Research and Development Conference

Tuesday 13 October:

• 10am — 12.15pm: Learning Disability Focus

Dr Amy Russell: is an Associate Professor of Health Inequalities at the University of Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, in the Faculty of Medicine & Health. She leads a portfolio of research addressing health inequalities in research design, research governance, and clinical practice for “under-served” populations. She has significant experience working with historically excluded populations including women who have experienced human trafficking, people with learning disabilities and women with disabilities. Her current research, funded by Wellcome and NIHR and collaborating with the HRA and MRC-NIHR Trial Research Methodology Partnership, aims to improve inclusion in applied health research for under-served populations with a particular focus on people with a learning disability. She previously worked at the WHO Disability Team, collaborating on the Global Report on Health Equity for People with a Disability 2022 and is now a member of the WHO Disability Health Equity Network. 

Gary Bourlet: Gary has been a self-advocate for over 30 years and is a Co-Founder of Learning Disability England. Before this, he founded People First England in the UK. As well as being a civil rights campaigner, Gary is Membership and Engagement lead at Learning Disability England with extra focus as self advocate spokesperson.

Dr. Rory Sheehan: Is a Senior Clinical Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London. His research focuses on the health and healthcare of people with neurodevelopmental conditions, with particular emphasis on health inequalities and improving outcomes. He is a member of the LeDeR academic collaboration, running from 2021 to 2026. Alongside his academic role, Dr Sheehan works clinically as a Consultant Psychiatrist in a community team for adults with intellectual disability and autistic adults in south-east London.

Dr Louisa Rhodes: I am a clinician working as part of a specialist team that supports adults with Learning Disabilities, their families, carers, provider organisations and partner agencies. I am passionate about being involved in qualitative research that hears directly from people with learning disabilities and can be used to inform how we work with people.  In my research and my clinical work I have always made sure we are involving people with learning disabilities, their families, carers and support networks in the design, development and delivery of projects and services intended to meet their needs. I have a special interest in the prevention of admission and readmission into mental health hospitals.  

• 1-3pm: Psychosis Focus

Professor Graham Murray: is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at University of Cambridge and Consultant Psychiatrist in the Cambridge early intervention in psychosis service, CAMEO, part of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Trust. He studied Physics and Philosophy at Oxford University followed by Medicine at King’s College London. He did postgraduate psychiatric training in Cambridge and Suffolk, and research training in Cambridge and University of Oulu in Finland. His research focusses on the causes, mechanisms and treatment of mental illness (mainly psychosis and depression). He uses a variety of research methods, including epidemiology, neuroscience, computational psychiatry, genomics, electronic health records and clinical trials. He leads the early psychosis workstream of the NIHR Translational Research Collaboration, and the early psychosis workstream of the Mental Health Mission, a large scale project funded by the NIHR and Office of Life Sciences to improve UK mental health translational research infrastructure.

Dr Marie Bowers: Marie is an Academic Psychiatry trainee at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation trust (CPFT). She has a background in Neuroscience and currently works within the Cambridge Centre for Precision Psychiatry and Data Science (CPPDS) research group at Cambridge University lead by Professor Murray. Marie spent a year recruiting for The Early Intervention Mission, a longitudinal observational cohort study of individuals with first episode psychosis lead by the research group and is interested in widening access and improving research engagement for people with psychosis.

Dr Dominic Oliver: is a Senior Researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on translating advances in artificial intelligence and data science into scalable tools that support earlier detection for people at risk of severe mental disorders. He has a specific focus on implementation, ensuring that advances that any tools developed can be translated into practical tools that tangibly improve patient care.

Dr Jodie Russell: Is a research fellow in the School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham in the Epistemic Injustice in Healthcare (EPIC) project. She researches cases of epistemic injustice among young people with psychosis and is interested in applying intersectional, feminist approaches and phenomenology to better understand experiences of mental disorder. Previously, she was a Teaching Fellow and PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh and worked on applying topics in philosophy of mind to philosophy of psychiatry by, namely, drawing out implications from models of mind for our understanding of mental disorder.

Wednesday 14 October:

• 10am — 12noon: Management of Long Term Conditions

Prof Sally Singh:

Prof Suzanne Reeves: is a Professor of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychopharmacology and, since Sept 2023, has been Head of the Mental Health of Older Adults Department in the Division of Psychiatry, University College London, the Mental Health in Neurodegeneration subtheme lead for the University College London Hospital Biomedical Research Centre and the Translational Research Lead for North London Foundation Trust.

