Overview

Helen qualified as a physiotherapist in 2007 and after spending some time working as a musculoskeletal physiotherapist in the NHS, she followed her research interests in the same field. She completed her PhD at the University of Warwick in 2014, which explored the implementation of a group-based programme for low back pain, BeST, that combined exercise and education underpinned by a cognitive behavioural approach. Following this, Helen has held a variety of postdoctoral positions in the UK and Canada. These have focused on the implementation of evidence-based healthcare interventions, including the development of digital training resources for healthcare professionals (for example, here and here), as well as working on several randomised controlled trials of physiotherapy interventions.

During her academic career, Helen became increasingly interested in how technology was disrupting healthcare and subsequently joined GSK’s Technology Future Leaders programme in 2017. Her experience at GSK provided good exposure to digital technologies in healthcare, as well as product management methodologies such as design thinking. By moving back to academia, Helen hopes to combine her interests and skills in digital technologies, implementation science, behaviour change, and product management methodology to help people to do more, feel better, and live longer.

Helen is passionate about people, enjoys a challenge, and loves to learn. Outside of work, Helen has played county and club level badminton for 25 years, which has provided a wealth of experiences and life-long friendships. Helen challenged herself to cycle from London to Paris in four days and completed a three-month voluntary placement at an Indian orphanage in Malaysia to teach children English and Maths.

Qualifications

• Ph.D Health Sciences
• MSc Research Methods in Health Sciences
• BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy

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Research

Research interests

Helen has broad research interests that include the implementation of evidence-based healthcare interventions, behaviour change, and the use of digital technologies to improve people’s experiences of living with a healthcare condition. She is also interested in applying methodologies from industry such as product management to better understand the problems faced by people related to their health and wellbeing, and to iteratively develop and test novel solutions.

Research projects

• The BOOST Implementation Study

An NIHR programme development grant focused on the optimisation and implementation of the evidence-based BOOST programme, a 12-week education and exercise programme for older people living with neurogenic claudication (a form of back pain).

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