Dr Christopher Poyner BA MA PhD

• PGCHE, University of Birmingham, 2020
• PhD in Applied Dementia Studies, University of Stirling, 2019
• MA Social Research (Social Policy), University of Birmingham, 2013
• BA Sociology, University of Warwick, 2011

Dr Christopher Poyner is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Evidence and Implementation Science. He is experienced in conducting applied health and social care research across academic, clinical and community settings. His research interests centre on understanding and addressing health and social inequalities, with expertise in working with populations who may experience disadvantage, discrimination, social exclusion or barriers to accessing services.

During his career, Christopher has contributed to a diverse programme of qualitative research. At the University of Stirling, he researched the usability of digital medication-management systems within care homes and explored experiences of homelessness and living in deprived neighbourhoods among people from the LGBTQ+ community.

Christopher subsequently worked as a Research Associate at the University of Salford Institute for Dementia, where he facilitated and evaluated peer support and community engagement activities within a purpose-built dementia hub. In 2018, he joined University of Birmingham as a Qualitative Research Fellow, contributing to a range of clinical trials and applied health research programmes. His work included qualitative research within the CALIBRE trial of treatments for oesophageal varices and the eTHOS trial evaluating a hospital-based health screening intervention for NHS staff.

From 2023, Christopher held an NIHR Dementia Research Fellowship, developing multiple research projects. These were focused upon the rural lived experience of dementia; personalising home care for people living with dementia; and understanding best practice in football-based community support for people living with dementia. Christopher’s experiencing has enabled him to develop extensive expertise in qualitative and mixed-methods research, ethnography, process evaluation, implementation research, PPIE and co-production. He has worked collaboratively with academics, clinicians, trial teams, health professionals, community organisations and people with lived experience.

In September 2026, Christopher joined the Evidence Based Surgery Research Group within the Centre for Evidence and Implementation Science. In this role, he will conduct the process evaluation for the NIHR funded PERI-Ox clinical trial.

Christopher is also a co-applicant on the NIHR Three School’s funded ‘Dementia FC’ research project aiming to co-develop resources to establish and run dementia initiatives through football organisations.