MEET THE TEAM

Vasiliki Tzouvara:

Dr. Vasiliki Tzouvara is an academic and psychologist experienced in mental health and post-traumatic stress disorders, currently working at King’s College London. Vasiliki has been involved in the feasibility study related to this project and she is currently leading the mechanisms phase of the study.

Lisa de Rijk:

Dr. Lisa de Rijk is a visiting research fellow at King’s College London, Honorary Fellow of United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), and Managing Director of Awaken Consulting & Training Services Ltd, and, Awaken School of Outcome Oriented Psychotherapies Ltd. Lisa has a PhD in Pyschology focusing on marginalised individuals in society, University of Surrey. Lisa is an accredited psychotherapist and a Registered General Nurse. Lisa is clinical lead for the novel therapy and provides the clinical training and supervision of the therapists.

Sharon Stevelink:

Dr Sharon Stevelink is a Reader in Epidemiology based at King’s College London. She leads on a range of studies exploring work and health, including the health and wellbeing of military personnel and veterans. Sharon has published over 120 scientific papers and book chapters and is an independent scientific member of the Industrial Injuries Advisory Committee. She holds prestigious Fellowships from the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Economic and Social Research Council. Within the FIRST PETT study, she is jointly leading efforts with Beth Croak to ensure that the voices of military veterans and their loved ones are heard and acted upon throughout all aspects of the trial.

Anthony Murray:

Anthony Murray is a local business owner and has served in Afghanistan while in 2 Scots Royal Regiment of Scotland. Anthony took part in the earlier stages of this process and has been providing a military perspective for the last few years.

Francesca Fiorentino:

Dr. Francesca Fiorentino obtained a PhD in Applied Mathematics, and worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Clinical Operational Research Unit at University College London (UK) and as a Clinical Trial’s Senior Statistician for 10 years at Imperial College London (UK). She joined King’s College London as Senior Lecturer in Clinical Trials Statistics within the Nightingale-Saunders Clinical Trials & Epidemiology Unit (King’s CTU). This unit specialises in trials of complex interventions. She has extensive experience in the design and data analysis of clinical trials, from complex behavioural interventions in surgery to biomarker enriched designs in liver disease, multi-arms multi-stage design in intervention for prostate cancer and cancer prevention studies.

Neil Greenberg:

Professor Neil Greenberg is a consultant academic, occupational and forensic psychiatrist based at King’s College London. Neil served in the United Kingdom Armed Forces for more than 23 years and has deployed, as a psychiatrist and researcher, to a number of hostile environments including Afghanistan and Iraq. At King’s Neil leads on a number of military mental health projects and is a principal investigator within a nationally funded Health Protection Research unit. He is a past chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) Special Interest Group in Occupational Psychiatry and led the World Psychiatric Association position statement on mental health in the workplace. Neil has published more than 350 scientific papers and book chapters and has been the Secretary of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the President of the UK Psychological Trauma Society and Specialist Advisor to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee. In 2023 he was awarded a prestigious honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.

Victoria Pile:

Dr. Victoria Pile is a Clinical Psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at Kings’ College London. Her programme of clinical research focuses on developing effective psychological interventions that are easily accessible and grounded in cognitive science. These interventions are co-designed with people with lived experience and practitioners. She has been awarded a series of clinical fellowships from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), and currently holds an NIHR Advanced Fellowship. She primarily contributes to the mechanisms stream of the trial.

Chérie Armour:

Professor Chérie Armour is a Professor of Psychology and Research Director of the School of Psychology at Queens University Belfast. She is the head of the Research Centre for Stress, Trauma and Related Conditions (STARC). Chérie is a leading expert in veteran health and well-being in Northern Ireland, having led on the NI Veterans Health and Wellbeing Study, which led to significant changes in the way in which military veterans in NI are recognised and supported, and the UK Veterans Family Study. Chérie is also a leading expert in psychological trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She is the immediate past-President of the UK Psychological Trauma Society.

