Meet the Team

Michael Bahrami-Hessari

• NIHR Global Surgery Unit (GSU)
• Global Health and surgery
•  m.bahrami-hessari@bham.ac.uk

Michael joined the team in January 2022 as the Community Engagement and Involvement Manager for the NIHR Global Surgery Unit. As a Microbiologist by training Mike has a wealth of experience in science communication and patient and public involvement.

Laura Nice

• Medical Research Council Impact Acceleration Account (MRC IAA) and the Scar Free Foundation Centre for Conflict Wound Research (CfCWR)
• Trauma, burns, stroke and translational research
• l.nice@bham.ac.uk

Laura has been a part of the team since 2018. Her previous roles have included involving patients in her own Psychology and Health research.

Her current role is to ensure that patients and the public have meaningful and rewarding involvement across a portfolio of healthcare and translational research projects.

Magdalena Skyrbant

• NIHR Applied Research Collaboration West Midlands (ARC WM)
• Health and social care service delivery
• m.t.skrybant@bham.ac.uk

Magdalena has been a part of the team since 2017. She has a background in languages and Polish history and her previous roles were in teaching and research administration at the University of Birmingham.

Her current role is leading Public Involvement in the Applied Research Collaboration West Midlands (ARC WM). ARC WM is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and is a collaboration of health and social care researchers, patients and the public and researchers to respond to and meet the needs of local communities.

Laura Chapman

• PPIE Manager for NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)
• l.chapman.1@bham.ac.uk

Laura joined the BRC as Public & Patient Involvement/Engagement Manager in 2018. She has experience of championing diversity and inclusion from a career in Human Resources (private sector and NHS organisations) and conducting research with the public on readability/usability of Patient Information Leaflets for medicines.  Her experience as a patient with a chronic disease for over 20 years has led to being involved in research personally and to a desire to involving and engaging others in research on a larger scale.

Her current role is to ensure that diverse members of the public/patients are involved in research related to the work of the BRC.

Jenny Drew 

• Public Involvement and Engagement Manager, Institute for Applied Health Research 
• j.l.b.drew@bham.ac.uk  

Jenny joined the team in March 2024 from previous roles in coordinating regional mental health projects, local Public Health and as a CAMHS practitioner.

She is working to co-design the development of Community Engagement and Involvement Hub infrastructure with BVSC and their VCFSE networks. This will support effective collaborative working with communities and VCFSE organisations in Birmingham (and the wider West Midlands) who want to be involved in health and care studies and shape future research. It will also support NIHR infrastructure organisations and health and care researchers.

Alana Whatmore

• Senior Administrator and PA, PHRESH Consortium, School for Public Health Research
• a.whatmore@bham.ac.uk 

Alana joined the team in 2024 and has a background in administration. She works as a senior administrator and PA within SPHR’s PHRESH Consortium, which is a collaboration between Birmingham, Warwick and Keele.

Her work includes facilitating public and patient involvement via organising events and liaising to encourage involvement in meetings. 

Claire Wickett

• Senior Manager - Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE)
• NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)
• c.wickett@bham.ac.uk 

Claire joined the BRC in 2024. Coming from a marketing and communications background across HE and private sector organisations, Claire brings over 20 years’ experience of strategic leadership, project management and communications expertise to the role.  Claire is responsible for co-developing and driving the BRC PPIE strategy to ensure patients and the public have meaningful and rewarding involvement in the work of the BRC, while facilitating best practice and collaboration across the BRC themes and projects.  Claire focuses on tackling issues around under representation in PPIE, developing communications and collaborative approaches to promote PPIE and its impact, supporting PPIE training needs for the BRC, and working with all research themes and partners to innovate and improve PPIE delivery for the BRC.  

Lucy Oakey

• Involvement & Engagement Pillar Team Lead
• PHRESH Programme Manager NIHR
• Public Health Interventions Research Studies Teams (PHIRST) NIHR
• l.a.oakey@bham.ac.uk 

Lucy programme manages PHRESH's membership of the School for Public Health Research (SPHR) and Public Health Interventions Research Studies Teams (PHIRST PHRESH). Through this role Lucy has developed a PHRESH PPI group who have an active role in shaping public health research across the region.

Lucy oversees operational management of the Involvement & Engagement Pillar within the College of Medicine and Health, bringing colleagues together to share, learn and collaborate.