Researchers within REACH

Professor Annie Topping

Professor Annie Topping is a nurse scientist and educator specialising in improving care outcomes. She is Professor of Nursing in partnership with University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. Where she works with a team developing research workforce capability and capacity across the nursing, midwifery and allied professions workforce.  

Professor Anne Marie Russell

Professor Russell holds the Jenny Jones Chair of Nursing Science and is head of research and knowledge transfer. She has research expertise in mixed methods and person-centred approaches in Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD). She maintains a portfolio of contemporary practice in research, research leadership, clinical practice, and education.

Professor Russell is committed to developing the next generation of clinical academics and researchers and offers mentorship and research supervision.

Anne-Marie completed her PhD and post-doctoral research in respiratory medicine at the National Heart and Lung Institute Imperial College, London honing specialist knowledge of interstitial lung disease (ILD). Her research began extensively in the field of progressive pulmonary fibrosis, specifically IPF and focused on patient reported measures. Anne-Marie has established clinical research collaborations including rheumatologists working in the field of CTD-ILD and scleroderma. Through the COVID-19 pandemic she co-led an international study capturing patients’ experiences of living with Sarcoidosis, a multi-system disorder leading to further work and publications in this field. Her research is consistently patient centred, working with patients as partners from conception to outputs.

Anne Marie is an active member of the European Respiratory Society, engaged in task force work developing international clinical guidelines. In her UK regional leadership roles as a NIHR70&70 senior research leader and more recently as the WE-NIHR CRN research lead she supported research capability and capacity for nursing and allied healthcare professions. Anne Marie remains committed to mentoring the next generation of clinical academics and continues to work closely with the NIHR Nursing & Midwifery Office.

Professor Robin Miller

Professor Robin Miller is an applied academic with an international reputation in relation to integration, leadership and implementation within health and social care. He has been P-I/Co-I to over £14 million of research grants over the past decade and has published over fifty peer-reviewed articles and books.

Robin is the Joint Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Integrated Care , an advisory group member of the European Forum for Primary Care, and a Senior Fellow of the School for Social Care Research. He led the development of the U21 Community of Practice for Social Work with membership from seventeen universities from across the world. Robin has developed and facilitated numerous leadership and management programmes for those working in health and social care. These include the Senior Leaders Level 7 Degree Apprenticeship Programme (MSc in Health & Care System Leadership) and the strength based leadership programme in partnership with the Social Care Institute for Excellence. Robin co-chaired the Guidance, Good Practice and Innovation Advisory Group of the national adult social care taskforce for COVID 19, is a member of the Health & Wellbeing Board for Birmingham and co-leads the Society & Wellbeing Work Package of the European University for Well-being.

Mrs Louise Beesley

Louise is an Associate Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery and is the Lead for Postgraduate Taught and CPD in the School. She teaches across a variety of modules within the Institute of Clinical Sciences postgraduate portfolio and also supports the pre-registration BNurs and MNurs programmes within the School of Nursing and Midwifery.

Louise is a registered adult nurse, with experience in both secondary and primary care, working at an advance level of practice. Having been instrumental in the development and management of multiple master’s level programmes in Advanced Clinical Practice, she is currently Chair of the Regional HEI ACP Group and a committee member of the Association of Advanced Practice Educators UK.

With a multi-professional focussed teaching portfolio, Louise is keen to develop inter-professional educational practice within the Institute at a postgraduate level

Dr Nikolaos Efstathiou

Nikolaos is a lecturer in Nursing and leads the Clinical Health Research MRes Programme. Nikolaos is also an Adjunct Professor at the School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa.

Nikolaos is an experienced lecturer and researcher. He has published research papers in scientific journals in the fields of End-of-Life care, nursing education and Delphi Technique. He has received grants from the European Oncology Nursing Society for research and visiting research centres.

Nikolaos has a clinical background in Critical Care and maintains his clinical activity by working closely with NHS partners to undertake research and apply findings in nursing practice.

Dr Ping Guo

Ping Guo is Associate Professor in Nursing and Lead for Advanced Practice Research Project/Dissertation module and Mixed Methods Research Design module at School of Nursing and Midwifery. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has successfully completed a PGCert in Learning and Teaching in HE. She is leading the School’s Global Health Group and Public Engagement in Nursing (PEN) group. Ping is Visiting Senior Lecturer in Palliative Care at the Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, King’s College London, UK. 

Ping’s research expertise lies in intervention and health services research. Her research interests include palliative and end of life care, outcome measurement, and global health. She has experience of leading and managing different projects in clinical trials and observational studies, undertaking documentary reviews and qualitative interviews, and conducting health systems strengthening research.

Ping has successfully disseminated her research findings in peer reviewed journals and through presentations at national and international conferences. She has a good track record of securing competitive research funding.

Mrs Alison Gayton

Alison is a Registered Mental Health Nurse and Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing in School of Nursing. Alison teaches across the pre-registration nursing programme with a focus on older adult mental health care. Alison is also the Student Experience Lead for the School of Nursing and Midwifery.

