HSMC academic staff

Rachel Adams is a qualitative researcher, currently working for Professor Nicola Gale on her portfolio of research. This includes qualitative sub-studies running alongside respiratory trials and public health ethnographic research in the area of public health – aimed at reducing diarrhoea and malnutrition in young children.

She is passionate about enabling people’s voices to be ...

Chloe Alexander is an expert on young carers. Her research examines inequalities, family life and the impact of public policies. Her theoretical work develops the use of affect theory and explores the politics of care. She specialises in qualitative research, including ethnography, visual research and creative methods. She is part of the ESRC Centre for Care, undertaking research ...

Kerry Allen is a Professor of Health and Care services, based at the Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham. With a disciplinary background in medical sociology, she is interested in applied research that improves health and care services, especially for people with complex needs or long term conditions. 

Her core research areas are: 

• How people experience ...

Emily Burn is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Care, an ESRC Research Centre addressing pressures and inequities in how people experience social care. Currently, she is working on a study exploring the conceptualisation of social care as an ecosystem. Prior to this role, Emily was part of a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funded project at the University of Birmingham exploring ...

Kelly is an Evaluation Fellow at the Health Services Management Centre and a member of the BRACE Rapid Evaluation Centre. Kelly has over ten years’ experience of undertaking and managing applied health services research and evaluation projects across the charitable and public sectors. Kelly has considerable knowledge of healthcare systems and her main interests are around ...

Jo Ellins is Senior Fellow at the Health Services Management Centre and the departmental lead for Research and Postgraduate Research. She has more than 20 years’ experience of applied health services research and evaluation, including as Deputy Director of the NIHR BRACE Rapid Evaluation Centre (2018-2022). She has expertise in qualitative research, theory-based evaluation and participatory ...

Mark is a Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham and Co-Director of the MBA Clinical Leadership course. 

Twitter:

• @ClinicalMBA
• @UoBHML

Dr Sarah-Jane Fenton is a Lecturer in Mental Health Policy based in the Health Services Management Centre and the Institute for Mental Health (IMH).

The Health Services Management Centre (HSMC) at the University of Birmingham is one of the UK's foremost centres for research, evaluation, teaching and professional development for health and social care organisations. The Institute for Mental ...

Dr Jane Ferguson is an Assistant Professor at the Health Services Management Centre. She is interested in the quality, safety and the healthcare workforce. 

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Nicola Gale, MA, PhD, is a health sociologist and interdisciplinary health researcher, working in the fields of health services research, public health, primary care, community-led and complementary health care. She specialises in qualitative and mixed methods research.

Professor Gale is committed to theoretically-informed empirical work that involves, aids better understanding of, and meets the ...

Steve joined HSMC in September 2019 as a Senior Fellow, having been an Associate since 2010. Prior to joining HSMC, Steve worked in the NHS, ran a consultancy, and started his academic career part-time in 2008, combining work in the NHS and private sector with teaching, lecturing, and service evaluation.

Alys is a Cohort Director on the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Programme MSc in Healthcare Leadership and a Senior HSMC Associate. Current work includes a (now-virtual) systems leadership programme in collaboration with Cornwall Council, team development in acute clinical teams in Devon, and a series of educational webinars for doctors across the UK. 

 

Steph Haydon is a Research Fellow in charity and philanthropy. She specialises in qualitative research, including interviews and archival research.

Amarpreet joined the HSMC in September 2021 as a new Lecturer. She will be contributing the Centre’s expanding interests in health technologies and genomics through her research and teaching. Amarpreet is passionate about Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion activity, and Widening Participation in Higher Education.

Prior to her appointment, Amarpreet was a member of the Sociology of ...

Essie’s research focuses on novel organisational behaviour, culture and leadership theories in healthcare services, systems and workforces. Her research activities and aims include developing novel psychological- and behaviour-based interventions for improving employee mental health, communication and performance. Essie has applied her research to inform ...

Sophie is an Associate Professor in the Health Services Management Centre. She specialises in sexual behaviours and assessment in children and young people, sexual health, sibling sexual abuse, misogyny, relationships & sex education and the importance of youth voice. Much of her work is cross-sector, cross-disciplinary and centred around participatory and co-design approaches with young ...

Kay has developed a professional and academic interest in leadership over her career and is currently studying for a PhD in leadership ethics with voluntary sector leaders. 

She has been a tutor on the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Programme since 2015 and enjoys working with NHS participants on their learning and development journeys. Kay has a clinical background (orthopaedic nursing) and ...

