Research Community

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.

Dean Whybrow’s research area is organizational health and well-being. He is a subject matter expert in well-being and occupational mental health care. This includes developing resources to cope with job demands such as high workload, ethical dilemmas, or exposure to potentially traumatic events. He is focused on the interplay between job demands and job resources, and strategies for promoting employee resilience. On the flip side are employee burnout, disengagement, and workforce attrition. These factors are especially relevant to healthcare workforces where staff recruitment, education, and retention can impact service delivery. His emphasis is promoting recovery and well-being, understanding the decision to leave a job, the experience of career change and identifying opportunities to promote employee engagement and retention. 

Dr Emma Senior is an Assistant Professor in Nursing and Specialist Community Public Health Nursing, alongside being a Veteran spouse. As a member of the Northern Hub for Veterans & Military Families' Research, Dr Emma Senior completed her PhD exploring the experiences of military spouses who have lived alongside their UK serving partner with a mental health issue. Her military focused research interests seek to explore the qualitative experiences of military spouses/relationships, mental health, and well-being to inform mechanisms for support and CPD opportunities within health and social care. 

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.

Dr Glen Dighton is a Research Officer at the Centre for Military Gambling Research based at Swansea University, Wales. Dr Dighton completed his PhD in 2020 which was the first UK based study to look at gambling behaviour in ex-Armed Forces veterans. This, and follow-on work, has been used to inform policy, has been cited in debate in the House of Lords, and has been used in the development of the Armed Forces Gambling Support Network. Dr Dighton’s research interests focus on behavioural addictions, specifically gambling and the gambling/gaming mergence.

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.

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.

Fernando is a Lecturer in the Department of Computer at Swansea University. While in the United States, he was a President's Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Minnesota, and obtained a PhD degree in Informatics from the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University. His research investigates the use of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research methods with vulnerable populations to design technologies with them rather than for them in both in-person and online/remote settings. His research uses surveys, interviews, observation, as well as co-design methods under the lenses of value-sensitive and speculative design to involve stakeholders in the design and development of a more ethical, inclusive, and equitable technology from the very beginning and throughout all the stages of the design process. Ultimately, he strives for amplifying the voice of those who are impacted by technology and allowing researchers and practitioners to be aware of potential negative impacts that such technologies may have on end users and stakeholders.

Dr Goodwin is an epidemiologist with expertise in the co-occurrence of Alcohol use disorder (AUD) and Common Mental Disorders (CMD) and military health research. She has been awarded grants from the Medical Research Council (MRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Alcohol Change UK, with two previous projects funded by Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT).