Dr Grace Turner BSc, MSc, PhD

Dr Grace Turner

Institute of Applied Health Research
Research Fellow

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 5363
Email
g.turner.1@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
@gracemturner
View my research portal
Address
Institute of Applied Health Research
Murray Learning Centre
College of Medical and Dental Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Grace is currently undertaking a NIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship and is a Research Fellow for the NIHR Surgical Reconstruction and Microbiology Research Centre (SRMRC). 

Grace’s primary research interests are focused on the long-term impact of transient ischaemic attack (TIA); optimising stroke prevention; and Patient Reported Outcomes in Primary Care. She is also interested in use of primary care medical records to conduct epidemiological research.

Grace is actively involved in teaching and is a Fellow of the The Higher Education Academy. She also has a number of role supporting early career researchers, including ECRAG co-chair, PERCAT representative and member of the Institute Executive Committee.

Qualifications

  • PGCert Academic Practice (distinction) (2015-2018)
  • PhD in Primary Care Clinical Sciences (2012-2015)
  • MSc Toxicology (distinction) (2008-2009)
  • BSc Human Biology (first) (2005-2008)

Biography

Grace qualified at the University of Birmingham with a First Class BSc (Hons) in Human Biology in 2008 followed by a Distinction MSc in Toxicology in 2009.

Grace took a position as a Research Associate within the Primary Care Department at the University of Birmingham in 2011 where her role was study co-ordinator for a large, national cohort study. She also undertook a secondment at Russells Hall Hospital (Dudley Group NHS Foundation).

In 2012, Grace was awarded the NIHR School for Primary Care Research PhD studentship. Her PhD research investigated the long-term impact of mini-stroke and missed opportunities to prevent stroke, through a systematic review and two epidemiological quantitative studies.

This research is published in high impact journals, including PLOS Medicine and the European Journal of Neurology, and received media coverage, including articles in the Telegraph, Times, Daily Mail, iNews and ScienceDaily.com. The research has informed and is referenced in the Stroke Association’s TIA campaign(2014); the Canadian Stroke Best Practice Recommendations (2015); and the NIHR Themed Review of research into the organisation and quality of stroke services (2017). The research was also selected to be published as two NIHR Signals (timely summaries of research relevant to policy makers).

Furthermore, Grace won eight prestigious awards for her PhD research (two NAPCRG Pearls; NAPCRG distinguished paper award; Australian Association for Academic Primary Care presenter award; ESRF Investigator Award; RCGP David Morgan Presentation Prize; NIHR poster prize; and Graduate Research Festival highest scoring abstract).

In 2013, Grace was selected as the only UK candidate to participate in the Canadian training programme TUTOR-PHC (Transdisciplinary Understanding and Training on Research- Primary Health Care), a one-year, interdisciplinary research training program funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation.

Grace’s current position is a Research Fellow within the Centre for Patient Reported Outcomes Research (CPROR). 

Teaching

Postgraduate supervision

Major trauma
Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs)/ PRO measures (PROMs)
Stroke
Transient ischaemic attack (TIA)
The Health Improvement Network (THIN) database studies

Research

Grace's research interests broadly encompass 3 work streams:

1. Long term impairments and quality of life

2. Epidemiology, clinical trials and systematic reviews

3. Patient and public involvement (PPI) and research impact

Other activities

Leadership roles

  • Member of the Institute Executive Committee
  • Co-chair for the Early Career Research Academic Group (ECRAG)
  • PERCAT representative (Postdoctoral / Early Researcher Career Development And Training)
  • Mentor for postdoctoral researchers

Funding

NIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship (£493,543): SUPPORT TIA: Structured follow-Up Pathway to imProve management Of Residual impairmenTs and patients’ quality of life after Transient Ischaemic Attack and minor stroke: Intervention refinement and feasibility study. 01/01/2018 - 01/01/2020

Clinical Research Network (£10,000): Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) in Primary Care. Principal Investigator. 01/11/2018 - 01/08/2019

Wellcome Trust ISSF (£9,418): Long-term impact of transient ischaemic attack (TIA). Principal Investigator. 02/05/2016 - 01/05/2017

Wellcome Trust ISSF (£10,000): The use of patient reported outcomes in the management of long-term, chronic conditions in primary care. Co-applicant, PI: Dr Tom Keeley. 02/05/2016 - 01/05/2017

British Heart Foundation (£300,000): British Heart Foundation CVD Statistical Tender. Co-applicant, PI: Prof Tom Marshall. 07/11/2016 - 04/11/2019

National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) (£85,260) NIHR SPCR PhD Studentship Award. 01/09/2012 – 01/09/2015

BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) (£16,000): BBSRC Masters Scholarship. 01/09/2009 – 01/09/2010

Awards/ Prizes

  • Distinguished paper presentation (2015): NAPCRG conference, Mexico
  • Highest scoring abstract for Health and Population Sciences (2015): Medical and Dental Sciences Graduate Research Festival, Birmingham
  • UK candidate for TUTOR-PHC: one-year, national interdisciplinary research training program with Western University, Canada (2014)
  • Second place poster prize (2014): NIHR SPCR Showcase, Oxford
  • First time presenter award (2014): Australian Association for Academic Primary Care, Canberra
  • AstraZeneca Research Prize (2009): Awarded for my MSc thesis 

