Dr Melanie Rees-Roberts

About

I am an experienced researcher and research programme manager with over 15 years of experience in clinical research. I work with academics, clinicians and multi-disciplinary health professionals within University, charity and NHS settings across public health, secondary, primary, community and social care sectors.

I joined CHSS in November 2016 as a Research Manager providing research support and contributing to mixed methods researcher across primary care within the East Kent commissioning landscape and project managing a national study to understand ‘Optimum Hospice at Home Services for End of Life Care’ funded by the NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research programme. In 2019, I moved role to work for the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Kent Surrey Sussex as a Programme Manager and Senior Research Fellow.

Currently researching

My current projects span population health across public health, primary and community care. Through a wide range of projects, I am interested in exploring health service delivery, patient self-management and circumstances impacting health at the individual and place level including wider determinants of health.

Background

Prior to joining CHSS in November 2016,  I worked for a number of higher education and NHS organisations to support clinical research. After my PhD, I worked at Barts Health NHS Trust supporting the running of NIHR portfolio cancer clinical trials. In 2011, I moved to Imperial College London to run NIHR portfolio studies investigating new diagnostics tests for tuberculosis. In 2014, I became Research Manager for the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Respiratory Infections, a new partnership between Imperial College London and Public Health England created as a centre of excellence for public health research in Respiratory Infections.

Education

I undertook my undergraduate training in Biological Sciences at the University of East Anglia before moving to Imperial College London to complete a PhD in HIV vaccine research.

Prizes

Excellence in General Practice Pharmacy award at the 8th edition of the Clinical Pharmacy Congress, June 2019, ExCeL London.

Healthcare Pioneers award during the AF Association Global AF Aware Week annual event hosted at the Palace of Westminster, London, UK, November 2018

Research interests

My research interests include population health, health services research and clinical research related to public health and primary/community care. Particular areas of interest are:

- Mental health
- Utilisation of services
- Use of data and population health management
- Self-management of health and illness
- Public perceptions and opinion on health and care services
- Circumstances of health and wider determinants of health

I am committed to and have significant experience in public and community involvement in research. This includes the co-production of research alongside those with lived experience.

Research Projects and Awards

Funding Awards

(>£2.2m last 5 years)

Sep 23 – Grant preparation for full trial of isometric exercise for hypertension. Alan Squirrel Foundation £27,180.
May 23 – Dementia capacity building fellowship funding. Kent and Medway Partnership Trust. £28,379.
Oct 22 – DE-eECALation Of Opioids Post-surgical DischargE – The DESCALE Study. NIHR ARC KSS – £74,985
Oct 22 – Dementia capacity building funding. NIHR ARC KSS. £455,767
Mar 22 (Lead) – Kent and Medway Primary Care Research. Kent and Medway ICB. £297,042.
Feb 22 (Lead) – Exploring Mental Health and Wellbeing Needs of Young Migrant Women. NIHR PHR. £46,908.
Oct 21 – Mental Health capacity building £750,000
Mar 21 (Co-Lead) – Unlocking data to inform public health policy and practice. NIHR PHR. £177,973.40.
May 20 (Co-app) – Public Health Research System to Support Local Government. NIHR PHR. £48,248.
Jan 20 (Co-app) – Isometric exercise intervention for Stage 1 hypertension. NIHR RfPB. 275,880.
Jan 2019 (Co-applicant) – Optimising the depression pathway utilising digital technology. Innovate UK. £815,506.
Jan 2018 (Co-app) – Embedding research into Encompass, an NHS England Five Year Forward, New Models of Care, Vanguard site. £164,000