Research for Patient Benefit - West Midlands Regional Advisory Committee

  • Published: 1 January 2019
  • Version: VJan 2025 - January 2025
  • 2 min read

NIHR Research for Patient Benefit is a national funding programme that funds research on a regional level through eight Regional Advisory Committees. Each region has a local committee chair and members, and patient or public members. 

Regional chair

Dr Keith Couper is Chair of the West Midlands Regional Advisory Committee.

Committee members

Name  Position  Organisation  Expertise
Dr Opeyemi Babatunde Research Associate: Systematic Reviews  Keele University Systematic reviews and meta-analysis, clinical studies and randomised controlled trials
Mrs Mashkura Begum Public Member - -
Dr Srikanth Bellary Reader Aston University Research interests include epidemiology of type 2 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and ageing, diabetic kidney disease and new therapies for type 2 diabetes
Dr Blagojevic-Bucknall Senior Lecturer in Statistics Keele University Statistical modelling, Electronic health records, Prediction modelling, Survival analysis, Propensity scores, Treatment-Outcome research, Primary care health research
Dr Claire Burton NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Primary Care Keele University GP with experience in primary care health research, electronic health record research, systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials, musculoskeletal pain and community health
Professor David Churchill Professor of Obstetrics and Consultant Obstetrician The Royal Wolverhampton Hospital NHS Trust / University of Wolverhampton Epidemiology studies, systematic reviews, cohort, case-controlled, and randomised trials.
Dr Sarah Damery Research Fellow University of Birmingham The organisation and delivery of services to optimise the management of long term conditions and multimorbidity within health and social care settings
Professor Thomas Dietrich Professor of oral surgery University of Birmingham  Clinical Epidemiology/Clinical Trials in Oral Health research, particular wrt Periodontology and Oral Surgery and the link between oral diseases and systemic health outcomes
Ms Sadia Haqnawaz Public Member - -
Dr Susan Hunter Senior Lecturer Keele University Evaluating complex therapeutic interventions for neurological patients, particularly on interventions for the hemiplegic upper limb, life after stroke, and psychosocial effects of upper limb dysfunction
Dr Tom Kingstone Senior Lecturer in Mental health and wellbeing Keele University

Social scientist with expertise in qualitative methods. Special interest in research that explores and develops novel interventions for common mental health problems among under-served groups
Dr Rebecca Knibb Associate Professor in Health Psychology  Aston University Mixed methods researcher with expertise in cross-sectional, longitudinal and intervention research designs, systematic reviews and meta-analysis, psychometric scale development and validation
Dr Damilola Olajide  Senior Health Economist  University of Nottingham  Micro-econometrics modelling and analysis of large datasets to reduce health inequalities, improving health behaviours and quality of disease management in primary care; model-based economic evaluation
Dr Helen Parsons Associate Professor of Medical Statistics Warwick Clinical Trials Unit, University of Warwick Medical statistics, design and interpretation of clinical trials, and the design and use of patient reported outcome measures
Dr Alice Sitch Lecturer in Biostatistics University of Birmingham Statistician, research focus is test evaluation, specifically the use of tests to monitor progressive and recurrent disease and studies of biological variability
Dr Thomas Shepherd Senior Lecturer in Global Health Keele University

Clinical trials, Health services research, CPRD dataset analysis, Mental health, Musculoskeletal, Neurological
Dr Dean Thompson Research Fellow University of Birmingham NIHR Research Design Service Advisor, and is interested in mental health and innovative mixed methods research
Dr Simon White Reader in Pharmacy Practice Keele University Qualitative and consensus research methodologies, health services research, polypharmacy and medicines optimisation
Dr Pensee Wu Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Obstetrician and Maternal Fetal Medicine Subspecialist Keele University and University Hospital of North Midlands NHS Trust

Obstetrics, women’s health, evidence synthesis, electronic health record research