Research Community

Chris is a social worker lecturer and Army Veteran, whose research interests span her social work and Veteran identity. She is a member of the Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research and has completed a PhD study, which explores the life stories of women Veterans who served between the 1940s to 2000s. Her military-focused research interests are military women, Veterans, LGBT+ and social work research linked to developing simulation pedagogies for pre and post-qualifying social workers.

Dr Craig White is a researcher from the University of Loughborough, working in partnership with Dr Jamie Barker on the Veterans' Resilience Programme. This programme aims to optimise Veterans' resilience and mental health and well-being and strengthen peer support networks for those Veterans that suffer from mental health and well-being issues. Their work uses a holistic approach to enhancing resilience, mental health, and well-being in Veterans by promoting a more active and healthier lifestyle and enhanced feelings of a positive social identity for those who participate. Dr Barker and Dr White are also currently producing an academic paper and policy documentation for the Office of Veterans’ Affairs. This will emphasise the potential impact of non-clinical interventions on Veterans suffering from mental health and well-being issues. Additionally, they are applying for additional funds to expand the Veterans' Resilience Programme nationwide.'

Dr Dan Dyball is a researcher on the ADVANCE study, a study investigating the long-term health impact of sustaining a physical combat injury in Afghanistan. Dr Dyball is specifically interested in mental health, and how mental health affects physical health.

Dr Dan Leightley is a Lecturer in Digital Health Sciences at the School of Life Course & Population Sciences at King’s College London. Dan’s research is focused on the interface between physical and mental health using digital technology, secondary data and AI. Dan also has an interest in military mental health, cyber security and data governance. He holds grants from the Forces in Mind Trust, National Institute of Health Research, UK Medical Research Council and UK Cabinet Office.

Dr Elliott Atkinson is a neuromuscular physiologist whose interests primarily lie in the underpinning neural mechanisms of human motor function. His focus is to investigate how the human neural system adapts to resistance training and pathophysiological conditions, and the influence of sex and hormonal status. He aims to combine these focuses to understand better the neural mechanisms and impact of hormonal status in both healthy and clinical groups, and how resistance training might be better tailored to provide improved quality of life outcomes. 

Dr Gill McGill is Co-director of the Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research at Northumbria University, supporting its development since 2015. Gill has a growing portfolio of expertise and publications in the field of Veterans and military families research including leading research projects exploring access to health and social care for alcohol-related issues, bereavement, maintaining independence following limb loss and social isolation and loneliness among the LGBT+ Veteran population.  Gill also has significant experience in participant recruitment from ‘hard or reach’/seldom heard populations as well as in the design of peer-informed research projects.  Gill is also employed as an Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Social Care in the Department of Nursing, Midwifery and Health at Northumbria University. Gill has a background in Public Health, working as a commissioner and service provider, and she has extensive experience in project management and strategy development in the NHS, Local Authority and Third Sector settings.

Hilary is an Associate Professor in the Veterans and Families Institute for Military Social Research (VFI) at Anglia Ruskin University. There she leads research exploring how Veterans and their significant others live in their comunities with changing health needs and co-morbidities. Hilary's research interests cover health and well-being needs in relation to limb loss, loss of use of limb, long term health needs, chronic pain and how people live adaptively accordingly. 

Dr Jacqueline (Jack) Rappoport is a non-clinical lecturer at the Blizard Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, at Queen Mary University of London, teaching MSc programmes in Trauma Sciences, Emergency and Resuscitation Medicine, and Paediatric Trauma Sciences. With over 20 years of experience in forensic mental health and child protection, Jack specialises in trauma recovery, particularly C-PTSD and PTSD. Her clinical background is in Counselling Psychology, where she practices pluralistic counselling using Person-Centered, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy approaches. Jack holds a PhD in Qualitative Research, focusing on trauma, military service, and offending among incarcerated UK veterans. She possesses multiple postgraduate qualifications, including a PGCap in Academic Practice, and a PGDip and PGCert in Counselling Psychology, an MSc in Criminal Justice (MSCJ), and a Master's in Public Administration (MPA) with additional qualifications in Group Facilitation and Training. Jack has also taught Research Methods, Stress Management, Forensic Psychology, Sociology, and Social Change.

Dr Jamie Barker is a researcher from Loughborough University, working in partnership with Dr Craig White on the Veterans' Resilience Programme. This programme aims to optimise Veterans' resilience and mental health and well-being and strengthen peer support networks for those Veterans that suffer from mental health and well-being issues. Their work uses a holistic approach to enhancing resilience, mental health, and well-being in Veterans by promoting a more active and healthier lifestyle and enhanced feelings of a positive social identity for those who participate. Dr Barker and Dr White are also currently producing an academic paper and policy documentation for the Office of Veterans’ Affairs. This will emphasise the potential positive impact of non-clinical interventions on Veterans suffering from mental health and well-being issues. Additionally, they are applying for additional funds to expand the Veterans' Resilience Programme nationwide.

Dr Laura Rafferty is a researcher at King’s Centre for Military Health Research at King’s College London.  She is currently working across a number of projects centred on exploring the experience of females within the Armed Forces, during transition out of the military and into civilian life.  Dr Rafferty is interested in understanding, and supporting, the mental health of the Armed Forces community and her previous research has spanned topics ranging from: exploring the impact of Post-Traumatic Disorder and Major Stress Disorder on the development of dementia in military Veterans; to developing an app to support military Veterans with their mental health (Met4Vet). 

Dr Louise Morgan is an academic psychologist with extensive research experience, including nearly a decade as research lead for London’s Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) and five years working in Veterans’ health. Her research interests include female Veterans, chronic pain and PTSD, and she has particular expertise in understanding the impact of sexual assault, patterns of sexual offending and the wider context of male-perpetrated violence against women and girls.

Marie-Louise is a Senior Research Fellow at King's College London. She is a mixed methods researcher and has research expertise in psychological medicine and epidemiology. Her research interests include the health and well-being of Armed Forces and Emergency Responders and has a focus on methods to extend research impact. She has previous experience in healthcare policy working in the voluntary sector, has postgraduate training in political science and has leadership training through the Clore Social Fellowship.