Her research is predominantly focused on understanding the cognitive neuroscience of delusions and hallucinations in older people with neurodegenerative disorders, optimising use of existing antipsychotic drug treatments, and identifying novel alternative treatments. She is currently Chief Investigator of the Parkinson's UK funded, UK-wide Trial of Ondansetron as a Parkinson's HAllucinations Treatment - TOP HAT.

Dr Stephanie Rossit: After earning her degree in Psychology from the University of the Algarve (Portugal) and completing a PhD at the University of Glasgow on stroke-related visual neglect, Dr. Rossit moved to Canada’s Brain and Mind Institute to explore the neural control of action using cutting-edge neuroimaging. Now based at the University of East Anglia (UK), Dr. Rossit leads the Neuropsychology Laboratory (Neurolab) - a group working on interdisciplinary research uniting Neuroscience, Psychology, and Medicine. Her research tackles big questions about how the brain supports perception, attention, and action and how these processes break down and can be restored after brain disease. Dr. Rossit’s team works closely with patients affected by stroke, traumatic brain injury, and dementia, developing novel, evidence-based rehabilitation approaches that combine cognitive neuroscience with clinical practice. Her work has been funded by the NIHR, MRC, EU, and major charities, and she currently leads the largest multicentre clinical trial of a cognitive rehabilitation intervention for stroke survivors with visual neglect – the SIGHT trial.

• 1-3.15pm: Health Inequalities: hosted by the University of Worcester

Dr Peter Unwin: Principal Lecturer in social work at the University of Worcester. He has published widely and has a special interest in social justice and the voices of lived experience. He leads the University’s ‘Health Inequalities and Social Justice’ Research Group, where he champions co-production in research.  Peter’s recent research has been in the field of Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities where he has explored mental health, disability, kinship care and ethnicity categorisation. He currently supervises seven PhD students, whose topics range across care leavers, autism, kinship care and the media representation of Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers. 

Dr Cate Rose: Cate is a Chartered Psychologist and Research Fellow at the University of Worcester, with over 12 years’ experience in research and evaluation across public and voluntary sectors. Her work focuses on qualitative evaluation, co‑production, and reducing health inequalities. She currently leads projects that aim to increase capacity and engagement in health research in rural primary care, CORE20 communities, and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller populations across Herefordshire and Worcestershire, with a focus on developing and sustaining partnerships across VCSE, faith and healthcare sectors to enable inclusive research participation. Cate has also led evaluations of NHS workforce transformation and digital innovation projects.

Dr Shirley Evans: Is Director of the Association for Dementia Studies, a research centre at the University of Worcester. She is passionate about post-diagnostic support and community-based interventions for people affected by dementia as well as the use of technology by older people and people with disabilities. She has led/lead a range of NIHR funded projects related to dementia care. She is a member of the Interdem Assistive Technology/Artificial Intelligence Task Force building on over 25 years of working in the field of inclusive learning technology. Shirley is Chair of the charity Dementia Matters Herefordshire and has led the implementation of a range of community-based initiatives across the county.

Dr Ruby Swift: Is a Research Associate at the Association for Dementia Studies, University of Worcester. Her work explores how dementia, care and relationships are experienced, understood and worked with. She uses qualitative and mixed‑methods approaches, including participatory and realist methods, and works closely with people affected by dementia to ensure research reflects lived experience. Her research spans community‑based support, accessibility, and the arts.

Professor Liz Hughes: Is Professor of Mental Health Inequalities and lead for the THRIVE Rural mental health programme. This is funded by the NIHR and a partnership between University of Worcester and Birmingham. Liz's background is in mental health nursing, and her focus of research is on people with complex needs including substance use, sexual health and interpersonal violence. 

Professor Dez Kyte: Is Professor of Physiotherapy at the University of Worcester, where he leads internationally recognised research in patient-reported outcomes, digital health, and long-term conditions. He leads the Living Well with Long-Term Conditions research group and is involved in several NIHR-funded programmes, with a focus on improving symptom monitoring, patient experience and service delivery quality. His work is underpinned by evidence-based, patient-centred approaches, including the development and implementation of electronic PROMs in clinical practice. He collaborates widely with academic and clinical partners, contributing to research that informs policy, enhances care pathways, and supports better outcomes for people living with chronic conditions.

