Blackpool Researching Together is a health inequalities research partnership between:
- Blackpool Council
- Lancaster University
- The local community
- The voluntary sector
- Blackpool Teaching Hospitals
We’re proud that our team is made up of researchers, professionals and community members to give everyone’s voice a chance to be heard. Working together with the community as co-researchers, we're ensuring that local people’s experiences of facing health inequalities drives our work.
Amelia
Research Associate
"I live in Blackpool and am employed by Lancaster University to work on Blackpool Researching Together. My role in the team is to carry out research to help understand what might improve services and also to look at research that other people have done in other areas to see how we can learn from this, so more people get the help they need".
Caitlain
Community Co-Researcher
"I am so proud to be part of the Blackpool Researching Together team. It has given me so much encouragement over the years to speak my mind. It has also enabled me to become a better person".
Cy
Community Co-Researcher
"I work with the Blackpool Researching Together team as a Project Coordinator, supporting my fellow Co-researchers in the planning, participation and delivery of research projects. Our focus is on understanding the social, environmental, and economic factors influencing our health. With a background in teaching, public services, and youth & community work in Blackpool, I can draw on this experience to bring partners from the public, voluntary and community sectors together to make our town a better place to live, work and play".
Emmanuel
Senior Public Health Intelligence Analyst
“Before joining Blackpool Researching Together, I worked as a Public Health Pharmacist for several years. I have been involved in several data focussed population-level research that aims at addressing health inequalities in low resource settings especially amongst minority groups and underrepresented population".
Heather
Consultant in Public Health
"I'm a Public Health Consultant and worked at Blackpool Victoria Hospital for the past three and a half years as the health inequalities and prevention lead. I have gained a deep understanding of the causes and impact of health inequalities on the people living in Blackpool. I hope to help the HDRC to embed evaluation in council services to make sure we are improving people's lives and ensure that we have the skills and knowledge to coproduce the evidence that is needed to support decision making."
Josh
Graduate Evidence & Intelligence Officer
“I’m born, bred and proud to be from Blackpool and am excited about my new position with the team. After spending time working in universities specialising in both Criminology and Sociology I moved to writing research for a local charity for the last couple of years. Following on from my work as a community co-researcher, I am now very pleased to be joining the team in an increased capacity. I hope to continue to work alongside my peers and promote the crucial yet great efforts that Blackpool is taking to achieve social justice and tackle local health inequalities”.
Karen
Research and Development Manager
"I come from an NHS background where I worked for 24 years, 13 of which were in research, latterly in the NIHR Patient Recruitment Centre (PRC) at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals. I have extensive experience of working in a busy Research Department and understand the transformational power that research can have on lives, especially in an area known to be deprived, and I hope I bring a combination of skills, experience and dedication to research".
Keira
Community Co-Researcher
"Working within the Blackpool Researching Together team has showed me that my lived experience is valuable, as it can be a tool used to make positive changes for the people in Blackpool. I've also been able to expand my knowledge on different health inequalities through speaking with a variety of individuals".
Kelsey
Community Co-Researcher
"Raising my two young daughters in this town is a massive encouragement and daily reminder that young lives deserve much more and creating an optimistic future for them is vital. I can't wait to be part of making real change".
Lakshmi
Community Co-Researcher
"I am thrilled to be working alongside such a diverse group of inquisitive researchers. I am confident in my ability to utilise my passion of unravelling the complexities of society alongside my own, personal lived experiences in the work I produce".
Lauren
Community Co-Researcher
"I am a co-researcher for Blackpool Researching Together as part of my role working for Boingboing Foundation. I am passionate about integrating creative methods into research and advocating for research to make a difference to communities and people working on the ground".
Lisa
Project Officer
"I am proud to have been born and bred in Blackpool and care very much about our town and its community. I have worked in various roles within Customer Services for almost 40 years - mainly as a Team Leader, Project Manager and more recently working within schools. I am very excited about my new role as Project Officer and I hope to bring a combination of skills and experience to the team".
Matthew
Senior Community Co-Researcher
"With a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Society and a Masters degree in Philosophy, I have always cared deeply for differing political issues and want to be part of something that can provide active change to our communities".
Naoimh
Research Fellow
“I started out working in healthcare as a physiotherapist before moving into public health research. I live in Preston and I was a researcher in the Stroke Research Team at UCLan before joining the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Public Health Research at Lancaster University in 2020. I’ve also been an elected member of Preston City Council since 2022. In my own research, I’ve looked at how complex issues, like inequalities, get framed for action in different settings and the consequences for policy and practice responses”.
Natalie
Community Co-Research Officer
"I am really passionate about residents being involved within research and shaping their communities and neighbourhoods. I have around 20 years of experience working within local authorities and charities in the North West with volunteers and community groups, supporting them to be the force for change. I'm also an active volunteer within my local community and fundraise for charities through craft projects".
Natasha
Research lead workforce development
"I was born and raised in Blackpool but recently lived overseas for 12 years. During that time I learnt a lot about health inequities through my work and studies, knowledge which I hope is useful for living and working in Blackpool again. My work has mostly targeted mental health and public health, with my PhD research focused on mental health inequities in young refugees. Being a carer gives me first-hand experience of the benefits of community-led research and co-production".
Pauline
HDRC Director
"I've worked for Blackpool Council for 18 years now and had lots of opportunities to manage different services and projects. My last role was co-leading the HeadStart programme which gave me the chance to develop co-production projects that help people who are going through tough times. This is the bit of my job that I love the most".
Raihana
Community Co-Researcher
"I'm thrilled to be part of the Blackpool Researching Together team, working as a youth co-researcher for BoingBoing Foundation. This is not just an exciting new step in my personal journey, but also an incredible opportunity to make a meaningful impact and contribute my own life experiences to discussions that matter".
Riley
Community Co-Researcher
"As a member of various marginalised groups and having had to advocate for myself through my own lived experiences, I understand the struggle of fighting for real change when you're alone. I hope to use what I've been through before in order to educate and empower others, and to give them hope that change will be made in Blackpool to uplift us all".
Ruth
Project Officer
"I have worked for Blackpool Council for many years. Alongside working on Blackpool Researching Together, I have another role within the Climate and Strategy team where I am responsible for overseeing projects which contribute to Blackpool Council’s goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions".
Sandra
Community Co-Researcher
"After working for Blackpool Council as a social worker in Adult Social Care for 25 years, I have lived experience as a carer and the difficulties that carers face. Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team with health colleagues, I saw first-hand how important and effective collaborative work can be".
Sarah
Consultant in Public Health
“I am originally from a medical background and trained as a doctor at the University of Birmingham where I worked in clinical medicine before doing my public health training in Cumbria and Lancashire. In this role I am looking forward to combining my academic skills with experience of working across the local public health system".
Sharon
Community Co-Researcher
"I moved to the Fylde coast over 30 years ago to pursue a career at Blackpool NHS Trust. I have loved working within a caring profession and my new role as a co-researcher encompasses my ethos of helping and empowering others in their lives".
Sumaiyah
Community Co-Researcher
"I'm really excited to have the chance to work alongside passionate individuals that are committed to social change and youth empowerment. Growing up, I always felt as though my voice was valuable but it wasn't always given the platform it deserved. Now, as a youth co-researcher for BoingBoing Foundataion, I am not just another observer - I'm an active participant, collaborating with a team that truly believes in the power of youth perspectives".
Suthiporn
Co-production Team Administrator
"I’m the Administrator for Blackpool Researching Together, while I’m new to health and research I bring strong organisational skills and a passion for supporting projects that make a difference in the community. Working on this project has given me a chance to learn and grow in this field while contributing to meaningful change in Blackpool".
Vladyslav
Community Co-Researcher
“Before joining Blackpool Researching Together I was an activist for the Natural Environment project to raise awareness of climate change and empower young people. Now I have been given the opportunity to continue contributing to the environment, predominantly the social environment in Blackpool. I'm looking forward to using this opportunity and my life forces productively".
If you would like to contact a member of the team, please email HDRC@blackpool.gov.uk
The NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Blackpool is part of the NIHR and hosted by Blackpool Council. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.
NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaborations enable local authorities to become more research-active, embedding a culture of evidence-based decision making.