Research Community

Dr Faye Acton is Research Fellow and the lead for military connected children and young people in the Veterans and Families Institute for Military and Social Research (VFI) at Anglia Ruskin University. As a qualitative researcher her work is focused on developing practice-based evidence with the voices and lived experiences of children and young people at the core of her work. She is particularly interested in developing the concept of identity and understanding military connected children and young people’s lives more comprehensively, including school and educational experiences. Faye has both academic and professional experience of working with both children and young people and professionals to inform and enhance policy and practice.

Faye joined Anglia Ruskin University in 2016 as a researcher following a professional practice-based career in health and education. Faye worked as a Health Improvement Practitioner in the NHS with primary and secondary schools to develop, deliver and evaluate health and wellbeing interventions and programmes of support for children and young people. She subsequently qualified as a primary school teacher, where she worked as a classroom teacher, PSHE lead, and gained the national award for Special Educational Needs Coordination to work as an Inclusion Manager.

Dr Georgina Normile is a Senior Lecturer in Primary Education and the Programme Leader for the degree in Education Primary and Early Years at Bath Spa University. Her research focuses on the wellbeing of pre-school children experiencing military-related parental separation. Her 2019 PhD was entitled 'A case study exploring the impact of parental deployment on the wellbeing of British Army children in the pre-school year.' Since this time, her research has extended to include the experiences of pre-school children from all three branches of the UK Armed Forces. Georgina is passionate about representing a range of perspectives within her research, including those of educational practitioners and young children themselves.

Howard received his PhD in epidemiology for research on mental health and socioeconomic status of UK Armed Forces personnel transitioning to civilian life. Veterans and transition remain his primary areas of interest, including mental health, social, and economic outcomes. His experience is in mixed-methods research, including cross-sectional studies, longitudinal studies, randomised controlled trials, meta-analysis, and data linkage. He has published on the long-term mental health and socioeconomic outcomes of Veterans, as well as other areas of Armed Forces well-being and return from deployment. His current main study is ADVANCE-INVEST, on the consequences of battlefield injury to the transition outcomes of Veterans.

John's academic and professional career is rooted in a commitment to supporting underrepresented groups, particularly veterans and vulnerable learners. This focus is reflected in his PhD, which explored the lived experiences of veterans involved in the criminal justice system. John's wider research interests include social mobility, sport and student attainment, male mental health, and veteran wellbeing—areas shaped by his background in the RAF Police, work in higher education, and research roles centred on veteran health and transition.

John has developed strong quantitative and qualitative research skills through SPSS analysis, CPD development, module evaluation, and research dissemination. Alongside this, he has built a substantial teaching profile across FE and HE, underpinned by inclusive practice, real world application, and recognition through FHEA status.

In his current role with UCLan’s College for Military Veterans and Emergency Services, John works across academic engagement and partnership development, contributing to improved outcomes for veteran communities. He aims to continue producing impactful research, enhancing curriculum and teaching practice, and supporting learners from diverse backgrounds to achieve their potential.

Dr Karishma Jivraj is a chartered psychologist who has worked in the field of mental heath research since 2012 across various academic institutions, the National Institute for Health Research and the NHS. Her doctoral work demonstrated ways to improve service delivery in community mental health services and recent projects she has led have drawn on positive psychology approaches to enhance the mental health and wellbeing of clinical and non-clinical populations. She led on the OUTCOMES study, exploring the psychosocial benefits of Military Service and impact on post-Service life. 

Dr Lucy Robinson is an Economic and Social Research (ESRC) Postdoctoral Fellow at Cardiff University. Her one year fellowship aims to consolidate her recently completed ESRC-funded DPhil at the Department of Education, University of Oxford. Her doctoral research involved working creatively with groups of service children to explore how military life shapes their identity and school experiences. Lucy is the proud winner of the Centre for Evidence for the Armed Forces Community's 2025 Early Career Researcher Award. Outside of her research, Lucy is a Trustee of the Armed Forces Education Trust (AFET), a grant-giving charity which supports service children's education which has been compromised or put at risk as a result of parents’ past or current service in the British Armed Forces. 

Dr Moira Bailey is a part time Lecturer, freelance Consultant and Researcher at the Robert Gordon University. Her interest in Veteran research came about as a result of her being a member of the Veteran family - her late husband was a Royal Navy Veteran who had mental helath issues arising from his service. Her son also is a Navy Veteran. She was recently a member of the team which produced an independent report commissioned in 2022 by the Office of Veterans’ Affairs to explore the potential of improving female Veterans' access to support services. She is currently working on two projects for different Veteran charities to produce in depth evaluation reports. Moira is also interested in pursing further research in the female Veteran space as well as exploring the experiences of Veterans' carers. 

Dr Robert Allen is an Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Neurodiversity. 
He came to academia in 2013 after 24 years working in the UK Ministry of Defence. Dr Allen has a PhD in the field of Organisational Behaviour and an MSc in Procurement. He also holds a qualification in anxiety and phobia counselling, a PG Diploma in Neurophysiology, and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He is academic lead for neurodiversity at Cranfield University and chairs the neurodiversity community. He is Director for the Cranfield University Defence and Security Leadership MSc programme. His research interests centre on OB and neurodiversity, the nature of expertise and mental health/welfare.

Dr Sally-Anne Barnes is an Associate Professor in Human Resource Management at the University of Leicester School of Business. With over two decades of experience, she has led and contributed to a range of international research projects in the field of career development, shaping both policy and practice. Her research examines the evolving nature of careers and the labour market, with a particular focus on how individuals engage with career development, lifelong guidance and learning across the life course.  A significant strand of her work focuses on ex-Service personnel and the wider armed forces community, exploring their transitions to the civilian labour market, engagement with transition support, civilian careers,  and employment transitions, particularly over the longer term.  Her work is widely recognised for its contribution to understanding labour market transitions and supporting inclusive, evidence-based approaches to career development.

Jemma Lakmaker is a PhD student at Manchester Metropolitan University exploring the experiences of ex-servicemen who became deaf in the First World War and how they were treated upon their return to society. Jemma aims to uncover the experiences of deaf ex-servicemen as a group whose voice is missing from the historical narrative. She is interested in the perceptions of deafness and how this continues to impact the deaf community today. Jemma is proficient in British Sign Language. Jemma is also a trustee for a charity working to ensure disabled people and people from disadvantaged backgrounds are given an equal voice in society and a platform on which to be heard.

Katherine Lawrence is Head of Operations at the Service Children's Progression (SCiP) Alliance, bringing together researchers, policy-makers and funders. Katherine runs a UK-wide network of research-practice hubs focused on knowledge exchange around evidence-based practice supporting the educational progression of children and young people in Armed Forces families. In addition to supporting, disseminating and commissioning research in this space and translating it into impact, Katherine has an interest in international comparative research.

The King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) is the leading civilian UK centre of excellence for military health research providing much-needed evidence on the health and well-being of Serving and ex-Serving personnel and their families. KCMHR’s research relates to conflict and health, occupational psychiatry, personnel issues and social policy. Their research is conducted in four key areas, Serving personnel, ex-Serving personnel, military families (including those of ex-Serving personnel) and interventions.