Blogs

This blog highlights a pilot project delivered with Rainbow Home North to raise awareness of health research among LGBTQ+ people seeking sanctuary in the North East. It explores how the Community Research Awareness Sessions helped build understanding, trust and engagement, and how the learning is now informing the development of new resources to support similar sessions in the future.

We are pleased to introduce Katie Pegg, our Public Partnership Coordinator, whose leads on the development and coordination of the NHRP Public Partnership Training Programme (PPTP)

In the following blog, Katie reflects on her work and shares her perspective on the importance of partnership, offering valuable insight into how collaborative approaches can create lasting impact.

Get to know our current interns from the first cohort of the NIHR North East and North Cumbria Health and Care Professionals Internship Programme. Learn about their focus, goals and what they’re most excited about.

Dr Charlotte Gordon reflects on her career journey and the steps she took to get to her current position. Charlotte works as an assistant professor, specialising in diabetes and talks about the events in her career which have inspired her.

She has benefitted from NHRP mentoring and training, hoping to utilise the space to begin a NIHR Development and Skills Enhancement Award.

Nicole is Newcastle Health Research Partnership (NHRP) Academy’s current Data Intern.

In this blog, Nicole shares here research journey with us and her approach to making research impactful and meaningful.

Clare Moody reflects on her 27‑year radiography career and what drives her passion for research. Now splitting her time between leading radiology research at Newcastle Hospitals and serving as the first regional research radiographer for the North East and North Cumbria, Clare works to build research confidence, capability and culture.

We are delighted to welcome a new member to our Public Partnership Oversight Committee (PPOC), Carly Lovedawn. Here they share with us their personal perspective of why we need to genuinely listen to people with lived expertise and choose to act upon what we hear.

Colette Kirk started her academic career with the support by the NIHR Newcastle BRC and Newcastle Health Research Partnership that enabled her to embark on an Integrated Clinical Academic (ICA) Doctoral Research Fellowship.

Blog by Sean Scott, General Manager for Newcastle Joint Research Office, a partnership between The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle University.  The Newcastle Joint Research Office (NJRO) was established in 2006, as a collaboration between Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle University. The mission of the NJRO was to provide a team of […]

What did the internship involve? The internship at Teesside University focused on the early stages of a new research study centred around UK military veterans. I contributed to the original idea and was tasked to create the research question based on the PICO model. I was also involved in developing the research proposal and worked […]

Research Inclusion is becoming an increasingly prominent topic, prompting us to reflect on how we design and conduct our studies through a more inclusive lens. But what does it truly mean for the public contributors who partner with us in this work? To explore this, we turned to our NHRP Public Partnership Oversight Committee and […]

By Katie Dooley, Speech and Language Therapist and NIHR Pre-Doctoral Fellow (2025–2026) Navigating the Pre-doctoral Journey: You’re Not Alone  Starting out in research can feel exciting but also daunting. You might be wondering how to take your first step, whether you have the right experience, or how to balance your current role with developing a […]

By Katie Rumney, member of NHRP Public Partnership Oversight Committee. I always say my involvement journey started completely by accident! I was writing a blog about my mental health journey, which I showed to my CPN at the time. She then showed that to the head of Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) services for my […]

I’ve recently become the first dentist to be awarded a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Advanced Fellowship (now called postdoctoral award). I will commence this award in September this year, whilst maintaining one day a week working as an Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry. The fellowship is designed for early- to mid-career researchers […]

By Prof Dianne Ford, Pro Vice-Chancellor Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at Northumbria University. I am delighted that Northumbria University has officially joined Newcastle Health Research Partnership (NHRP). This is a significant and exciting step for us — and one that promises to bring real benefits for health research, education, and innovation across our […]

Vicki – could you tell us about your previous roles and experience? For the last 7 years I worked in the VCSE at Connected Voice, initially as the Haref Coordinator (Health and Race Equality Forum) and then as their Health Equity and Involvement Manager. In these roles, I’ve had significant experience with public involvement in […]

By Dr Angela Long – March 2025 In 2019, Newcastle University School of Pharmacy set up the Young@Heart initiative. This is a student-led clinic where undergraduate pharmacy students provide the equivalent of the NHS health check (measurement of blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, height and weight) to members of the public and people from local […]

By Raya Vinogradov and Domna Salonen What are complex interventions? Did you take a flu jab this winter? Whether you did or not, both the decision and the intervention may seem simple.  However, many “simple” interventions have hidden layers of complexity. Various people developed and tested the vaccine, planned the implementation, shaped policy and directed […]

By Abi Durrant and Jen Wood – December 2024 The Northern Health Futures (NortHFutures) Hub was established in 2024 as a cross-sector, regional hub for the North East and North Cumbria (NENC). Funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as part of a three-year UK Digital Health Hub pilot programme, NortHFutures aims […]

By Kayleigh Davison, Newcastle University and Lead Advanced Pharmacist Practitioner at Horden Group Practice. I’ve recently become the only pharmacist to be awarded a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) In-Practice Fellowship, which I’ll be balancing alongside my clinical work and a new post at Newcastle University. The fellowship is designed for health […]

By Fozia Haider, Interim Chair of the NHIP Public Partnership Task and Finish Group  As Interim Chair of the Task & Finish Group at NHIP, my role is to help embed Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) into the heart of NHIP’s governance, operations, and cultural practices.   For me personally, PPIE is important […]

At the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) our commitment to improving lives through world-class research in ageing and multiple long-term conditions is deeply intertwined with the strength of our partnerships. Together with Newcastle Health Research Partnership (NHIP), we share the vision of bringing together world-class research, education and clinical practice for the benefits of the […]

By Dr Flora McErlane, Consultant Paediatric Rheumatologist at Newcastle Hospitals   Adolescents and young adults (AYA) are physiologically different to younger children and established adults. Their brains are still growing and developing, and their lives are focused around achieving a successful transition from dependent childhood to independent adult life.   Adolescent-appropriate healthcare should, therefore, be […]

I have worked in a broad range of senior public health roles across Tyne and Wear and I am passionate about improving health and wellbeing with a particular focus on tackling the unfair inequalities faced by some communities. I believe that effective action to address these inequalities requires dedicated effort across the determinants of health […]

By Professor Dianne Ford, Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellor in Health and Life Sciences, at Northumbria University.   First, I want to say how delighted I am that Northumbria University can now support and strengthen its impact through NHIP as a member of the Strategy Board. I am a committed advocate of working closely with regional partners […]

By Mhairi Anderson, Operations Manager at Diagnostics North East   Diagnostics play a fundamental role in supporting healthcare professionals to make better, more informed decisions for their patients.  However, to make meaningful leaps forward, and translate innovations into practice, collaboration is key. By working together and harnessing our collective skills and expertise, the North East […]

By Professor David Jones OBE, Director of Newcastle Centre for Rare Disease   In Newcastle, we are incredibly proud of our long and distinguished history of excellence in rare disease research and clinical care.   I’d like to mark this year’s Rare Disease Day (29 February 2024) by reflecting on some of the remarkable work […]

By Dr Jamie Coulter, Clinical Lecturer at Newcastle University School of Dental Sciences   Dental decay is the most common non-transmissible disease worldwide and frequently results in an acutely painful condition commonly known as toothache. At this stage many patients seek care at a dentist resulting in either an extraction or root canal of the […]

A new research collaborative has been established to help prevent suicides and reduce self-harm across our region.   The North East North Cumbria Suicide and Self-Harm Research Collaborative brings together regional university partners, health and care system providers and people with personal experience to increase the scope, reduce any gaps and enhance the impact of […]