Research team
John Ford, Director
John is a Senior Clinical Lecturer in Health Equity at Queen Mary University of London, an Honorary Visiting Fellow at the University of Cambridge, and an Honorary Public Health Consultant at NHS England. John’s main research interest is interventions and policies that seek to promote health equity and reduce health inequalities. He has range of interests relating to equitable health, including so called “intervention-generated inequalities” in health care settings, local system-level interventions to address inequalities, health care workforce inequalities, national policies and strategies to address inequalities and how primary care can address health and health care inequalities. More details can be found here.
Anna Gkiouleka, Researcher
Anna is a Research Associate in Health Equity at QMUL. She is a multidisciplinary social scientist dedicated to addressing urgent public health issues with a focus on the intersectional structural drivers of health inequalities. In 2020, she was awarded a PhD in Sociology from the University of York. Since then she has contributed significantly to studies that bridge research and practice in the areas of primary care, Allied Health Professional services, inclusion health, and levelling up health initiatives.
Helen Pearce, Researcher
Helen is a Researcher in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge. Her research interests include the interventions and aspects of primary care which can affect health inequalities. In particular, Helen is interested in using AI-assisted technology to increase the efficiency of evidence synthesis from literature, to better and more rapidly inform researchers and policymakers on what works to address health inequalities in primary care, and where gaps in the evidence lie.
Cam Appel, Data scientist
Cameron is a data scientist at Queen Mary University of London. His research interests lie at the intersection of socioeconomic and health inequalities, and he is interested in generating resources and insights that promote equitability. He is currently focussed on addressing health inequalities in England, by applying practice- and individual-level data analysis and machine learning techniques to a supply, need and demand model of healthcare.
Lucy Johnson, Research Associate in Health Equity
Lucy is a research fellow in health equity at QMUL. She completed a PhD in medical anthropology at Durham University in 2023. She also holds an MSc in Global Mental Health from Glasgow University. Lucy’s research interests involve using qualitative methods to understand how health inequalities manifest and are experienced. She is especially interested in geographical health inequalities and socioeconomic deprivation. Currently, she is using realist methods to understand how quality improvement (QI) can be used to improve health equity and ensure high-quality care for all.
Lucy McCann, Clinical academic researcher
Lucy is an Academic Foundation Doctor in North East London with an interest in health inequalities and public health. She believes a key focus of healthcare should be to ensure equitable access and outcomes, with a focus on driving priorities based on individual and community needs. She is passionate about promoting health education, empowering individuals to actively participate in managing their own health and diseases, and encouraging involvement in research initiatives. Lucy’s main research areas focus on reducing preventable disease and improving health across the life course.
Helena Painter, Clinical academic researcher
Helena is a GP registrar working in a practice in Tower Hamlets and an academic clinical fellow in primary care at Queen Mary University of London. She believes in the importance of equitable healthcare with communities at the centre and she is motivated to work towards addressing existing health inequalities. She is currently interested in the role of general practice in addressing inequalities in social determinants of health, and how primary care delivery and workforce impacts equitable care.
Amy Dehn Lunn, General practice lead advisor
Amy is a GP working in North East London, a senior clinical fellow at Kent and Medway ICS, and a clinical research fellow at Queen Mary University of London. Amy combines her clinical practice with work on a wider footprint to improve the health of communities with a health equity focus. She is interested in how evidence can shape primary care policy at different levels of the system to reduce disparities in patient access, experience and outcomes.
Ian Holdroyd, Clinical Researcher
Ian is a Foundation Doctor working in South West London. His research interests are focused on nationwide public policy interventions that directly or indirectly affect population health, health inequalities, and the social determinants underpinning both.
Luke Natali, Project support
Luke is an Advisor at Health Innovation East and leads the programme management of this work. Luke and Health Innovation East are focused on reducing health inequalities throughout the East of England by supporting initiatives such as this and the NHS Core20PLUS5 agenda. Health Innovation East is funded by the NHS and the Office for Life Sciences to bring together academia, citizens, health services and industry to realise the value of innovations more quickly.
Clinical advisors
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Dr Emily Clark
Dr Emily Clark
Emily is a GP in Norwich, she is research lead at the Deep End Network in the East of England and a Clinical Advisor at Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board. She is also an NIHR in-practice research fellow at the University of East Anglia.
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Dr Jenny Blyth
Dr Jenny Blyth
Dr Jenny Blythe, salaried GP and clinical teaching fellow at Barts and the London Medical School.
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Dr Payam Torabi
Dr Payam Torabi
Payam is a GP and Clinical Lead for Population Health and Health Inequalities at NHS North East London ICB.
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Dr Serge Engamba
Dr Serge Engamba
Serge is a GP in Norwich. He is the Deputy Speciality Lead for primary care at the NIHR CRN East of England and Clinical Research Lead for Norwich PCN. He is also the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Lead for the Royal College of GP’s East Anglia Faculty. Serge’s main research interest is focused on enhancing health service delivery for patients with mental health problems, multimorbidity, and complex social issues. He has a particular interest in GP continuity of care and how to promote this in today’s primary care environment.
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Dr Camille Gajria
Dr Camille Gajria
Camille is a GP and an academic tutor in the Department of Primary Care and Public Health at Imperial College London.
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Dr Ling Wong
Dr Ling Wong
Ling is a GP in South London and works in Inclusion Health. She is also the GP Training Programme Director for Differential attainment and Targeted Intervention at the East of England deanery.
Strategic Oversight Group
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Dr Anees Pari
Dr Anees Pari
Anees is a Consultant in Public Health and the Deputy Managing Director of Strategic Commissioning in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board.
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Dr Ben Jackson
Dr Ben Jackson
Ben is an academic GP at the University of Sheffield. More details can be found here
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Dr Emily Clark
Dr Emily Clark
Emily is a GP in Norwich, research lead at the Deep End Network in the East of England and a Clinical Advisor at Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board. She is also an NIHR in-practice research fellow at the University of East Anglia.
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Dr Sarah Sowden
Dr Sarah Sowden
Sarah leads applied health and care inequalities research at Newcastle University including the UNFAIR and Deep End programmes. Sarah’s research aims to enable the NHS, local government and wider system partners to better promote health equity and reduce inequalities in health and care access, experience and outcome. Employed across settings to strengthen links between research, policy and practice, Sarah also works as a Public Health Consultant within the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities in the North East of England and informs work within the North East and North Cumbria ICB to address healthcare inequalities.
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Dr Victoria Tzortziou Brown
Dr Victoria Tzortziou Brown
Victoria is an academic GP in east London and Visiting Professor at the University of Bolton. She is currently the Research and Innovation lead of North East London Integrated Care System and the RCGP’s Vice Chair for External Affairs.
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Will Tate
Will Tate
Will is a policy manager at NHS England.