Research Community

Dr Karishma Jivraj is a chartered psychologist who has worked in the field of mental heath research since 2012 across various academic institutions, the National Institute for Health Research and the NHS. Her doctoral work demonstrated ways to improve service delivery in community mental health services and recent projects she has led have drawn on positive psychology approaches to enhance the mental health and wellbeing of clinical and non-clinical populations. She led on the OUTCOMES study, exploring the psychosocial benefits of Military Service and impact on post-Service life. 

Dr Lucy Robinson is an Economic and Social Research (ESRC) Postdoctoral Fellow at Cardiff University. Her one year fellowship aims to consolidate her recently completed ESRC-funded DPhil at the Department of Education, University of Oxford. Her doctoral research involved working creatively with groups of service children to explore how military life shapes their identity and school experiences. Lucy is the proud winner of the Centre for Evidence for the Armed Forces Community's 2025 Early Career Researcher Award. Outside of her research, Lucy is a Trustee of the Armed Forces Education Trust (AFET), a grant-giving charity which supports service children's education which has been compromised or put at risk as a result of parents’ past or current service in the British Armed Forces. 

Dr Moira Bailey is a part time Lecturer, freelance Consultant and Researcher at the Robert Gordon University. Her interest in Veteran research came about as a result of her being a member of the Veteran family - her late husband was a Royal Navy Veteran who had mental helath issues arising from his service. Her son also is a Navy Veteran. She was recently a member of the team which produced an independent report commissioned in 2022 by the Office of Veterans’ Affairs to explore the potential of improving female Veterans' access to support services. She is currently working on two projects for different Veteran charities to produce in depth evaluation reports. Moira is also interested in pursing further research in the female Veteran space as well as exploring the experiences of Veterans' carers. 

Dr Robert Allen is an Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Neurodiversity. 
He came to academia in 2013 after 24 years working in the UK Ministry of Defence. Dr Allen has a PhD in the field of Organisational Behaviour and an MSc in Procurement. He also holds a qualification in anxiety and phobia counselling, a PG Diploma in Neurophysiology, and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He is academic lead for neurodiversity at Cranfield University and chairs the neurodiversity community. He is Director for the Cranfield University Defence and Security Leadership MSc programme. His research interests centre on OB and neurodiversity, the nature of expertise and mental health/welfare.

Dr Sally-Anne Barnes is an Associate Professor in Human Resource Management at the University of Leicester School of Business. With over two decades of experience, she has led and contributed to a range of international research projects in the field of career development, shaping both policy and practice. Her research examines the evolving nature of careers and the labour market, with a particular focus on how individuals engage with career development, lifelong guidance and learning across the life course.  A significant strand of her work focuses on ex-Service personnel and the wider armed forces community, exploring their transitions to the civilian labour market, engagement with transition support, civilian careers,  and employment transitions, particularly over the longer term.  Her work is widely recognised for its contribution to understanding labour market transitions and supporting inclusive, evidence-based approaches to career development.

Jemma Lakmaker is a PhD student at Manchester Metropolitan University exploring the experiences of ex-servicemen who became deaf in the First World War and how they were treated upon their return to society. Jemma aims to uncover the experiences of deaf ex-servicemen as a group whose voice is missing from the historical narrative. She is interested in the perceptions of deafness and how this continues to impact the deaf community today. Jemma is proficient in British Sign Language. Jemma is also a trustee for a charity working to ensure disabled people and people from disadvantaged backgrounds are given an equal voice in society and a platform on which to be heard.