Julie is a Senior Research Fellow with an interest in implementation, health service design and public health. She has a PhD in Operational Research from the University of Strathclyde and a BSc (first class) in Computing Science with Mathematics from the University of Stirling.
For the last 20 years, Julie has conducted research in health service provision and public health. She combines her expertise in operational research, social research, and digital to identify optimal solutions to complex, messy problems. Much of Julie’s research applies a whole-systems approach to a problem in order to explore a wider context, develop a shared understanding of a challenge, and better understand the interplay between different components. In addition, her research seeks to involve relevant stakeholders in designing, developing, and evaluating services, facilitating empowerment, equity, and social connectedness.
Using implementation frameworks and a realist evaluation approach, Julie has evaluated a number of health and wellbeing interventions, including community initiatives to support health and wellbeing of disadvantaged communities, evaluation of interventions to support men’s health, and digital primary care services across Scotland.
Julie is also an experienced systematic reviewer. She has been involved in a number of reviews exploring evidence around barriers and facilitators to intervention success, acceptability and sustainability. Topics include interventions for community health, hospital wards, constipation in children, and a Cochrane review of interventions to support the resilience and mental health of health professionals through the pandemic. Julie is a member of the NESSIE review team.
Julie has published in high-quality peer-reviewed academic journals, is a reviewer for several academic journals and sits on a number of editorial committees. She is a member of the Chief Scientist Office early postdoctoral fellowship panel.
Julie has PhD responsibility for:
- Rebecca Matthews; Does context matter: How does where you live and social support impact on long-term effectiveness of physical activity-based community rehabilitation for people with multiple sclerosis? (Director of Studies)
- Ebere Ugwuodo; The key challenges experienced by vulnerable people with long-term neurological conditions (LTNC) and their families during the COVID pandemic: the lessons learned? (Second Supervisor)