Society membership

  • Society of Academic Primary Care (SAPC)
  • Primary Health Care Scientists (PHoCuS)
  • North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG)
  • Co-chair of the UK and Ireland Special Interest Group for the International Society for Quality of Life Research (ISOQOL)

Reviewer

  • Reviewer for The Health Improvement Network (THIN) Scientific Review Committee
  • Reviewer for journals, grant applications and conference abstracts

Publications

Recent publications

Article

McMullan, C, Retzer, A, Slade, A, Kyte, D, Jones, L, Belli, T, Calvert, M & Turner, G 2020, 'Care providers’ and patients’ attitudes towards using electronic-patient reported outcomes to support patients with traumatic brain injury (PRiORiTy)', Brain Injury.

Pritchett, RV, Clarke, JL, Jolly, K, Clarkesmith, D, Bem, D, Turner, GM, Thomas, GN & Lane, DA 2020, 'Clinicians' views and experiences of prescribing oral anticoagulants for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation: A qualitative meta-synthesis', PLoS ONE, vol. 15, no. 5, e0232484. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232484

Turner, GM, Litchfield, I, Finnikin, S, Aiyegbusi, OL & Calvert, M 2020, 'General practitioners' views on use of patient reported outcome measures in primary care: a cross-sectional survey and qualitative study', BMC Family Practice, vol. 21, no. 1, 14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-019-1077-6

Litchfield, I, Greenfield, S, Turner, G, Finnikin, S & Calvert, M 2020, 'Implementing PROMS in routine clinical care: A qualitative exploration of GP perspectives', BJGP Open.

Turner, G, Aiyegbusi, OL, Price, G, Skrybant, M & Calvert, M 2020, 'Moving beyond project specific patient and public involvement in research', Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, vol. 113, no. 1, pp. 16-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0141076819890551

Aquino, MRJ, Turner, G & Mant, J 2019, 'Does characterising patterns of multimorbidity in stroke/TIA matter for developing collaborative care approaches in primary care?', Primary Health Care Research & Development, vol. 20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1463423619000240

Retzer, A, Turner, G, Slade, A, Kyte, D, McMullan, C, Jones, L, Belli, A & Calvert, M 2019, 'Electronic patient reported outcomes to support care of patients with traumatic brain injury: PRiORiTy study qualitative protocol', BMJ open, vol. 9, no. 1, e024617. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-024617

Pritchett, R, Bem, D, Turner, G, Thomas, GN, Clarke, J, Fellows, R, Lane, D & Jolly, K 2019, 'Improving the prescription of oral anticoagulants in atrial fibrillation: A systematic review', Thrombosis and Haemostasis, vol. 119, no. 2, pp. 294-307. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0038-1676835

Kyte, D, Retzer, A, Ahmed, K, Keeley, T, Armes, J, Brown, JM, Calman, L, Gavin, A, Glaser, A, Greenfield, DM, Lanceley, A, Taylor, RM, Velikova, G, Brundage, M, Efficace, F, Mercieca-bebber, R, King, MT, Turner, G & Calvert, M 2019, 'Systematic evaluation of Patient-Reported Outcome protocol content and reporting in cancer trials', Journal of the National Cancer Institute, vol. 111, no. 11, pp. 1170-1178. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djz038

Turner, G, McMullan, C, Atkins , L, Foy, R, Mant, J & Calvert, M 2019, 'TIA and minor stroke: a qualitative study of long-term impact and experiences of follow-up care', BMC Family Practice, vol. 20, 176. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-019-1057-x

Turner, G, Mullis, R, Lim, L, Kreit, L & Mant, J 2019, 'Using a checklist to facilitate management of long-term care needs after stroke: insights from focus groups and a feasibility study', BMC Family Practice, vol. 20, no. 1, 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-018-0894-3

Turner, GM, Slade, A, Retzer, A, McMullan, C, Kyte, D, Belli, A & Calvert, M 2018, 'An Introduction to Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) in Trauma', The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. https://doi.org/10.1097/TA.0000000000002102

Turner, GM, Calvert, M, Feltham, MG, Ryan, R, Finnikin, S & Marshall, T 2018, 'Clinical and demographic characteristics associated with suboptimal primary stroke and transient ischemic attack prevention: retrospective analysis', Stroke. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.117.020080

Turner, GM, Backman, R, McMullan, C, Mathers, J, Marshall, T & Calvert, M 2018, 'Establishing research priorities relating to the long-term impact of TIA and minor stroke through stakeholder-centred consensus', Research Involvement & Engagement, vol. 4, no. 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-018-0089-z

Editorial

Turner, G & Mant, J 2019, 'Patient-reported outcomes for subarachnoid hemorrhage: capturing the patients’ perspective', Neurology, vol. 92, no. 6, pp. 259-261. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000006865

View all publications in research portal