Research Community

Dr Hannah West is the Communications and Engagement Officer for the Female Veterans Transformation Programme (COBSEO Female Veterans Cluster). She works freelance as a researcher affiliated to Newcastle University and is currently working for the Dallaire Centre of Excellence for Peace and Security in Canada, Bodmin Keep military museum and as a Women’s History Network Early Career Fellow. She is also the Founder and Co-Chair of the Defence Research Network and Social Media Editor for the Journal of War and Cultures Studies. Through her research she is committed to uncovering women’s stories of conflict, contemporary and historical,  in order to question gendered understandings of how we know war and what this means for contemporary military cultures and behaviours.

Hilary is an Associate Professor in the Veterans and Families Institute for Military Social Research (VFI) at Anglia Ruskin University. There she leads research exploring how Veterans and their significant others live in their comunities with changing health needs and co-morbidities. Hilary's research interests cover health and well-being needs in relation to limb loss, loss of use of limb, long term health needs, chronic pain and how people live adaptively accordingly. 

Dr Jamie Barker is a researcher from Loughborough University, working in partnership with Dr Craig White on the Veterans' Resilience Programme. This programme aims to optimise Veterans' resilience and mental health and well-being and strengthen peer support networks for those Veterans that suffer from mental health and well-being issues. Their work uses a holistic approach to enhancing resilience, mental health, and well-being in Veterans by promoting a more active and healthier lifestyle and enhanced feelings of a positive social identity for those who participate. Dr Barker and Dr White are also currently producing an academic paper and policy documentation for the Office of Veterans’ Affairs. This will emphasise the potential positive impact of non-clinical interventions on Veterans suffering from mental health and well-being issues. Additionally, they are applying for additional funds to expand the Veterans' Resilience Programme nationwide.

Lauren is an Associate Professor of Women & Equalities at Anglia Ruskin University and Co-Director of the Centre for Military Women’s Research (CMWR). She is a mixed methods researcher with a background in psychiatric research and currently has funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Office for Veterans Affairs for her research. Lauren’s main research interests include the needs and experiences of women during and after military service, and interpersonal/sexual violence in the military context.

Dr Keeling is Research Leader at RAND Europe, where her primary role is Research Manager of the Centre for Evidence for the Armed Forces Community. Prior to joining RAND, she worked in academia. Mary is a Chartered Psychologist who has worked in the field of military psychology since 2010, both in the UK and the US. Using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches, her research has aimed to understand the psychosocial impact of military service on military personnel, Veterans, and Service-connected families. To date, Mary's research has focused on four broad areas: military to civilian transition; romantic relationships and military families; mental health stigma and help-seeking; and the psychosocial impact of Service-connected physical injuries. 

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.