Alison joined the College of Medical and Dental Sciences (School of Nursing) in 2018.  Alison has been a Registered Mental Health Nurse since 1995 and has worked in a variety of settings in hospitals, community and primary care mental health teams.

In 2009, Alison became the lead Clinical Practice Facilitator within an NHS Trust in Worcestershire combining supporting students in practice, liaising with the University of Worcester and contributing to education within the Learning and Development Team.

Alison is currently working on publications relating to bullying of student nurses during placement, End of Life in Dementia Care and student experience publications

To maintain clinical currency Alison is a Dementia Care Mapper within a local NHS Trust. 

Dr Philip Kinghorn

Philip is a Senior Lecturer in the Health Economics Unit. His research interests relate to the measurement and valuation of outcomes in economic evaluation. In particular, Philip is interested in the inclusion of broader outcomes within economic evaluations of health and social care interventions and the use of the capability approach within health economics.

Dr Kanta Kumar

Dr Kanta Kumar is an Associate Professor at the University of Birmingham  and Honorary Professor, PGI, Chandigarh, India. Kanta’s work expands across the UK, India, USA, and Australia Rheumatology Departments.

She is a member of the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society Medical Board and the Founder of NRAS Apni Jung (our fight) against rheumatoid arthritis innovation. Kanta is the College Lead for Public and Patient Involvement and Engagement. Her clinical role is based at the Royal Wolverhampton (Rheumatology Department).

Dr. Kanta Kumar held a position as a Lecturer at the University of Manchester until 2017, focusing her research on behavioural medicine and investigating the influence of ethnicity in rheumatology practice. Her extensive publications in these areas have earned her national recognition and five prestigious awards for her exceptional contributions.

Her research has had a profound impact on patient care, garnering support from key stakeholders, including the British Society of Rheumatology (BSR), patient charities, industry, and the NHS. Dr. Kumar's dedication to improving patient care for those with rheumatoid arthritis led her to collaborate with the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) and other rheumatology teams across the UK and abroad. An exemplary initiative arising from this collaboration is the "Apni Jung" project (our fight against rheumatoid arthritis), designed to actively involve South Asian patients in managing their disease.

Looking ahead, Dr. Kumar is committed to conducting future research aimed at addressing health inequalities in rheumatology practice, thereby making a significant and positive impact on patient outcomes.

Dr Susan Neilson

Dr Sue Neilson is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery.  She is a qualitative methodologist, her research focusing on, but not exclusive to, children and young people’s palliative and end of life care and bereavement support.  

Sue’s work also has a strong focus on education standard frameworks.

Sue Neilson has an extensive clinical nursing background in paediatric oncology and holds an honorary contract with the palliative care team at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Sue has undertaken research examining palliative, end of life and bereavement care for children and young people in both hospital and community settings. Her work to date has focused on the experiences of the child/young person, family and health professional. 

Dr Annie Petitifer 

Annie Pettifer is an Assistant Professor within the School of Nursing and Midwifery.   

Annie is a registered adult nurse. Her clinical background is mostly in specialist palliative care nursing within both the community, hospice, and hospital settings.

Dr Chris Poyner

Chris studied for a BA (Hons) in Sociology at the University of Warwick before completing his MA in Social Research at the University of Birmingham.

In 2013 he began his academic career at Bournemouth University as a KTP Associate. This project explored a model of extra care housing designed specifically for couples living with dementia. Chris went on to start his PhD at Bournemouth. The primary aim was to critically evaluate a new and innovative model of dementia care within a new build care home environment. An ethnographic research design was employed.  Chris transferred his PhD to the University of Stirling in 2015. Whilst at Stirling he was employed as a researcher on 2 studies; one exploring the LGBT experience of homelessness and life in deprived communities in Glasgow and Edinburgh; and another investigating the usability of a medication management software in care homes. He also worked as a teaching assistant on several modules delivered for the faculty of social sciences.

Chris’ first postdoctoral role involved the facilitation and evaluation of the peer support and community engagement work taking place at the University of Salfords' purpose built ‘dementia hub’.

He began working at the University of Birmingham in 2018 as a Qualitative Research Fellow on various clinical trials for disease areas such as liver (CALIBRE trial), bowel (OCEAN trial), and growth hormone deficiency (GHD trial). During the pandemic Chris worked on COVID-19 specific studies, exploring issues such as the uptake of lateral flow tests and clinician experiences of working during the pandemic (COPE study). His current post as a Dementia Fellow within the ARC West Midlands commenced in February of 2023. He is leading on a project exploring life in rural areas of the West Midlands with dementia.

Ms Muzeyyen Seckin

Muzeyyen Seckin is an Early Career Nurse Researcher. She qualified as a nurse from Gaziantep University in Turky before undertaking a master’s degree in Clinical Nursing at King’s College London. Currently, she is a final-year PhD Nurse Researcher at the University of Glasgow. Her PhD focuses on understanding the full spectrum of symptoms in people with heart failure and developing a person-centred (or person-led) symptom assessment for individuals and communities. Her mission involves ensuring a more inclusive and equal symptom assessment and management in heart failure for everybody. 

