About us and our partners

We care deeply about improving patient care through research. We aim to do this by:

• Making patient care better by getting more people involved in research.
• Helping our staff feel confident and give them the skills to spot things that could be improved.
• Give staff training and useful tools so they can get involved in research and see the difference it makes.
• Work closely with others, including Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) groups, universities, and research partners.
• Share and celebrate what we learn from clinical and health research.

Our research performance

The Government wants more patients to have the chance to take part in good‑quality research. To help with this, the Department of Health checks how well we, NHS organisations, set up research studies and involve patients. We must publish our performance four times a year. We are measured in two ways:

• How long it takes to start a clinical trial
• How well it delivers commercial research within agreed times and targets

You can see our performance here.

Meet the team:

Dr John Devapriam is the Chief Medical Officer and Executive lead for research in the Trust. He is a consultant psychiatrist and has been a clinician researcher all his career.

Professor Peter Langdon is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Honorary Director of Research. He helps put our research plan into action so that research becomes a bigger part of healthcare. This will help improve the care given to people living in Herefordshire and Worcestershire. He has led many national studies to help improve the lives of people with learning disabilities and autism.

Sam Topping, Operational Lead for Research and Development, is responsible for looking after research in the Trust. She also supports new research ideas developed by our staff. Sam loves her role as research helps people discover new knowledge and understand the world better. She is especially interested in how organisations think and behave, and enjoys using qualitative research methods to study these things.

Angela Hoadley is the Senior Clinical Research Practitioner. She believes research is important because it helps create better treatments and ways of working that support patients, staff and carers. Her role includes checking if new studies can be carried out in the Trust. She also supports Principal Investigators who want to take part in research (Principal Investigators are staff responsible for leading research studies in our Trust). Angela's background is in mental health and psychology. She describes herself as a quantitative researcher.

Cath Thurlby, Research Nurse, has worked in the NHS for more than 25 years. She has gained lots of experience in many different clinical and support roles. Over the last ten years, Cath has become very passionate about research, helping with many different studies and projects. She feels proud to be part of research that helps improve treatments and make a positive difference for people.

Maria Morelli is a Clinical Research Practitioner who cares about improving people’s lives through safe, high‑quality research. She has a background in Psychology, Criminology, and a Master’s degree in Cognitive Neuroscience. Maria helps open research studies here. She does this by helping with the study plans, finding people to take part, and managing data. Maria loves linking research with real‑life care, always putting patients first.

Hazel Thoo, Clinical Research Practitioner, helps clinical teams and patients get involved in the research studies taking place here. She has worked in similar roles across the Midlands for many years and really enjoys supporting patients throughout their research journey.

Alice Madden is the Research Project Support Officer. Her role is to help more healthcare staff and patients sign up for research studies by using good marketing. Alice also supports projects both in research and in other areas across the organisation. She is delighted to bring skills developed in sales and marketing from outside the NHS to support research here. 

Harriet Davies, Research Support Facilitator, offers expert support to help with the running of research studies. She enjoys setting up new studies and making sure the study goals are reached. Harriet also really cares about helping colleagues and clinical staff take part in the research.

Please email us with any research related questions and queries.

National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR): Also known as the research arm of the NHS, the NIHR’s mission is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. We take part in a number of large scale national research studies. These studies are identified from the NIHR's nationally hosted portfolio of research studies. This means these studies are of a high quality, have received ethics approval and take place at a number of different sites nationally. They cover a whole range of physical and mental health specialities.

Regional Research Networks (RRNs): Within the NIHR there are 12 regional RRNs enabling research to happen at a local level. We sit in the West Midlands which is also the largest local network representing a population of 5.67 million.

Regional Research Network West Midlands (RRN WM): Within RRN WM there are 28 NHS Trusts and 20 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). In RRN WM, NHS research activity is managed and supported by local Research and Development teams like us. This network helps to increase the opportunities for patients to take part in research studies and makes sure studies are carried out efficiently.

Public and Patient Involvement (PPI): The NHS has used the idea of PPI since the Health and Social Care Act 2001. This law showed that patients and the public should be involved and asked for their views about NHS plans, services and resources. Good PPI means people feel included and listened to. Researchers and clinicians are experts, but they don’t have the lived experience of people with the condition. That personal experience is why public involvement matters so much.

University of Worcester: We have had a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Worcester since 2024. An MOU is a document that explains how two groups agree to work together. This is an exciting opportunity to work together on future research opportunities. If you would like further information about this, including the University's research college directory, please get in touch.  

University of Birmingham  

Join Dementia Research: This service helps people sign up to take part in dementia research. People can register their interest, and health professionals then match them to studies that might suit them. People can choose which studies they want to join and give their consent (permission to take part) for each one.

Alzheimer’s Research UK : Alzheimer’s Research UK is ‘the UK’s leading dementia research charity' and has invested in over 1000 dementia projects since 1998. Their mission 'is to bring about the first life-changing dementia treatment by 2025.' They provide free dementia information booklets, and answer questions about dementia and research via their Dementia Research Infoline: 0300 111 5111, or email.