Dr Grace Turner BSc, MSc, PhD

Dr Grace Turner

School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences
Associate Professor

Contact details

Email
g.turner.1@bham.ac.uk
Twitter
@gracemturner
View my research portal
Address
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Grace Turner is an applied health researcher currently undertaking a NIHR post-doctoral fellowship. She has 10 years’ experience in stroke research and is an emerging leader in stroke research. 

Dr Turner is a mixed-methods researcher with expertise in co-production, patient reported outcomes, and Patient, Carer and Public Involvement and Engagement.

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). 

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

Co-founder of the International Special Interest Group for TIA and minor stroke research. This is an international group for individuals with an interest in TIA/ minor stroke research, members from the UK, Denmark and Australia.

Member of the NIHR Academy Involvement Group (2018-present): Represent NIHR Academy Members, in shaping the strategic direction and delivery of the NIHR.

Reviewing:

Regular reviewer for academic journals, including Annals of Internal Medicine, PLoS Medicine, Neurology and BMJ Open

Review grant applications, including NIHR HTA, NIHR RfPB, Stroke Association and Dunhill Medical Trust

Awards

  1. Rising Star Award (2022) Organisation for Psychological Research into Stroke (OPSYRIS)
  2. Nominated for the Founders’ Award for Outstanding Early-Career Academic (2019): University of Birmingham.
  3. Best Poster Prize (2018): British Trauma Society (Manchester).
  4. Best Patient and Public Involvement Award (2018): UK PROMs conference (Birmingham).
  5. PERCAT Academic Citizenship award (2017): Awarded for going 'above and beyond' job role.
  6. European Stroke Research Foundation (ESRF) Investigator Award (2017): European Stroke Conference (Berlin).
  7. David Morgan Presentation Prize (2016): Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Research Symposium (Warwick).
  8. Pearl Award (Awarded to the top research studies that will impact clinical practice) (2015): North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) Conference (Mexico).- Missed opportunities for stroke prevention.
  9. Pearl Award (Awarded to the top research studies that will impact clinical practice) (2015): NAPCRG Conference (Mexico)- Long-term impact of TIA.
  10. Distinguished paper presentation (2015): NAPCRG Conference (Mexico)
  11. Highest scoring abstract for Health and Population Sciences (2015): Medical and Dental Sciences Graduate Research Festival (Birmingham).
  12. Best Poster Prize (2014): NIHR School for Primary Care Research Showcase (Oxford)
  13. First time presenter award (2014): Australian Association for Academic Primary Care, (Canberra).
  14. AstraZeneca Research Prize (2009): Awarded for highest scoring MSc thesis.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

McMullan, C, Haroon, S, Turner, G, Aiyegbusi, OL, Hughes, SE, Flanagan, S, Subramanian, A, Nirantharakumar, K, Davies, EH, Frost, C, Jackson, L, Guan, N, Alder, Y, Chong, A, Buckland, L, Jeyes, F, Stanton, DE & Calvert, M 2025, 'Mixed methods study of views and experience of non-hospitalised individuals with long COVID of using pacing interventions', Scientific Reports, vol. 15, 14467. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-96319-6

Turner, G, Calvert, M, Foy, R, Atkins, L, Collis, P, Tearne, S, Jowett, S, Handley, K & Mant, J 2025, 'Structured follow-up pathway to address unmet needs after transient ischaemic attack and minor stroke (SUPPORT TIA): Feasibility study and process evaluation', PLOS ONE, vol. 20, no. 3, e0317425. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317425

McMullan, C, Turner, G, Retzer, A, Belli, T, Davies, EH, Nice, L, Flavell, J, Flavell, L & Calvert, M 2025, 'Testing an electronic patient-reported outcome platform in the context of Traumatic Brain Injury: the PRiORiTy usability study', JMIR Formative Research, vol. 9, e58128. https://doi.org/10.2196/58128

McMullan, C, Haroon, S, Turner, G, Aiyegbusi, OL, Subramanian, A, Hughes, SE, Flanagan, S, Nirantharakumar, K, Davies, EH, Frost, C, Jackson, L, Guan, N, Alder, Y, Chong, A, Buckland, L, Jeyes, F, Stanton, D & Calvert, M 2024, 'Key considerations for digital decentralised clinical trials from a feasibility study assessing pacing interventions for Long COVID', Scientific Reports, vol. 14, 22083. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-61827-4

Turner, G, McMullan, C, Aiyegbusi, OL, Hughes, S, Walker, A, Jeyes, F, Adler, Y, Chong, A, Buckland, L, Stanton, DE, Davies, EH, Haroon, S & Calvert, M 2023, 'Co-production of a feasibility trial of pacing interventions for Long COVID', Research Involvement & Engagement, vol. 9, no. 1, 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-023-00429-2

Holch, P, Turner, G, Keetharuth, AD, Gibbons, E, Cocks, K & Absolom, KL 2023, 'The impact of COVID-19 on PRO development, collection and implementation: views of UK and Ireland professionals', Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes, vol. 7, no. 1, 121. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41687-023-00663-y

