Primary Care & Health Sciences

I came to Keele in 1998 as a Research Facilitator in the Primary Care Musculoskeletal Research Centre, following a number of health-related research posts. My undergraduate degree was in Social Psychology (University of Sussex, 1987) and I specialized in Social Research Methods for my Masters Degree (City University, 1997). I completed my PhD while working as a Research Fellow and lecturer in the Primary Care Musculoskeletal Research Centre, before becoming Senior Lecturer in 2008 in the Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre.
I have been Director of Postgraduate Studies for the Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences since 2008.

My research is located in the Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre within the Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences. My research interests are in people’s experience of living with chronic painful conditions, particularly in the context of ageing. I am interested in the development of appropriate qualitative methods for exploring pain, including secondary analysis of existing data.
My recent research grants include:

• Wellness and resilience in older people with osteoarthritis (2008, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC))

• Preventing pain from interfering with later life: an action-oriented qualitative study (2009 NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB))

I have a number of teaching qualifications, including the Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Postgraduate Certificate (Keele, 2001).

I currently teach on a range of courses across the university, including Masters in Medical Science (Research Methods), MScPain Science and Management (Assessment of Pain) and MSc Rheumatology Nursing (Qualitative Research Methods).

I am an approved supervisor for Postgraduate Students (TBC), have successfully supervised one student to completion and currently supervise 2 PhD students and 2 MPhil students.

I have been a member of North West 1 (Cheshire) Local Research Ethics Committee since 2007.

I am a member of the ESRC Peer review college and a reviewer of grant proposals for a range of funding bodies. I am a reviewer for journals including Rheumatology; Social Science and Medicine; Arthritis Care and Research; Chronic Illness; Sociological Research Online; Arthritis and Rheumatism.