Clinical Psychologist

Improving psychological well-being in paediatrics is central to my work as a clinical psychologist, lecturer and researcher. In 2018, I was awarded a NIHR/HEE Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship. I am Chief Investigator on the PANACHE Study, researching Parental ANxiety About CHild food allErgy. The study involves me carrying out qualitative research, systematic review and a clinical feasibility trial. Parents of food allergic children had told us that they wanted this research to be carried out. Working with a Parent and Carer Advisory Group helps keep patients at the heart of the project. Additionally, maintaining and developing my clinical skills is an important part of the Fellowship. I work as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the Addenbrookes Allergy Clinic and provide clinical research leadership in the Cambridge Psychological Medicine Service for Children, Young People and Families.

When I completed my clinical psychology training, my research supervisor told me that I had ‘a PhD in me’. I was awarded a research prize and wrote up my undergraduate and masters research for publication. This sparked an interest in research early in my career. I was keen to understand how research could improve health care. Whenever possible, I supported others with their research, carried out clinical audit, service improvement and was a Site Principal Investigator on an international research study. I started to combine NHS work with lecturing at the University of East Anglia and took up opportunities to collaborate with clinical researchers and co-author publications. Then, I saw a flyer about the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Fellowship Programme. At the time, I had research questions from my clinical practice, which were not answered by the existing literature. The NIHR Fellowship offered a wonderful opportunity for me to pursue this.