Jackie Sturt:

Professor Jackie Sturt is a professor of Behavioural Medicine in Nursing at King’s College London and Head of Research Division for Care in Long Term Conditions. Her research aims to improve the physical and mental health and wellbeing of people living with long term physical health conditions like diabetes and mental health conditions like PTSD. Interventions and care pathways are developed, evaluated through clinical trials and implemented through the NHS, through third sector UK organisations such as charities and internationally through work with policy makers. Her work in Africa focusses on health systems strengthening for delivering primary care to people living with long term conditions through mobile phone consultations. She is both a general and a mental health nurse and a behavioural scientist.

Rebecca Rogers:

Rebecca is a Clinical Trial Manager at the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care at King’s College London. She has contributed to a wide range of research studies, mainly exploring the psychological and physical challenges faced by people living with long-term health conditions such as diabetes and PTSD.

Rebecca has worked with UK military veterans diagnosed with PTSD in the PETT feasibility trial, as well as with health and social care workers experiencing COVID-related PTSD in the NHS PETT study.

In the FIRST PETT trial, Rebecca oversees the day-to-day running of the study and serves as the main point of contact for team members, collaborators, and potential participants

Annmarie Grealish:

Dr. Annmarie Grealish is an associate professor in mental health at the University of Limerick and a visiting senior lecturer at King’s College London. She is a qualified general and mental health nurse, cognitive behaviour therapist (CBT), and Interpersonal Therapist practitioner (IPT). Annmarie has worked in a number of clinical settings, including; acute in-patient care, primary and secondary care, and specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in NHS Lothian. Annmarie’s research focuses on trauma, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), psychological therapies (CBT, TF-CBT, IPT), perinatal mental health, young people’s mental health, interventional evaluations and clinical trials in remotely delivered interventions. Annmarie has a leading role in the FIRST PETT  trial, chairing the FIRST therapy delivery, safety, quality assurance and intervention fidelity. Annmarie is currently the Associate Editor for the Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, the Review Editor for Frontiers in Digital Health, and Inaugural Editorial of the Journal of American Nurses Association-New York (JANANY).

Alie Salford:

Alie Salford is a Registered Nurse and Highly Specialist Psychological Practitioner.  She works as the Program Lead for Head Start Psychological Therapies at Walking With The Wounded and is passionate about ensuring our Armed Forces Community receives high-quality, evidence-based, timely support that meets their needs and preferences. In addition, she works part-time clinically in the NHS Trusted Relationships Project which aims to improve support for young people experiencing extra-familial abuse and/or exploitation. She also sits on several committees relevant to this work including the VAPC in Northwest England; the Royal College of Psychiatrists Quality Network for Veterans Mental Health (QNVMH): and the Contact Research Advisory Group for Military Mental Health.

hANNAH STRANG:

Hannah Strang is a Clinical Lead within the NHS, currently working as a Staff Support Lead. Her role includes providing post-incident interventions for staff working within both community and inpatient mental health settings. She is a qualified CBT and EMDR therapist, and also works using narrative approaches, Hannah has a wealth of experience working with individuals who have experienced trauma/PTSD. Hannah was involved in the FIRST PETT study that took place in the NHS, working as an advisor on the NHS processes and therapist support. Within the current trial Hannah is the Assistant Psychologist Trainer/Supervisor.

Olufemi P. Idowu:

Olufemi has an MSc in Medical Statistics from the University of Ibadan and is currently a Medical Statistician at the Clinical Trials Research Unit (CTRU), Leeds Institute of Clinical Trials Research (LICTR), University of Leeds where he provides a key role in the implementation and analysis of FIRST PETT and other studies. He has previously worked for almost ten years at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health, Neuroscience and Substance Abuse, University of Ibadan in various research projects addressing poor mental health conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa.

David Cameron:

Dr. David Cameron is Clinical Lead of Inspire, an all-Ireland Mental Health, Learning Disability, and addictions charity.  David is responsible for the design, strategic development, delivery and governance of high quality, safe and effective clinical. David has worked for upwards of thirty-five years as a research practitioner in statutory and voluntary mental health settings, and has led on the regional delivery of psychological therapies for victims and survivors of the Northern Ireland conflict. He has also worked as a senior full time and associate lecturer in several Universities including Dublin City University, Queens University Belfast, and New Buckinghamshire University.  David holds full dual clinical registrations with the Health Care Professions Council and the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy, he is a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow with the British Psychological Society.

