Our Team
Professor Mark Gabbay
Director of CLAHRC North West Coast
Dr Mark Gabbay MD FRCGP is Professor of General Practice at the University of Liverpool, and Head of Department of Health Services Research. He is Director of the CLAHRC NWC.
His research interests include studying complex interventions in primary care, health inequalities, work and health, mental health and substance misuse. He is a GP at Brownlow Health in Liverpool, and holds a number of senior regional NIHR appointments including the research design service; primary care, mental health and comprehensive research networks. He has over 90 peer reviewed publications and as PI or Co-I over £60M research grants during his academic care.
Please contact Professor Mark Gabbay via M.B.Gabbay@liverpool.ac.uk
Professor Jennie Popay
Professor of Sociology and Public Health at Lancaster University and Co-Director of the Liverpool and Lancaster Collaboration for Public Health Research
Jennie Popay is Professor of Sociology and Public Health at Lancaster University and Deputy Director of the NIHR School for Public Health Research. She has worked as a teacher, policy maker and researcher in academia and in the public and voluntary sectors in the UK, Africa and New Zealand. Her research interests include the social determinants of health and health equity; the evaluation of complex ‘natural’ policy experiments’; and community empowerment. A qualitative social science at heart, she has been involved in a wide range of mixed methods studies. Currently, she is undertaking research on approaches to assessing the impact of public involvement in research and on the impact on health inequalities of interventions aiming to increase community ‘control’. She has held public appointments with the Commission on Health Improvement and the Commission on Patient and Public Involvement in Health and is presently chair of the national charity The People’s Health Trust and a member of the Bevan Commission set up to advise the Welsh government on the future of the NHS and public health in Wales. Her role in the CLAHRC NWC is Director Engagement and lead for the public health/health inequalities theme.
Please contact Professor Jennie Popay via j.popay@lancaster.ac.uk or Libby Osborn via l.osborn@lancaster.ac.uk

Professor Caroline Watkins
Professor of Stroke and Older People�s Care, University of Central Lancashire

Professor Andrew Clegg
Professor of Health Services Research & Theme Lead, Evidence Synthesis Collaboration (ESC)
Andrew is Professor of Health Services Research at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), specialising in systematic reviews and meta-analyses. During 20 years working in evidence synthesis and health technology assessment, Andrew has gained considerable experience in producing systematic reviews to support people in making decisions regarding the effectiveness of different health interventions with different stakeholders including the public, health professionals and policy makers.
Previous held positions include Director of the Southampton Health Technology Assessments Centre (2002-2014), undertaking evaluations of the clinical and cost effectiveness of health technologies on behalf of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), World Health Organisation and others.
Andrew leads the NIHR CLAHRC NWC Evidence Synthesis Collaboration (ESC). The ESC supports partners in examining research evidence to inform their decision making and in developing research in priority areas. It also provides continuing professional development to help people understand the use of research in informing policy and practice.
Please contact via his email AClegg3@uclan.ac.uk.

Professor Tony Marson
Professor of Neurology at the University of Liverpool and Honorary Consultant Neurologist
Professor Tony Marson is a consultant neurologist and epileptologist at The Walton Centre and Professor of Neurology at The University of Liverpool. He leads the Liverpool epilepsy research group and is also Deputy Director of the MRC North West Hub for Trials Methodology Research, Coordinating Editor of the Cochrane Epilepsy Group, Chair of the Programme Committee European Academy of Neurology, Director of Research Programmes Liverpool Health Partners and leads the National Audit of Seizure Management in Hospitals.
Tony has particular expertise in assessing interventions, outcomes, and factors that influence outcomes in epilepsy. He has led the two largest investigator led multicentre randomised epilepsy trials to date; the MRC funded Multicentre Study of Early Epilepsy and Single Seizure, and the NIHR HTA funded Study of Standard and New Antiepileptic Drugs (SANAD, 2500 patients).
Tony is currently chief investigator of the NIHR HTA funded SANAD II which will assess two newer antiepileptic drugs in newly diagnosed patients. He is chief investigator of an NIHR programme grant which included the development statistical models to undertake and validate prognostic modelling of epilepsy data from randomized trials and prospective studies of other designs. He is also a member of the NIH funded epilepsy centre without walls that will identify genes that cause epilepsy and influence treatment response, and the ILAE sponsored group undertaking a ‘meta-GWAS’ attempting to identify common causal genetic variants for epilepsy.

Professor Munir Pirmohamed
David Weatherall Chair in Medicine at the University of Liverpool and a Consultant Physician at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital

Dr Jane Cloke
Programme Manager and Deputy for the Director
Jane has been with the University of Liverpool since 2002, focussed on support for research grants and contracts, programme management and collaborative health services research. Along with Professor Mark Gabbay, Jane worked with colleagues in Liverpool PCT to establish LivHIR, the Liverpool Health Inequalities Research Institute, developing a programme of work focused on addressing health inequalities experienced by the people of Liverpool. Prior to joining the UoL, Jane gained project management experience at the Transport Research Laboratory, where she was a senior researcher, and at Halcrow, where she was an Environmental Consultant. As well as deputy for the Director, Jane’s role is helping develop our themes and engage with our Partners.
Please contact Jane via J.Cloke@liverpool.ac.uk

Professor Rhiannon Corcoran
Professor of Psychology at the University of Liverpool Institute of Psychology Health and Society & Theme Lead, Improving Mental Health CLAHRC NWC.
Rhiannon's research focuses on the psychological, social and environmental determinants of mental health and wellbeing. Her research and knowledge exchange activity spans disciplines from psychology to literature, public health to living environment and place-making.
Rhiannon’s ongoing research is directed at improving mental health and wellbeing through communities and neighbourhoods. She directs the Prosocial Place Research and Practice Programme and the Community Wellbeing Evidence Programme of the National What Works Centre for Wellbeing. In these roles she aims to promote equitable places that enhance health and wellbeing by addressing knowledge gaps, implementing evidence-informed practice and by connecting academics with practitioners and policy makers to address health and wellbeing inequalities.
Rhiannon is a member of the Community Engagement Committee of the DCLG National Estates Regeneration Strategy and sits on the Publications Steering Committee of NHS England’s Healthy New Towns Initiative.
Rhiannon is a member of Liverpool CCG’s R and D Committee and a trustee of the Liverpool Mental Health Consortium.

Kirsty Pine
Operations Manager
Kirsty is based at Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group as the Operations Manager for CLAHRC NWC. Please contact Kirsty Pine via Kirsty.pine@liverpoolccg.nhs.uk |