Hughes, S, Haroon, S, Subramanian, A, McMullan, C, Aiyegbusi, OL, Turner, G, Jackson, L, Davies, EH, Frost, C, McNamara, G, Price, G, Matthews, K, Camaradou, J, Ormerod, J, Walker, A & Calvert, M 2022, 'Development and validation of the symptom burden questionnaire for long covid (SBQ-LC): Rasch analysis', BMJ, vol. 377, e070230. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2022-070230

Turner, G, Aquino, MRJV, Atkins , L, Foy, R, Mant, J & Calvert, M 2022, 'Factors influencing follow-up care post-TIA and minor stroke: a qualitative study using the theoretical domains framework', BMC Health Services Research, vol. 22, no. 1, 235 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-07607-0

Comment/debate

Aiyegbusi, OL, McMullan, C, Hughes, SE, Turner, GM, Haroon, S, Hotham, R, Brown, K, Alder, Y, Agyen, L, Buckland, L, Camaradou, J, Chong, A, Jeyes, F, Matthews, KL, Moore, P, Ormerod, J, Price, G, Saint-Cricq, M, Stanton, D, Walker, A & Calvert, MJ 2024, 'Implementation of patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) for the therapies for long COVID in non-hospitalised individuals (TLC) project', Research Involvement & Engagement, vol. 10, no. 1, 120. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-024-00654-3

Routen, A, O'Mahoney, LL, Aiyegbusi, OL, Alder , Y, Banerjee, A, Buckland, L, Brightling, CE, Calvert, M, Camaradou, J, Chaturvedi, N, Chong, A, Dalrymple, E, Eggo, RM, Elliott, P, Evans, RA, Gibson, A, Haroon, S, Herrett, E, Houchen-Wolloff, L, Hughes, S, Jeyes, F, Matthews, K, McMullan, C, Morley, J, Shafran, R, Smith, N, Stanton, DE, Stephenson, T, Sterne, JAC, Turner, G, Ward, H & Khunti, K 2023, 'Patient and public involvement within epidemiological studies of Long Covid in the United Kingdom', Nature Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02251-5

Preprint

Subramanian, A, Nirantharakumar, K, Hughes, S, Myles, P, Williams, T, Gokhale, K, Taverner, T, Chandan, J, Brown, K, Simms-Williams, N, Shah, A, Singh, M, Kidy, F, Okoth, K, Hotham, R, Bashir, N, Cockburn, N, Lee, S, Turner, G, Gkoutos, G, Aiyegbusi, OL, McMullan, C, Denniston, A, Sapey, E, Lord, J, Wraith, D, Leggett, E, Iles, C, Marshall, T, Price, M, Marwaha, S, Davies, EH, Jackson, L, Camaradou, J, Calvert, M & Haroon, S 2022 'Assessment of 115 symptoms for Long COVID (post-COVID-19 condition) and their risk factors in non-hospitalised individuals: a retrospective matched cohort study in UK primary care' Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1343889/v1

Review article

Hughes, SE, Aiyegbusi, OL, McMullan, C, Turner, GM, Anderson, N, Cruz Rivera, S, Collis, P, Glasby, J, Lasserson, D & Calvert, M 2024, 'Patient-reported outcomes in integrated health and social care: A scoping review', JRSM Open, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/20542704241232866

Aiyegbusi, OL, McMullan, C, Hughes, SE, Turner, GM, Subramanian, A, Hotham, R, Davies, EH, Frost, C, Alder, Y, Agyen, L, Buckland, L, Camaradou, J, Chong, A, Jeyes, F, Kumar, S, Matthews, KL, Moore, P, Ormerod, J, Price, G, Saint-Cricq, M, Stanton, D, Walker, A, Haroon, S, Denniston, AK, Calvert, MJ, Brown, K, Singh Chandan, J, Gkoutos, GV, Jackson, LJ, Lord, JM, Marshall, T, Marwaha, S, Myles, P, Nirantharakumar, K, Rivera, SC, Sapey, E, Simms-Williams, N, Williams, T & Wraith, DC 2023, 'Considerations for patient and public involvement and engagement in health research', Nature Medicine, vol. 29, no. 8, pp. 1922-1929. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02445-x

Hede Ebbesen, B, Modrau, B, Kontou, E, Finch, E, Crowfoot, G, Crow, J, Heron, N, Hodson, T, Skrubbeltrang, C & Turner, G 2023, 'Lasting impairments following transient ischemic attack and minor stroke: a systematic review protocol', Frontiers in neurology, vol. 14, 1177309. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2023.1177309

Chandan, J, Brown, K, Simms-Williams, N, Bashir, NZ, Camaradou, J, Heining, D, Turner, G, Cruz Rivera, S, Hotham, R, Minhas, S, Nirantharakumar, K, Sivan, M, Khunti, K, Raindi, D, Marwaha, S, Hughes, S, McMullan, C, Marshall, T, Calvert, M, Haroon, S & Aiyegbusi, OL 2023, 'Non-pharmacological therapies for post-viral syndromes, including Long COVID: a systematic review', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 20, no. 4, 3477. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043477

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