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Leadership Team

Professor Emma Pitchforth

Head of Department – Health and Community Sciences (Medical School)

Professor Emma Pitchforth

I am Co-Chair of the Women's Health Research Group in the Medical School and Training and Capacity Development co-Lead for the National School of Primary Care Research, Exeter.

Email: e.pitchforth@exeter.ac.uk

Professor Siobhan Creanor

Deputy Head of Department - Health and Community Sciences (Medical School)

Professor Siobhan Creanor

I am a Professor of Medical Statistics and Clinical Trials. I am a Director of the UKCRC-registered Exeter Clinical Trials Unit (ExeCTU).

E-mail: E.S.Creanor@exeter.ac.uk

Professor Felicity Thomas

Director of Research and Impact, Professor of Culture and Health Inequalities

Professor Felicity Thomas

Research in the Department for Health and Community Sciences is driven by a shared commitment to improving health and wellbeing experiences and outcomes for all. Our work aims to deliver positive impact in partnership with individuals and communities at national and international levels.

My role is to support the department in strengthening research impact and sustainability, and to help foster an inclusive research culture. I have a strong belief that research should be built through collaborative partnerships which engage meaningfully and responsibly with those affected by the issue at hand.

Email: F.Thomas@exeter.ac.uk

Professor Anne Corbett

Co-Director of Business Engagement and Innovation, Professor in Dementia Research

Professor Anne Corbett

As Director of Business Engagement and Innovation I will be collaborating with colleagues to understand the ongoing research and identify opportunities for innovation and commercialisation. This role involves facilitating closer collaboration between staff and industry partners and making recommendations to improve the current infrastructure to support business engagement across the department.

My primary aim is to dispel myths and fears commonly associated with industry engagement, providing staff with a clear vision of their options for innovation and collaboration with businesses. Additionally, I am greatly enthusiastic about discovering the fascinating research within the department and exploring its potential.

Email: A.Corbett@exeter.ac.uk

Professor Elsa Marques

Co-Director of Business Engagement and Innovation, Professor of Health Economics

Professor Elsa Marques

As a co-director for Business Engagement and Innovation (BEI), I will be working closely with Anne Corbett and the leadership team to develop and implement a BEI strategy for health and community sciences. I will bring my expertise in delivering research in partnership with external organisations to strengthen our outward-facing, innovative, and world-leading research portfolio, building on the strengths and research excellence already existing at health and community sciences.

I am a health economist by background and lead a portfolio of studies in musculoskeletal research triangulating analyses of large routinely collected administrative patient records data with evidence synthesis methods to build cost and cost-effectiveness models for elective and trauma surgery. I look forward to working with all staff and students in the department to help them develop their opportunities to engage and benefit from external research partnerships.

Email: e.marques@exeter.ac.uk

Professor William Henley

Director of Global Engagement

Professor William Henley

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the benefits of new patterns of working, and how global collaboration and sharing of data is needed to solve the global health challenges of our times. My role is to enable the Department to strengthen and expand our range of global partnerships with both academia and industry, and to help diversify and grow international student recruitment. Through exploring new opportunities for transnational education the Department continues to build the existing portfolio of high-quality postgraduate education and reflecting the breadth of methodological expertise amongst its faculty.

Email: W.E.Henley@exeter.ac.uk

Dr Jane Smith

Co-Director of Postgraduate Research, Senior Lecturer in Primary Care

Dr Jane Smith

Email: Jane.Smith@exeter.ac.uk

Professor Julia Frost

Co-Director of Postgraduate research, Professor in Health Services Research

Professor Julia Frost

I am Associate Professor of Health Services Research and lead the Qualitative Research Reference Group. I am a Medical Sociologist.

Email: J.Frost@exeter.ac.uk

Associate Professor Sarah Bradley

Director of Education and Student Experience

Professor Sarah Bradley

I am Associate Professor of Medical Education. As Director of Education & Student Experience in the Department of Health & Community Sciences, I lead the development and delivery of Masters-level programmes which aim to improve patient care by supporting the continuing professional development of healthcare professionals as educators, leaders and researchers.

Email: S.Bradley@exeter.ac.uk

Dr Kristin Liabo

Co-Director, Equality Diversity and Inclusion

Dr Kristin Liabo

I am an Associate Professor and lead the Engaged Health Research Group. I am co-lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) with Alison Pearson. I ensure the department is represented on relevant committees, I initiate changes to policies in order to improve EDI and I am here to help if you have any EDI related queries. The Department’s EDI committee meets bi-monthly.

Email: K.Liabo@exeter.ac.uk

Dr Alison Pearson

Co-Director - Equality, Diversion and Inclusion

Dr Alison Pearson

Email: A.Pearson5@exeter.ac.uk

Dr Rebecca Whear

WICC (Wellbeing, Inclusion and Culture Committee) representative.

Dr Rebecca Whear

I am a Senior Research Fellow in the PenARC Evidence Synthesis Team and the ISCA Evidence team commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Care Research. My role as the Department of Health and Community Sciences Wellbeing, Inclusion and Culture representative is to understand and advocate for all aspects of wellbeing and inclusion within our Department’s culture. Do achieve this, I work with Sian the Departments ECR lead, Liz the ECR rep for the faculty WICC and the EDI team as well as the rest of the department leadership team.

Email: R.S.Whear@exeter.ac.uk

Dr Liz Shaw

Early Career Researchers Representative

Dr Liz Shaw

I am Dr Liz Shaw (Clin Psych D), Senior Research Fellow based in the Exeter Policy Research Programme Evidence Review Facility. This team carries our systematic reviews to inform government policy. I am the representative for Early Career Researchers on the Faculty Wellbeing Inclusion and Culture Committee and also part of the Equality Diversity and Inclusion group for the department of Health and Life Sciences.

Email: E.H.Shaw@exeter.ac.uk

Dr Sian de Bell

Early Career Researchers Network Lead

Dr Sian de Bell

I am a Research Fellow in the Exeter HSDR Evidence Synthesis Centre and Methodologist for the NIHR Specialist Centre for Public Health Research Support Services – South West Satellite. My role as the Department of Health and Community Sciences Early Career Researcher network lead is to represent and advocate for ECRs in the department at cross-faculty meetings such as the ECR Liaison Forum, and to signpost and organise training and events aimed at the ECR community.

Email: S.C.De-Bell@exeter.ac.uk

Rose Cohen

Department Manager

Rose Cohen

Rose is the Department Manager for Health and Community Sciences, part of the University of Exeter Medical School. She supports the academic Head of Department in delivering the strategic and operational priorities of the department.

Email: R.Cohen3@exeter.ac.uk

Dr Sam van Beurden

Senior PGR Pastoral Tutor
Senior Research Fellow in Complex Interventions

Dr Sam van Beurden

As Senior PGR Pastoral Tutor, I work as part of a cross-Faculty team providing confidential, impartial wellbeing and pastoral support for doctoral researchers. Each Senior Tutor supports PGR students from a different department than their own, ensuring students have access to guidance from someone outside of their immediate supervisory environment.

Although I do not provide pastoral support directly to our department’s own PGRs, I maintain close collaboration with the other Senior Tutors and with the Directors of Postgraduate Research. Through this network I am able to feed back — in a non-identifiable and confidential way — recurring themes or systemic challenges that may be affecting our students. This allows us to proactively address concerns, strengthen our culture of support, and continue improving the PGR experience within the department and the wider Faculty.

Email: S.B.Vanbeurden@exeter.ac.uk