Laura Burley: PhD: Identifying Effective Ways to Deliver Rural Early Intervention in Psychosis (REiP). Background: I qualified as a mental health nurse following completion of my undergraduate degree at the University of Northampton in 2018. I worked in Shropshire on an acute ward initially before working for the Early Intervention in Psychosis service. I completed a masters in mental health sciences research at UCL alongside working as a community nurse. I finished my masters in 2025 and applied for this PhD studentship which aligned strongly with my interests for research and clinical experience.

Andy Bolt: PhD:  Enhancing Severe Mental Illness care through electronic patient reported outcomes (EMPOWER). Background: Andy is an engineer by background, primarily working in the aerospace and communications sectors in a range of roles such as managing complex projects, operational planning and developing cutting edge technology. During the covid pandemic Andy moved into the healthcare sector, working on the development of a new hospital under the New Hospital Programme and as an emergency responder in several voluntary roles.

2025 Conference agenda including recordings:

Tuesday 14.10.25:

10am-12.15pm: Psychosis focus 

• 10-10.05am: Sam Topping: Welcome
• 10.05-10.15am: Prof Peter Langdon: Conference opener. 
• 10:15-10.50am: Dr Ayo Amiola: ‘Psychosis in Neuro-developmental Disorders: a case series and reflections on diagnosis and management.’ 
• 10.50-11am: Break
• 11-11.35am: Dr Charlotte Aynsworth and Dr Samuel Sargeant:  ‘The value in being curious about visions in psychosis.’   
• 11.35am-12.10pm: Prof Ian Maidment: 'Non-pharmacological interventions for antipsychotic-induced weight gain in people living with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) - key findings from the NIHR RESOLVE study.'
• 12.10-12.15pm: Sam Topping: Thanks and close   

1-3pm: Dementia focus

• 1-1.05pm: Sam Topping: Welcome
• 1.05-1.40pm: Dr Ruan-Ching Yu: ‘Hearing loss and dementia risk: Exploring the links and implications.’ 
• 1.40-1.45pm: Break
• 1.45-2.20pm: James Ridley: ‘Looking at the future, supporting healthy ageing in people with a learning disability.'   
• 2.20-2.55pm: Faith Frost:  ‘Crossing the Line: Providing personal care in the context of families affected by dementia.’ 
• 2.55-3pm: Sam Topping: Thanks and close. 

Wednesday 15.10.24:

10am-12noon: Learning Disability focus:

• 10-10.05am: Sam Topping: Welcome
• 10.05-10.40am: Prof Kylie Gray: 'Specific phobias in children and adolescents with moderate-severe learning disabilities (SPIRIT): An adaptation and feasibility study.' 
• 10.40-10.45am: Break
• 10.45-11.20am: Prof Richard Hastings: ‘ Positive Family Connections: Co-producing with family carers a support programme for family  carers of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.’
• 11.20-11.55am: Dr Josh Hodgson:  'An exploration of student nurse attitudes towards learning disability nursing from outside the field.' 
• 11.55am-12noon: Sam Topping: Thanks and close 

1-3.15pm: Community Engagement in Research:

• 1-1.05pm: Sam Topping: Welcome
• 1.05-1.35pm: Simone Thompson & Sam Topping:  ‘Research in a rural community.’ 
• 1.35-2.05pm: Angela Lickorish: ‘A journey of a regional West Midlands Research Engagement Network project and it’s utilisation of research buses.' 
• 2.05-2.15pm: Break
• 2.15-2.45pm: Dr Magdalena Skrybant & Joy Krishnamoorthy:  'Developing Sustainable Relationships: Community & Cultural Immersion Programme: for Early Career Researchers, for NHS Staff and Leaders, for emerging healthcare practitioners.' 
• 2.45-3.15pm: Prof Liz Hughes: 'Helping Herefordshire and Worcestershire THRIVE: Improving Rural Mental Health through Community Involved, Applied Research.' 
• 3.15pm: Sam Topping: Thanks and close. 

2024 Conference agenda including recordings:

Monday 14 Oct: Strengthening & Conditioning and MSK Focus inc session on behavioural change (10.30am — 1.15pm)

•  Prof Peter Langdon: Conference welcome and opener
• Dr Claire Minshull: 'The Relative Importance of Restoring Qualities of Strength and Power For Older Populations.'  
• Prof Danielle van der Windt: 'Development and evaluation of a person-centred intervention for patients with shoulder pain: the PANDA-S programme.' 
•  Serena Simmons: 'How patient psychology and behaviour change can transform your practice.'  