Additionally, she is a researcher working on the Midlands Collaborative PEoLC Toolkit development project led by Professor Cara Bailey at the University of Birmingham. She is also interested in projects that explore, develop, and evaluate bereavement assessment and support needs for under-appreciated groups, including refugees. 

She was a PhD student at the European Academy of Nursing Science (EANS) Summer School for Doctoral Studies, a three-year program, from 2020 to 2023.

Dr Priyanka Sharma

As a dedicated Research Associate at the University of Birmingham, I bring extensive experience and enthusiasm to my work. My journey began with the completion of my Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree in 2017 in India, where I subsequently served as a Junior Critical Care Fellow in the Intensive Care Unit in India. Seeking to further my expertise, I pursued a Masters (MSc) in Health Research Methods in the year 2021 from the University of Birmingham, UK. Since then, I have had the privilege of continuing my academic journey with the University of Birmingham, where I am committed to work as a Research Associate.

Dr Ameila Swift

Amelia is a Reader in Health Professional Education and the Head of Education for the School of Nursing and Midwifery. She teaches widely across the pre-registration programmes and also contributes to post-graduate teaching in her specialist area of pain. Amelia is a champion of technology enhancement and works at Institute level to guide and promote educational enhancement and research.

Rumandeep Tiwana

Rumandeep provides research support to the two prominent research programmes within the School of Nursing and Midwifery: The Risk Abuse and Violence (RAV) Research Programme and REACH. Rumandeep works within specified research grants and/or projects and contributes to publications, reports, and seminars. Previously, Rumandeep had worked on chronic illnesses, investigating the reasons behind delays in help-seeking behaviour among patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. More recently, she contributed to the adaptation and development of a novel educational intervention targeting South Asians. The aim was to enhance their understanding of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its connection to Rheumatoid Arthritis. The educational intervention is available on the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) website, within the "Apni Jung" (translates as "Our Fight") section.

Dr Wendy Walker

Wendy joined The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust in February 2020 as a Reader in Nursing and Professional Lead for Nursing Research. Wendy is an Honorary Associate Clinical Professor in Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Birmingham. As a Registered Nurse, Wendy specialises in the field of adult intensive care. This clinical experience led to a specialist interest in adult end-of-life care and bereavement. After completing a PhD in Health Sciences in 2010, Wendy subsequently embarked on an academic nurse researcher career pathway.

Wendy's portfolio of postdoctoral research includes inquiries that focus on dying, death and bereavement in the context of an acute or critical illness or event, and are typically hospital-based. Her area of expertise primarily centres on qualitative methodologies and methods for primary research, secondary research/analysis and service evaluations. Wendy is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and has experience in the provision of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes of study, Masters and doctoral supervision/ examination. Wendy values opportunities in her current role for practice-based, applied research. 

Dr Katie Weetman

Katharine (Katie) Weetman is an Assistant Professor in Clinical Communication at the Interactive Studies Unit (ISU) based in the College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham. The ISU is the team responsible for delivering teaching and supporting assessment of clinical communication across healthcare programmes.

Katharine is a healthcare linguist involved in the teaching of Clinical Communication to undergraduate students on multiple programmes. She is the ISU lead for communication for the Nursing and Midwifery programmes.

She has a background in linguistics, professional role play (simulation), and healthcare research. Her special interests are language, inter-professional communication, patient information, and hospital discharge (the subject of her PhD thesis). She has expertise in: Health Sciences, Applied Linguistics, and Realist methodologies. 

Fanny Adistie

Fanny Adistie is a PhD student at the University of Birmingham School of Nursing and Midwifery. She is pursuing her doctoral studies working with esteemed supervisors Dr Nikolaos Efstathiou, Dr Susan Neilson, and Dr Karen Shaw. Her research focuses on end-of-life care in paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) In Indonesia. Driven to contribute to improving paediatric palliative care in Indonesia, her research aims to identify culturally sensitive and practical approaches to support patients and their families during challenging and emotionally charged end-of-life situations.

 

Amani Busili

Amani Busili is currently pursuing her doctoral studies at the University of Birmingham School of Nursing and Midwifery, under the supervision of Dr. Kanta Kumar and Dr. Laura Kudrna. Her research is centered on mental health support for patients with type 2 diabetes within the context of general healthcare settings in Saudi Arabia.

Motivated by the pressing need to enhance mental health outcomes among patients with type 2 diabetes in Saudi Arabia, the aim of Amani's PhD is to better understand how to improve mental health support for this population in clinical settings. Her research endeavors to investigate the facilitators and barriers encountered in delivering mental health support within these settings, aiming to contribute valuable insights that can inform the development of effective interventions and policies aimed at enhancing the overall mental well-being of patients with type 2 diabetes in Saudi Arabia.

Vyshna Ravindran is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Clinical Sciences within the School of Medical and Dental Sciences. 

As a registered Ayurvedic practitioner, Vyshna has experience in managing chronic diseases. She earned her MD in Ayurveda, during which she explored the effectiveness of Ayurvedic treatments in managing diabetic distal symmetric polyneuropathy. 

Currently, her research, supported by the India Institute, is focused on understanding the awareness and practice of Ayurvedic medicine in the UK.