Professor Pip Logan
Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences
I am an occupational therapist and Professor of Rehabilitation Research at the University of Queensland, Australia and University of Nottingham, UK. It is a great pleasure to be the Co Chief Investigator for the Falls in Stroke Survivors multi-centre trial. Falling over has been highlighted as a severe and persistent problem to me by many of my stroke patients, their families and clinical colleagues.
We have completed studies that have shown that falls should not be considered as inevitable in older people and those living in care homes and have developed an intervention (Action Falls) that can reduce falls in these populations. Our Falls in Stroke Survivors trial will check if Action Falls works for stroke survivors who have a different set of unique limitations and can be any age. I am particularly excited to lead this trial with teams that include people with stroke, clinicians and researchers.
Vicky Booth
Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences
The whole team are so pleased to have been awarded the funding to do this important research. Stroke survivors are at an increased risk of falls but evidence-based approaches to directly address this within their rehabilitation programmes are limited. The FISS study is a major step forwards in helping stroke survivors reduce falls.
Caroline Rick
Associate Professor of Clinical Trials
I am a triallist with nearly 20 years’ experience in the design and delivery of clinical trials with a particular interest in neurology and therapy interventions. I am delighted to be working on this important project, which has the potential to help people live safely and more confidently in their own homes following a Stroke.
Edward Cox, Health Economist
I am a senior Health Economist at the Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit, University of Nottingham, where my research is focused on the economic evaluation of health care interventions. I have expertise in decision analytic modelling and have conducted research across a wide range of disease areas including cancers, Parkinson's, genetic disorders, advanced HIV and coronary heart disease. My role in the FISS trial will involve aiding in the design and analysis of the FISS trial in order to best establish whether the integration of the Action Falls programme into NHS care represents a cost-effective investment in care for stroke survivors.
Emmah Doig
Senior Conjoint Research Fellow in Occupational Therapy
I am an experienced occupational therapist and researcher in the field of brain injury rehabilitation from Australia and am the lead for the FISS-Australia trial. My hope is that together, the UK and Australian trials will inform policy and practice across the two different healthcare systems that will ultimately benefit people with stroke and their families.
Dr Frederick Raymond Higton
Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Representative
I studied Chemistry at the Royal Holloway College, University of London where I gained a BSc and PhD. I subsequently worked in the Pharmaceutical Industry developing medicines and consumer products for over thirty years. I suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2011 and the resulting stroke left me paralysed down the right hand side. With extensive physiotherapy and lots of determination, some of the functionality has been restored.I have a keen interest in research. I am the joint lay chair of the Nottingham Stroke Research Partnership Group, and work with the East Midlands ARC. I am involved in research for the Institute of Mental Health and Hearing, MindTech and the School of Medicine. I also volunteer with the Stroke Association.In addition to my scientific pursuits I have been a professional cartoonist and caricaturist for many years under the pen name 'frid'.
Fran Allen
Research Fellow
I am a physiotherapist and research fellow in the Centre for Rehabilitation and Ageing Research, University of Nottingham. I have been attached to the Action Falls programme since 2018, where I worked as part of the process evaluation team and since 2021 I have been study coordinator for the Falls in Care Homes Implementation study (FinCH Imp). I have an indepth knowledge about the Action falls intervention. I look forward to seeing how Action Falls for Stroke develops and how it may impact stroke survivors.
Paul Leighton
Associate Professor of Applied Health Services Research
I am an Associate Professor of Applied Health Research. I have expertise in qualitative methods as applied to RCT design, and an interest in social (and sociological) aspects of healthcare. My work has spanned multiple clinical areas – including hearing, gastro, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, primary care, healthcare of the elderly, and dermatology. In FISS I shall be leading a process evaluation that considers in greater detail how and why individual experiences of Action Falls might vary, and what this can tell us about how to delivery Action Falls in the future.
Richard McManus
Professor of Primary Care
I am a GP by background and an expert in primary care research, trials and cardiovascular disease. I have a long history of work in stroke and stroke prevention including supporting the original NICE stroke guideline and research around optimising the treatment of stroke. I am looking forward to collaborating on this exciting trial.
Trish Hepburn
Senior Medical Statistician
I am the senior statistician on the FISS trial and was one of the original team who designed the trial and applied for the funding for it. Alongside my colleagues, I ensure that we are collecting the right data for the trial, that we collect data on the right number of patients, and that we do the correct analysis to answer the research question. My hope is that the trial gives us a clear answer about whether the action falls program can reduce falls in people who have had strokes.
Louise Connell, Professor of Allied Health Rehabilitation / Co-investigator
Clinical academic physiotherapist working in stroke rehabilitation with experience in implementation research.
Nadine Foster, Conjoint Professor, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
I bring senior experience in multicentre randomised trials in rehabilitation.
Aisha Shafayat, Trial Manager
As the Trial Manager for the FISS study, I am responsible for the day-to-day management of the trial. I will be working closely with the trial management team to ensure the study runs smoothly and effectively for everyone involved. We are hopeful that the findings from this study will make a significant difference in improving the lives of stroke survivors and their families.
Christopher Holmes, Medical Statistician
I joined FISS as the trial statistician in October 2024. This is an area I am passionate about, having previously done research as part of my MSc to identify risk factors for falls, and specifically recurrent falls, in middle-aged people. In FISS, I'll provide statistical input throughout the trial, including developing the statisticial analysis plan, creating programs to analyse the data, producing reports, and the final analysis of the trial data.
Rebecca Haydock, Senior Trial Manager
As the Senior Trial Manager I work with the Trial Management team to manage all aspects of the trial from the design stage to reporting the trial results. I hope that the FISS trial provides us with enough evidence to show whether our falls intervention does prevent falls and improve the quality of life in people who have had a stroke.
Kshitij Tiwari, Database Systems Developer
I am responsible for developing and maintaining the REDCap database, as well as other IT systems critical to this study. I feel that this research has the potential to positively affect the lives of stroke survivors globally and improve their quality of life. It is a privilege to collaborate with such a talented and dedicated team here at NCTU.
Sandy Ma, Health Economist
I serve as the health economics analyst for the trial, and I look forward to collaborating with the team to achieve outstanding results.
Janet Darby
Research Fellow, University of Nottingham
In the trial I’m working on the Process Evaluation. I’m a qualitative researcher who has worked on the development of the Action Falls Programme. My role has been to investigate – through interviews and focus groups – how, in what circumstances, and for whom, the programme works in Care Homes. I will now put this same question into practice as the programme is adapted for stroke survivors.