Tuesday 15 Oct: Psychiatry - Psychosis focus (10.30am — 1.15pm)

Recording for the whole of this session is available here.

• Prof Matthew Broome: ‘From Delusions to Early Intervention, Bullying, and Youth Mental Health’
• Prof Joanna Moncrieff: 'The RADAR trial: results and reflection'
• Dr Jodie Russell: 'Communicating Ineffable Experiences: a way forward with phenomenology'

Wednesday 16 Oct: Dementia focus (10.30am — 1.15pm)

Recording for the whole session is available here. 

• Dr Emma Wolverson: 'Inpatient Mental Health Wards for People with Dementia- can we create an evidence base?'
• Jessica Roebuck , Stakeholder Engagement Manager, RDN Coordinating Centre (RDNCC), NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN).
• Prof Vanessa Raymont: 'How biomarkers are changing dementia research and treatment'

Thursday 17 Oct: What’s happening in Herefordshire and Worcestershire? (10.30am — 1pm)

•  Dr Natasha Lord: 'Implementing a Digital Life Stories Project on an inpatient dementia ward: Initial findings and reflections' 
• Saff Davies: 'Exploring links between hearing loss and Dementia in adults with Down Syndrome.' 
• Community Research Engagement Projects: 
  • REACH* Worcestershire: 'Using community co-production to develop a framework for research engagement.' 
  • CLeaR* Herefordshire: 'What we heard from communities in Herefordshire about Research.'  

*REACH: Research Engagement and Community Health           *CLeaR: Community Led Engagement and Research

Friday 18 Oct: Launch of the Memorandum of Understanding between our Trust and University of Worcester (10.30am — 1pm)

Whole session recording available here 

• Dr Kath Gordon-Smith: 'The Bipolar Disorder Research Network (BDRN) sample and True Colours online mood monitoring.'
• Dr Catharine Rose: ‘You weren’t who I expected to meet’: Researchers within Communities.'
• Thomas  Morton: 'Crossing the Line: Providing personal care in the context of families affected by dementia.'

2023 Conference agenda including recordings:

Day 1 - 16.10.23: Social & Community Psychiatry; Peri-natal mental health; Addiction; Psychosis and cognitive neuroscience

• Conference opener: Prof Peter Langdon.  
• 'Youth mental health:  how did we get here?'- Prof Swaran Singh.    
• 'Reaching family members affected by substance use: a digital intervention'- Dr Jan Larkin.    
• 'Maternal and infant mental health, research into clinical practice' - Claire Marshall.  
•  'How I became a researcher in the field of psychosis and cognitive neuroscience' - Dr Maria Dauvermam.   

Day 2 - 17.10.23: Psychosis; Cognitive screening and rehabilitation; Dementia

•  'What have we learned after 25 years of early intervention in psychosis?' - Prof Max Birchwood.    
• 'Meeting Centres for people affected by dementia: you never know what's round the corner' - Dr Shirley Evans. 
• ' Cognitive screening and rehabilitation in MS' - Prof Rosh das Nair.          

Day 3 - 18.10.23: Inspirational research career journeys 

• 'A clinical academic career; from curious undergraduate community nurse to Professor of Palliative Care'- Prof Catherine Evans.    
• 'Finding my path to community-based research: 51 years in the making' - Sarah Ellison.   
• 'From Plato to psychiatry via psychosis - looking back and looking forwards as Bipolar UK's first Director of Research'- Tania Gergel.   
• 'From family carer to researcher: My journey into the dementia homecare research sphere'- Dr Monica Leverton. 

Day 4: 19.10.23: Dietetics; Rehabilitation & Conditioning; Community based research; the RIVA study

• 'The pathway to becoming a clinical academic lead at Great Ormond Street Hospital'- Dr Graeme O’Connor.  
• 'Translating evidence-based practice from elite sport to patient populations; everyone is an athlete'- Prof Claire Minshull.  
• 'Excluded Citizens – Hard to Reach or not Reached out to Hard Enough?' - Prof Eleanor Bradley and Dr Peter Unwin.    
• 'The RIVA study: Evaluating models of health based independent domestic violence advisor provision in maternity settings' - Dr Fiona Challacombe.   

