Research Community

Dr Paul Ansdell is a Physiologist whose research focuses on how age, sex, and hormonal status interact to determine physiological function in health and disease. His work to date aims to detail the interaction between systems and quantify acute responses and chronic adaptation to interventions, such as exercise. Specifically, he is interested in how hormones affect brain health and function across the male and female lifespan.

Dr Sarah Dixon Smith is a Research Associate at Imperial College London and the ADVANCE study. Her work explores the long-term outcomes of early medical and surgical trauma care interventions in British Veterans, particularly the impact of blood products, analgesics and casualty evacuation. Sarah received her PhD from the Centre for Blast Injury Studies for her work in blast injury and chronic pain, using a longitudinal dataset to track lifelong medical information for 100 amputee Veterans. She is particularly interested in chronic pain, premature ageing after trauma, and the use of Applied History in Veterans’ healthcare.

Dr Sharon Stevelink is a Reader in Epidemiology at the King's Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR), King's College London. She (co-) leads on a range of studies exploring the health and well-being of the Armed Forces community. She has a keen interest in using novel data sources and techniques to advance research into the health and well-being of military personnel and Veterans. 

Dr Stefan Schilling is a Lecturer in Social & Organizational Psychology at Exeter University. His research interests are the social determinants of health, well-being and teamwork and in particular how to develop healthy and supportive teams in healthcare and the military. He has considerable experience working with the military, having taught military officers for 8 years at King's College London Defence Studies Department, where he also completed his Ph.D. on cohesion, teamwork and leadership in a large exploratory study with the Royal Marines. He has also accompanied various military units on military exercises overseas, and has been involved with military ethics training and devised leadership training for entrepreneurs.

Dr Tamlyn Watermeyer is a neuropsychology Researcher, interested in brain and behaviour relationships, who seeks to understand biological and psycho-social determinants of brain health in later life, such as why some people develop cognitive decline and why others do not, and what we can do to prevent this. Her work in female Veteran health aims to understand possible biological, social and psychological factors that might contribute to their poorer brain health outcomes.   

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.