Clinical Specialist OT for childhood acquired brain injury for Northern Ireland; Clinical Lead for Leonard Cheshire's, Northern Ireland, Alcohol Related Brain Injury Unit. Supporting the Child Brain Injury Trust with a national research programme run by Swansea University. Completed a 3year research project with Queens University, Belfast on the establishment of ARBI services in Northern Ireland. 

Richard Jefferson 

Occupational Therapist 

London 

Person-centred practice, Biopsychosocial Clinical Reasoning, Action Research, Practice Development 

Rosa Megan Brew 

BSc student 

Wales 

I am part of the core committee for ORIENT. My dissertation for 3rd year is on the subject of how residential camps affect children's activities of daily living. 

Rose Peel 

Occupational Therapist 

North West 

Stroke rehabilitation research. Currently hold an NIHR pre-doctoral research fellowship. 

Ruth Bishop 

Clinical Studies Officer 

South West 

Mental Health / Learning Disabilities 

Ruth J. Garner 

Occupational Therapist 

Trent 

older people, meaningful activity, inpatient, community hospital, early career research 

Ruth Kay 

Specialist Occupational Therapist 

Northern and Yorkshire 

Pro-active care, frailty, exercise, addressing health inequalities, Primary Care 

Sarah Scott 

Occupational Therapist 

South East   

Sensory integration and sensory supports; evidence for supporting students with ASD/ADHD/SPD participate in meaningful occupations, particularly with engaging in and accessing the curriculum. Link between physical exercise and health and wellbeing and ASD/ADHD engagement in classroom activities. 

Simona Stone 

Senior Occupational Therapist 

Trent 

Occupational Therapy and rehabilitation; Occupational Identity (disruption, reconstruction) in clients after Traumatic Brain Injury or Stroke; Occupational therapy practice and science; psychological and mood related factors within stroke rehabilitation; motivations and meaningful activities and ways of doing towards occupational participation, performance and wellbeing; therapeutic relationships and rapport within occupational therapy; impact of cognitive rehabilitation; multidisciplinary approach to client care: holistic, client-centred and autonomy enabling; impact of meaningful goals and treatment plans towards positive collaboration, rehabilitation and wellbeing. 

Stephanie Tuck 

Research OT 

Eastern 

Experienced Principal Investigator for various community studies. Involved in study set up, feasibility etc. Parkinson's Disease, Public Health, Covid, Fractured Femur, Stroke, Falls & Dementia. 

Sureshkumar Kamalakannan 

Associate Professor 

Northern and Yorkshire 

Disability, Public Health systems and Policy and Epidemiology 

Tenar Batty 

Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist piloting a High Intensity User Service in primary care in Central Brighton. ACP student. 

South East   

OT in primary care, OT in interventions for high intensity users, OT as Advanced clinical practitioners 

Will Chegwidden 

Principal OT 

London 

Neurorehabilitation; Cognitive Rehabilitation; Apraxia; Functional Neurolgical Disorder; Hemispatial inattention 

Zoe Le-sueur 

Occupational therapist 

Eastern 

My passion prior to and since qualifying is in the field of Neurological rehabilitation. I am in my final year of my MSc in applied professional practice in Neurological rehabilitation.