Day 5: 20.10.23: EBP - what's happening here at HWHCT

• 'NHS Early Rehabilitation Gym Strength Class: MSK-HQ Changes, Patient Satisfaction and Ongoing Self-Management for Mixed Ages and Musculoskeletal Conditions'- Simon Meadows.   
• ‘Neighbourhood Mental Health Team Occupational Matters Programme’ - Abigail Brown. 
• 'Exploring links between hearing loss and Dementia in adults with Down Syndrome'- Saffron Davies.
•  'Health Inequalities: Adult Obesity within Physiotherapy, PhD Research Overview' - Paul MacDonald - Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner, HWHCT.  
• 'Behavioural therapy for anxiety amongst autistic adults with moderate to severe learning disabilities' - Prof Peter Langdon.  

2022 Conference agenda including recordings

Monday 10.10.22:

Session 1: What is Research? 12noon – 1pm

• What is research and why does it matter? - Stuart Banham (Chief Pharmacist)
• What’s the difference between service evaluation, clinical audit and research? What’s in it for me and my patients including underserved communities – Sam Topping (Research & Development Manager).
• Where does research take place? Inc research outreach work done so far – Alice Madden (Research Project Support Officer)

Session 2: Who does Research? 1.30pm – 2.45pm

• Who’s who and who does what in the research world. Launching the research collaborator role. What is a PI (Principal Investigator)? - Sam Topping (Research & Development Manager)
• My experience of being a PI for the first time working on BEAMS-ID – Katherine Byron-Daniels (Clinical Psychologist)
• My experience of being a PI - currently on ADEPP – Barny Major (Consultant Psychiatrist, Associate Medical Director, Herefordshire Mental Health and LD services)
• My experience of being a PI for the 1st time working on EDGI – Matt Rae (Clinical Lead North & West Herefordshire Neighbourhood Mental Health Service)

Tuesday 11.10.22:

Session 3: EBP showcase within HWHCT: 12noon – 1.15pm

• Gaining a global perspective on Occupational Therapy Research – Alice Turnbull (Service Lead for Paediatric Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy)
• Dietetic Research Opportunities – Marti van der Linde (Community Paediatric Dietitian Worcestershire North)
• Measuring the Impact of the Kids on the Move Virtual Intervention Programme for Children and Families within the Paediatric Occupational Therapy Service – Louise Boother (Specialist Occupational Therapist in Additional Services, Innovation and SEND)

Wednesday 12.10.22:

Session 4: Developing my own Research: 12noon – 1.15pm

• How to get started; developing an idea; Associate Principle Investigator (PI) role – Sam Topping (Research & Development Manager):
• Associate PI for the ADEPP Study – Kieran Groom (CT3 Doctor in CAMHS)
• My research story so far… - Peter Langdon (Honorary Associate Director of Research; Consultant Clinical Psychologist and CI (Chief Investigator) leading national studies focused upon improving the lives of people with learning disabilities and/or autism)

Thursday 13.10.22:

Session 5: Putting Research findings into Practise: 12noon – 1.15pm

• Measuring the impact of the change from face-to-face to virtual appointments evaluation – Sam Topping (Research & Development Manager)
• Experience of the RADAR study - Barny Major (Consultant Psychiatrist, Associate Medical Director, Herefordshire Mental Health and LD services)

*EBP = Evidence Based Practise

Evidence Based Practice (EBP) Conference: 16-18 November 2021

Speakers included:

• Simon Meadows (Clinical Lead Physiotherapist)
• Simone van Dalen (Physiotherapy Team Leader)
• Clare McFadyen (OT at New Haven)
• Rosie Callaghan (Tissue Viability Lead Nurse)
• Martha van der Linde (Community Paediatric Dietitian)
• Chrissy Walker (OT Neighbourhood Team 1)
• Alice Turnbull (Service Lead for Paediatric OT and Physiotherapy)
• Emma Jesic (Specialist Paediatric OT & OT Lead for Neurodevelopment)
• Nicola Bundy (CAMHS Practitioner)
• Abigail Matthews (OT in Hereford Neighbourhood Mental Health Service)
• Dr Kerry Gaskin (Head of Department - Midwifery and CPD; Principal Lecturer in Advanced Clinical Practice,from the University of Worcester)
• Cliff Lewis (Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner)