GMC Number: 6077726
Year & location of first qualification: 2001, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
Specialty: Infectious Diseases
Secretary: Lynne Brown
Telephone number: 0117 414 6405
Dr Heys is a member of the British Infection Association and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.
GMC Number: 6033124
Year of first qualification: 2000, Bangalore University
Specialty: Pain medicine and Anaesthetics
Clinical interests: Pain Management
Secretary: Elaine Musgrove
Telephone: 0117 414 7351
Dr Chhabra has extensive experience in the multidisciplinary management of a variety of musculoskeletal and neuropathic pain problems. He has a sub-specialty interest in Spinal Cord Stimulation. This is a therapy used for managing neuropathic pain conditions such as persistent Spinal Pain Syndrome (failed back surgery/Post laminectomy syndrome) and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.
In addition, he is also an Anaesthetist for Neurosurgery and Plastics and is also an Examiner for the European Diploma of Pain Medicine.
GMC Number: 6096119
Year of first qualification: 1999
Specialty: Upper GI Surgery
Clinical interests: Gall bladder surgery, antireflux surgery, surgery for achalasia cardia, laparoscopic and open hernia surgery
Secretary: Susan Phillis
Telephone number: 0117 414 0834
Yvonne is Director of Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit, Professor of Speech and Communication at the University of Bristol and Professor of Speech and Language Therapy at Cardiff Metropolitan University. She was elected to receive the Fellowship of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in 2022 in recognition of work of special value that she has carried out for the profession. She was also chair of the Child Speech Committee and on the board of the International Association of Communication Sciences and Disorders (aka IALP) from 2016 to 2022, is the founder and inaugural chair of the Child Speech Disorder Research Network and was Associate Editor for the journal Folia Phoniatrica et Logopedica from 2016 to 2019.
Yvonne qualified as a speech and language therapist at the University of Manchester and then worked in a clinical capacity in Liverpool and Bristol for ten years before joining BSLTRU. She obtained her PhD in 2005 from the University of Bristol and was awarded a fellowship from the National Institute of Health Research in 2011. While Yvonne’s specific research interests are in speech sound disorder and cleft lip and palate, she leads a team of researchers and clinical academics conducting research across a wide range of areas related to speech, language, communication and swallowing impairment.
Yvonne is senior research advisor to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapist (RCSLT) and a member of the International Expert Panel on Multilingual Children’s Speech. The impact of her work includes the development of two sets of guidelines for the transcription and analysis of children’s speech with the Child Speech Disorder Research Network, both of which have been endorsed by RCSLT, and the identification of risk factors for persistent speech disorders, which has contributed to the All Wales Speech Pathway and clinical guidance provided by the RCSLT.
Her awards include a Giving Voice award from the RCSLT in 2022, Certificate of Appreciation from the International Association of Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2021, Patient Involvement and Engagement in Research (PIER) Award from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (with colleagues in the Cleft Collective) in 2020, and the Editor’s award for the Speech Section of the Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research (with Sound Start Study colleagues) in 2017.
Yvonne receives numerous invitations to speak and give keynote presentations at both national and international conferences and has over 100 publications.
Yvonne is the Chief Investigator for the Cleft Collective Cohort Studies – the national longitudinal study investigating the causes, treatments and outcomes of being born with a cleft lip and/or palate. This unique study has over 9000 participants from over 3000 families and is growing day by day. More information is available at The Cleft Collective | Bristol Dental School | University of Bristol and on twitter @cleftcollective.
Yvonne is also the Chief Investigator of the NIHR funded MISLToe_SSD study. This study will use existing evidence, a participatory workshop and an expert panel to agree the content for a core outcomes set and collection of minimal data for speech and language therapists working with children with speech sound disorder. It is anticipated that a similar model may be adopted for agreeing core outcome sets with other clinical populations working with speech and language therapists. You can follow this study on twitter @MISLToe_SSD.
Edited Books
Book Chapters
Wren, Y. & the CLAPA Cleft Collective Patient Consultation Group. Working with people across the lifespan. In Volkmer, A. & Broomfield, K. (Eds) Seldom Heard Voices in Service User Involvement: The how and why of meaningful collaboration. Guildford: J&RPress.
Sell, D., Pereira, V., Wren, Y. & Russell, J. Speech disorders related to cleft palate and velopharyngeal dysfunction. In Damico, J., Muller, N. & Ball, M. (Eds) Handbook of Language and Speech Disorders (2nd Edition). Hoboken, NJ; Wiley.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yvonne_Wren
University of Bristol Dental School - Dr Yvonne Wren - Our People (bristol.ac.uk)
Cardiff Metropolitan University School of Sport and Health Sciences
I am the Professional Head of the Speech and Language Therapy Service North Bristol NHS Trust, Clinical Lead at the Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit and a Visiting Research Fellow with the Centre for Health and Social Care Research, Sheffield Hallam University. I qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist at University College, London and have coaching qualifications as a performance and a health coach. I have over 30 years’ clinical experience working with adults with communication and swallowing difficulties resulting from acquired neurological conditions and specialised in communication and swallowing difficulties related to stroke, progressive neurological conditions and traumatic brain injuries. Professionally I represented the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists for the Department of Health’s Stroke Strategy and Stroke Programme Board and was part of the expert panel of the Royal College of Physicians Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party. I am now developing my own research programme in language impairment in Parkinson’s disease and the use of health coaching in an acute setting. I bring to research my experience as a clinician, manager and coach. My interests are in making clinical services effective, cost efficient and responsive to the goals of the person with communication and or swallowing difficulties.
