Arabella is an applied health researcher and social scientist whose research portfolio includes designing and leading studies across various sectors such as health, education, policing, and the fire service. She is most passionate about research that promotes the adoption of evidence into policy and practice.
As a leading qualitative methodologist and mixed methods researcher, Arabella uniquely combines substantive expertise in Randomised Controlled Trials, implementation science, and evidence synthesis. She is particularly passionate about using methodological innovation to address complex problems in health services delivery and evaluation. Renowned for her methodological work, she has significantly improved the design and delivery of randomised controlled trials and has a keen interest in using methodological innovation to enhance the adoption of evidence into surgical practice. Her recent methodological work has advanced our understanding of designing and analysing large qualitative studies within national mixed methods evaluations of health policy.
Arabella's research in surgery has primarily focused on orthopaedics, where she has conducted Randomised Controlled Trials across multiple orthopaedic specialties. Her wide range of research interests in surgery includes effectiveness studies and exploring how the culture of surgery influences surgical decision-making and practice.
In January 2025, Arabella joined the University of Birmingham to lead the evidence-based surgery research group within the Centre for Evidence and Implementation Science, College of Social Sciences. She has taught qualitative research and mixed methods across various postgraduate modules at the University of York and Newcastle University. Arabella also served as Programme Lead and Deputy Programme Lead for the MSc Health Services Research at the University of York from 2020 to 2024.