NHRP Academy: Meet our Community – Dr Megan Brown
Tuesday August 11, 2026
Dr Megan Brown, Senior Research Associate in the School of Medicine at Newcastle University and Community Involvement and Engagement Lead within Workforce Voices, has been awarded a prestigious National Institute for Heath and Care Research (NIHR) Postdoctoral Award to lead a programme of research exploring disabled doctors’ career progression within the NHS.
Dr Brown received the five year award to investigate the barriers disabled doctors face as they move through training and employment, and what helps them to stay, progress and be retained within the workforce.
The award, formerly known as the Advanced Fellowship, will support a large, multimethod research project focused on identifying effective support initiatives and sharing best practice across the NHS.
“We know that disabled doctors provide hugely valuable care,” Dr Brown said. “But many struggle to progress in their careers. This research is about understanding why that happens and, most importantly, what actually works to support disabled doctors to thrive and stay in the workforce.”
A research programme shaped by lived experience
The project is made up of five interconnected work packages, beginning with a strong focus on lived experience. In the first year, Dr Brown will work with disabled doctors, patients and members of the public to co-produce a creative engagement event known as a Living Library.
“At the Living Library, disabled doctors act like ‘books’, sharing their career stories in different ways – through conversation, recordings or creative approaches,” Dr Brown explained. “Those real-life experiences will help shape the direction of the later stages of my research.”
The second work package will analyse national training data using the UKMED database, allowing me to identify patterns in career progression across the UK and explore whether specific groups of disabled doctors face compounding barriers.
The third strand focuses on reviewing existing support for disabled doctors, such as mentoring schemes, peer networks and approaches to workplace adjustments. This will help build an evidence based understanding of which initiatives are most effective in enabling career development.
Learning from practice across NHS sites
In the fourth work package, the research will move into practice, examining case studies of NHS support programmes across three sites involved in the Workforce Voices partnership, which focuses on workforce sustainability in underserved areas. These case studies will explore how support initiatives work in real settings and where improvements could be made.
The final stage will bring everything together, convening disabled doctors, educators, organisational leaders and patients to agree practical recommendations and next steps.
“This is about sharing good practice and learning from what’s already happening locally, so it can be embedded more widely,” said Megan.
A personal motivation to create change
Megan’s interest in the topic is grounded in lived experience. Originally trained as a doctor, she left clinical practice early in her career due to barriers linked to disability, including neurodivergence.
“The NHS wasn’t a very accessible or friendly place to work as a disabled doctor at that time,” she said. “I went on to complete a PhD in medical education, and over time my research focus has increasingly turned towards workforce issues and training, areas that have a huge impact on disabled doctors’ careers.”
Support from the NHRP Academy
She also highlighted the role of the NHRP Academy in supporting her application, from navigating the fellowship process to preparing for interview.
“The support was invaluable,” she said. “They helped me understand the application process, reviewed drafts and set up a full mock interview panel. The fellowship interview is intense, and I genuinely couldn’t imagine going into it without that preparation.”
Professor Gill Vance, Professor of Medical Education and Megan’s Mentor said:
“I am delighted for Megan – this is an amazing achievement. The award acknowledges Megan’s growing national and international reputation in clinical education/workforce research, and this Fellowship will establish Megan as a future leader in this important and impactful, but under-represented field.”
“The Fellowship also strengthens Newcastle University’s position as a leading centre for health and care workforce research. Megan is the academic lead for Community Inclusion and Engagement in the NIHR Workforce Research Partnership (Workforce Voices), hosted by our team, in partnership with several other HEIs across England, including Northumbria. Megan’s Fellowship in disability workforce research complements the Partnership’s focus on sustainability of staff groups working in more challenging contexts. I am delighted to support Megan throughout the Fellowship, and look forward to seeing her ongoing success!”
The award marks an important step in strengthening evidence around disability, inclusion and workforce sustainability in the NHS – areas central to NHRP’s mission.