 Russell has held the Chair in Health Systems at the University of Birmingham since 2010.  He is an Honorary Professor at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney. He was previously Director of the Centre for Health Services Management at the University of York (2005-2009) and served as a Board Director of the York Health Economics ...

Gemma McKenna is an Assistant Professor in the Health Services Management Centre (HSMC), and specialises in child and adolescent mental health, public access and usage of urgent and emergency care services, with particular focus on patient centred care and vulnerable groups. Gemma is also actively involved in shaping health policy and system changes [please see below policy information page]. She ...

Matthew is an ESRC funded doctoral candidate researching the relationship between policy failure and policy learning in the context of central-local government relations. To do so, he is conducting a comparative case study design focusing upon two cases of central government intervention into English local government. These interventions range from centrally mandated Best Value Inspections, ...

Ross is the Director of the Health Services Management Centre (HSMC). He is also a Professor of Health Organisation and Management.

Ross is a passionate about improving health systems and organisations. Through education, research, and development, he is also committed to supporting and developing a healthy and engaged workforce.

 

Annette is a Senior Fellow at HSMC and University of Birmingham Director of The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme, MSc Healthcare Leadership.  Annette joined HSMC in 2014 after 12 years with the NHS and two years as an independent consultant.  Annette is an occupational psychologist and her expertise is in leadership development, OD, executive coaching, organisational change and NHS ...

Catherine Needham is Professor of Public Policy and Public Management. She is based at the Health Services Management Centre, developing research around social care and new approaches to public service workforce development.

Catherine’s areas of special interest include:

• Personalisation and coproduction within public services
• Social care reform
• Workforce change in public services
• Inte ...

Dr Siobhan O’Dwyer is Associate Professor of Social Care. She specialises in research on the needs and experiences of unpaid carers (also known as family carers or caregivers), with a particular focus on suicide and homicide. She also collaborates on research on other aspects of care, as well as ageing, dementia, and social media.

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Martin joined HSMC in February 2007. Martin specialises in: Health policy, especially choice and consumerism; decentralization; partnership and history of health care before the NHS and social policy, especially historical and geographical dimensions, citizenship, equity, theories of welfare state development.

Dr Bridget Roe is a Research Fellow based at the Health Services Management Centre (HSMC) working within the BRACE Rapid Evaluation Centre. She is also a Senior Lecturer on the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Programme. Originating from a nursing and midwifery background, Bridget completed her bachelor’s degree (BA HRM) at the University of Derby, her master’s degree at the University of ...

Dr Manbinder Sidhu is an Associate Professor at the Health Services Management Centre (HSMC) and Co-Director of the the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded BRACE Rapid Evaluation Centre. 

 

Judith Smith is Professor of Health Policy and Management within the Health Services Management Centre. She is a highly experienced and widely published health services researcher and policy analyst, specialising in health care organisation and management, having spent almost 30 years working in health services research and development, following an earlier career as a senior manager in the NHS. ...

Iain specialises in teaching, consultancy and research in management and leadership development in the NHS, service evaluation and improvement, clinical engagement in management and leadership. From 2011 – 2013 he was co-Director of the educational element of the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme and the NHS Clinical Leadership Fellows programme, and from 2012-2015 he was ...

Willem Stander is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Birmingham. His teaching and research cover a broad spectrum of psychology, health, and social care programmes. Willem’s work primarily focuses on the health and well-being of marginalised and vulnerable young people (i.e., LGBTQ+ and looked-after young people), using mixed methods and participatory approaches. He is ...

Vicki Taylor is currently a senior lecturer on the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson NHS Leadership Programme in HSMC at the University of Birmingham.

Justin Waring is Professor of Medical Sociology and Healthcare Organisation at the Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham. His research deals with the changing organisation and management of healthcare systems, and public services more broadly.

His primary interest is to understand how new organisational forms and processes interact with institutionalised professional ...

Catherine is a Senior Lecturer supporting health and care leaders undertaking the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson MSc Programme. She has a background in NHS leadership both in primary care delivery and in acute and primary care commissioning and she is an experienced facilitator with Third Sector Boards and action learning sets. 

Catherine also runs her own consultancy company, Alpha ...

Iestyn is a Professor of Health Policy and Management in the School of Social Policy and Society. He is involved in a range of research, teaching and knowledge transfer work and has a broad methodological experience and expertise. He specialises in social science approaches to Health Services Research, employing mixed methods study designs. He has specific expertise in: priority setting, ...

Dr Shazia Zafar is a scientist in applied health research and social science who conducts research using quantitative and qualitative methods. 

She is currently exploring the impact which results from care home closure. As little evidence currently exists on the impact of care home closure, the results will provide key lessons to local governments nationally.

Her projects are both UK based ...