Primary Care & Health Sciences

My first job after completing my BSc in Mathematics for Business (Middlesex University) and MSc in Statistics (University of Kent) in 1993 was conducting systematic reviews for Clinical Effectiveness Bulletins at Leeds University. Since then I have worked as a Systematic Reviewer and, after completing a MA in Library and Information Science (Loughborough University), as an Information Specialist on a number of evidence-based products and publications. These include a large systematic review on chronic stable angina for Brunel University, the evidence base for shared decision making tools for Dartmouth College in the USA, developing clinical guidelines for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and as an Information Specialist for The Cochrane Collaboration and BMJ Clinical Evidence. I have worked at Keele University in the Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre since 2004, where I provide support and training in aspects of systematic review methods, particularly information retrieval, and give guidance on information management.

I have a general interest in methodological research for systematic reviews. My main research interest is developing search strategies for systematic reviews, particularly for observational studies that are difficult to find in the large bibliographic databases such as Medline and EMBASE.

I teach systematic review methods and literature searching skills on a number of postgraduate and undergraduate modules, including the Masters in Medical Science. I also run training workshops for staff and students in the Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre on various aspects of conducting systematic reviews, information retrieval and reference management.

Peer review:

• Spine
• Evidence Based Library & Information Practice
• Research Synthesis Methods
• British Journal of General Practice
• Physiotherapy

I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP)