Members of ABIRA are drawn from academic, NHS and independent sector settings around Norfolk. You can read our staff biographies by clicking on individual team members’ photos.
Liz has an MSc in Physiotherapy and a BSc in Molecular Biology and Genetics. She first worked as a research scientist at the John Innes Centre before re-training and working as a rotational physiotherapist for the Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust. In 2011 she combined her interests and became a Research Therapist working on the clinical trials SWIFT Cast and FAST INdiCATE. In 2016 Liz took up the post of Clinical Movement Analyst at UEA.
Staff
Louise Gilbert
Louise is an Advanced Specialist Physiotherapist in the Early Supported Discharge Team for Stroke at the Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust.
Staff
Dr Nicola Hancock
Nicola has worked both nationally and regionally to develop stroke rehabilitation services and is currently pursuing an academic career in this field. She is a Lecturer in Physiotherapy at UEA and holds a first class BSc in Physiotherapy and a Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Education from the UEA. Nicola was awarded her PhD in July 2014. Her recent research has involved investigating reciprocal pedalling exercise after stroke.
Staff
Dr Kath Mares
Having qualified as a physiotherapist in 1993, Kath went on to specialise in the management and treatment of people with acquired brain injury, at what is now known as the Specialist Rehabilitation Services (SRS) in Norwich. In 2000 she started work as a Lecturer/Practitioner in Physiotherapy working between the SRS and the University of East Anglia (UEA). In 2005 Kath successfully gained the post of full time Lecturer in Physiotherapy at UEA. Leadership roles have included Course Director for the BSc in Physiotherapy, Course Director for the MSc in Stroke Recovery and most recently Lead for the NIHR funded MSc in Clinical Research. Kath recently completed her PhD evaluating the feasibility of Functional Strength Training for improving walking and upper limb function in people later after stroke. She has a keen interest in the use of motor learning theories for improving functional recovery after acquired brain injury and is currently seeking post-doctoral funding to develop this research theme further.
Staff
Helen Morse
Helen has a BSc (Hons) in Psychology from Plymouth University and an MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience. Helen has finished a role within the NHS and the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) promoting dementia research to re-join UEA as a PhD student. Funded by the Stroke Association, Helen will be exploring the feasibility of using a home-based computerised and assessment for spatial neglect post-stroke (supervised by Dr Stephanie Rossit, Prof Valerie Pomeroy and Dr Allan Clark).
Staff
David Payne
David holds a BSc Hons degree in Sport and Exercise Science which he gained in 2008 from Canterbury Christ Church University. During his time at Canterbury David had the opportunity to become part of the Sports Science Laboratory Team as a Junior Technician where he assisted in several research studies. After 2008 he worked for one year in a further education college in Kent and gained a PGCE. Up until August 2015 David worked as the Senior Sport and Exercise Science Technician at a college in west London where he helped to develop a sports science support network for the college’s academy athletes and coaching staff. In September 2015 David joined the UEA to become a Research Technician in Movement & Exercise at the School of Medical and Health Science.
Staff
Dr Stephanie Rossit
Dr. Stephanie Rossit joined UEA as a Lecturer in Psychology in 2013. She graduated in Psychology from the University of the Algarve (Portugal) and then went on to do a Ph.D. at the University of Glasgow investigating perception and action deficits in stroke patients who suffered from visual neglect. After her Ph.D. she undertook a post-doctoral research position at the Brain and Mind Institute at the Western University (Canada) using functional magnetic resonance imaging to study visuomotor control.
Dr. Rossit’s research is focused in studying the role of sensory information for perception and motor control and how these two processes interact. To answer these questions, she carries out behavioural and neuroimaging experiments with both healthy participants and neurological patients. Most of her neuropsychological research is focused on studying the deficits associated with visual neglect (a loss of awareness of the contralesional side of space present in up to 80% of stroke patients) as well in investigating the efficacy of techniques used to rehabilitate this severe neurological condition.
Postgraduate Research Students
Canan Yuksel
Canan has a BSc degree in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation from Istanbul University (Turkey) and an MSc degree in Physiotherapy (Neurorehabilitation) from Nottingham University. She started to her PhD at the University of East Anglia in October 2019 under the supervision of Professor Valerie Pomeroy, Dr Nicola Hancock and Dr Allan Clark. Canan’s PhD area focuses on neuro-mechanical correlates of movement recovery after stroke.
Postgraduate Research Students
Merve Kızılay
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