About me:

I am based in the Primary Care Department in the Smeall Building at St Luke's Campus. My main areas of interest include clinical trials and meta-analysis/evidence synthesis, in particular the use of individual participant data within meta-analysis. Completed clinical trials include the ESTEEM trial, based in primary care, evaluating the effects on patient experience, and primary care workload, of two telephone triage interventions for patients requesting a same-day GP consultation, one led by GPs, the other by nurses. Other completed trials include the REACH-HF trial, which evaluated the effects of an intervention for patients with heart failure, and potentially their caregivers as well, aimed at improving quality of life, and the CADENCE trial, which is based around the provision of psychological care for patients receiving cardiac rehabilitation. Current trials include the ERICA trial, which aims to improve diagnosis of cancer in primary care by making an electronic diagnostic tool (known as an eRAT) available to GPs, and the EcoWeb trial, part of an international collaboration that aims to promote mental health in young adults.

A recent project has involved an international collaboration of psychologists with an interest in mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT); this collaboration pooled individual participant data from several trials conducted in Europe and North America, with the aim of comparing the effects of MBCT with other forms of treatment for patients currently in remission of depression. Two other projects involving individual participant data are ongoing, one involving the investigation of inter-arm difference in blood pressure as a potential prognostic marker for cardiovascular disease (InterPress), and the other examining the effects of exercise rehabilitation for patients with heart failure (ExTraMATCH II).

I have also been involved in large scale surveys within primary care, including an analysis of patients' experience of out-of-hours primary care services, reported within the General Practice Patient Survey (GPPS).

Career:

Following a first degree in Medicine, I acquired experience in clinical practice and research (formerly working for the MRC Institute for Environment and Health). I then completed a Master's degree in Medical Statistics at the University of Leicester, which was followed by a PhD in evidence synthesis and meta-analysis methods, specifically focusing on the application of appropriate methods for meta-analysis of adverse events data. In October 2010, I moved to Exeter to take on a role primarily focusing on clinical trials, whilst maintaining my interests in evidence synthesis and meta-analysis.