Claire Ballard:

Claire has worked at King’s College London for the past eight years and has recently joined the FIRST PETT Trial as Assistant Trial Manager. She has a particular interest in promoting patient and public involvement in research, supporting people with lived experience to be engaged in health care research. In her last research post she worked closely with an advisory panel of parents of neurodivergent children, championing their expertise and facilitating their input into a trial for a novel parenting support app. Claire also holds a qualification in psychotherapeutic counselling and works in private practice supporting clients through a range of life challenges and emotional difficulties.

Aldo Conti:

Dr Aldo Conti is a Chartered Psychologist and Cognitive Neuroscientist, currently working as a Research Associate at King’s College London. He is involved in the mechanistic phase of the FIRST PETT study and has worked for three years on a randomized controlled trial investigating the efficacy and mechanisms of external trigeminal nerve stimulation (TNS) in paediatric Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). He received his PhD in Addiction Medicine from the University of St Andrews, where his research focused on the neuroanatomical and cognitive correlates of early-onset tobacco smoking during adolescence.

Amber McKenzie:

Amber McKenzie is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR), King’s College London, and a recipient of a Wellcome Trust Accelerator Award investigating the experiences of racially and ethnically minoritised servicewomen and workplace intersectionality.

She joined KCMHR in 2018 and recently completed her PhD on adjustment disorder in the UK Armed Forces, using mixed methods to examine presentation, risk factors, and lived experiences.

Her current research explores health and work intersections, with a specific focus in the UK Armed Forces. Topics include sickness absence among women, ethnic minorities, and male-dominated occupations. She collaborates with several international institutions including Queen’s University (Canada), Rutgers University (USA), and Nordland Hospital (Norway) on projects spanning bullying in military-connected youth, intersectionality, and occupational health.

Alex Wright-Hughes:

Alex Wright-Hughes is a Principal Statistician at the Leeds Institute of Clinical Trials Research, University of Leeds. With over 15 years of experience, she plays a leading role in the design, conduct, analysis, and reporting of randomised controlled trials, particularly those involving complex interventions. Her work is focused on the evaluation of behavioural interventions in mental health and self-harm, but also spans a wide range of clinical areas including stroke, rehabilitation, palliative care, and gastroenterology. Her methodological interests centre on enhancing trial design and delivery through the use of routine electronic health data, novel and efficient trial designs, conducting individual patient data meta-analyses, and evaluating therapist effects within behavioural interventions.

Phoebe McKenna-Plumley

Dr Phoebe McKenna-Plumley is a Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast and works as a Research Fellow on the FIRST PETT trial. Her research uses a range of methods to understand loneliness, inclusion, and related topics including physical and mental health. She has previously worked and studied at Queen’s University Belfast, the University of Galway, and the University of Padua.

Gillian Cameron:

Gillian Cameron is the Digital Development Lead within the Insights, Engagement and Innovation team in Inspire. She completed two-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Inspire and Ulster University in 2018, graded Outstanding. Gillian is focused on using technology for mental health, and applying research to industry, by creating bespoke wellbeing platforms for populations including employees, students, emergency services and elite sports. Skilled in web development, data analytics and research, this has led her to study for an Industrial PhD in Computing with Ulster University, supported by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851. Gillian has worked with the PETT team to develop the web pages for the FIRST PETT study.

Jason Shepherd:

Jason served with the military for over 29 years, primarily with RAOC/RLC Bomb Disposal and United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF), and deploying on all first Gulf War operational tours. He left the regular Army to join the Army reserves. He had service-related mental health issues, being diagnosed with PTSD in 2015 and Complex PTSD and significant adjustment disorder in 2020. As an accredited Armed Forces Network Service Champion, he uses his lived experiences to advocate for veterans, and to collaborate and offer advice from a military perspective. He has collaborated with The Royal Marine Charity, Swansea University, HMPPS, NHS England, MOD, as well as Veteran support services within his local area. He has collaborated with NHS England in the evaluation and commission of OP Nova, the NHS commission supporting veterans in the Justice system. Jason is currently studying for an Open BSc (Hons) Degree in Law, history and mental health having previously gained academic qualifications in stress management, counselling, safeguarding, substance abuse, and PTSD.

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