Researchgate profile https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stephanie_Ticehurst
Sue is Emeritus Professor at the University of the West of England, Bristol. She has been a member of the Bristol Speech & Language Therapy Research Unit since 1992 and was a Director here for fourteen years. Sue has worked as a speech and language therapist, a manager, a researcher and an educator and was Chair of the UK Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists from 2004-2006. She has carried out a number of service evaluations and consultations with parents, children and young people. She was a core member of the UK national research programme, the Better Communication Research Programme. This was commissioned by the UK government following the Bercow Review of Services for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs. From 2010-13, she led a large research programme funded by the National Institute of Health Research (Child Talk) to develop an evidence-based framework of interventions for preschool children which included the views of parents and experiences of children.
Sue’s research interests focus on preschool children with developmental speech and language disorders and include child and family perspectives, adult-child interaction therapies, professional judgement and evaluation of speech and language therapy.
Selected publications:
I am a Health Psychologist with qualifications in research methods, medical education, implementation science and leadership. Over the last twenty years I have conducted research with, and on behalf of the NHS, charities, and commercial research organisations. I currently work 4 days a week in Research and Innovation (R&I). I have my own research portfolio, but a major part of my remit is to work with anyone who wants to dip their toe into the world of research, develop their research skills further, or embrace research as a new area of their professional skill set. The other day in the week I work with the Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit, where I help support the development and delivery of speech and language therapy focused research.
I’ve had the great fortune to work in primary and secondary health care settings and to have experience across diverse fields including; breast cancer, chronic respiratory disease, hyperbaric medicine, maxillofacial cancer, speech and language therapy and stroke. I have generally focused on the impact of disease and treatment on the biological, psychological and social aspects of patients outcomes. But at my core I am a methodologist and like nothing better than finding out about peoples research questions and finding a research method(ology) that enables them to find the answers within the restrictions of the hospital context.
I also have the great fortune to lead the SNAHPer (Scientist, Nurses and allied health professional early researchers) group, where we can support each other to develop into the researchers we want to be. As well as developing a programme of work (tutorials) to facilitate all staff across the trust to gain and subsequently use research skills to improve our services and patients treatment. I am also a CAHPR Connector working with multiple universities and hospitals to support AHP developed and lead research, and a member of CARIN (Healthcare Professionals Clinical Academic Roles and Career Pathways Implementation Network).
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5870-2094
www.researchgate.net/profile/Sam_Harding
https://publons.com/author/1478640/
Web of Science ResearcherID: J-2952-2019
Affiliations
Bristol Medical School - Paediatrics and child health
Collaboration for Communication
King's College London - Dental School
I qualified as a Speech and Language Therapist from City University in 1998 and since that time I have worked with adults with acquired neurological disorders in a variety of settings. My primary interest is in the area of aphasia and I have recently been fortunate to receive funding for a project looking at the use of mindfulness and other cognitive behavioural therapy techniques and their impact on people with aphasia.
I have also carried out research into information-giving for people with aphasia on stroke wards, which culminated in the publication of ‘Stroke Talk’, an aphasia-friendly resource for people in hospital following stroke.
Systematic review: Are mindfulness and other CBT techniques effective in improving communication in people with acquired, non-progressive aphasia?
I have worked at Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit since 2011, more recently as Director of Operations. In addition to this role I also work as the Research Development Manager within the Research & Innovation office at North Bristol NHS Trust and have an Honorary Lecturer position at the University of Bristol.
My background is in developmental biology and cell therapy, working as a Research Associate at the University of Minnesota USA, before making the move from academia to research management in 2009. My expertise lies in the development, set-up and management of research within the NHS; particularly contract and financial management, obtaining regulatory approvals, delivering complex programmes of research both within acute and primary care settings, people management and strategic planning. My interests lie in maximising the impact of research and ‘adding value.’ I have a particular interest in public patient involvement, specifically how to make it ‘meaningful’ and developing methods for capturing the value/impact.
Dr Katherine Broomfield
BMedSci (Speech), MSc, PhD, MRCSLT
Senior Research Associate
I qualified as a speech and language therapist from the University of Sheffield in 2001, and completed a Masters degree in Allied Health Professionals in Clinical Leadership with City University, London in 2011. I worked in clinical roles in several different localities across the UK, predominantly with adults who acquired communication difficulties because of neurological conditions. Latterly, I led a local augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) service in Gloucestershire. AAC, or communication aids, are external devices that support people who cannot speak clearly enough to get their message across. In 2014, I secured funding from Health Education England Southwest to carry out a Clinical Academic Internship with BSLTRU which I used to build an application for a Health Education England (HEE)/National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Doctoral Fellowship (2017-2022). My doctoral research project aimed to understand more about the experiences of using AAC to develop a patient reported outcome measure (PROM). I was awarded my PhD in 2024, and plan to build on my doctoral research project in future grant applications. I am currently carrying out a Stroke Association Wales - funded project with colleagues at Cardiff Metropolitan University exploring the experiences of accessing speech and language therapy for people who speak Welsh and have aphasia following stroke.
For more information about me and my project:
unspokenvoicesproject.wordpress.com/
Researchgate profile