This is the seventh episode of our series, Spotlight on community engagement and involvement (CEI): leaving no one behind. 

Our host, Heidi Surridge, is joined by authors of the NIHR/Mesh CEI online course, An Introduction and Practical Guide to CEI in Global Health Research - Gill Black, Managing Director and Head of Engaged Research at the Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation, Alun Davies, Senior Programmes Manager at Mesh, The Global Health Network, and Rodrick Sambakunsi, Science Communication and Public Engagement Practitioner at Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme. Together they discuss how the course can support research teams and collaborators to achieve inclusive CEI and provide tips for leaving no one behind in CEI. 

Get to know our speakers 

Gill Black has worked in global health for over 25 years and joined the CEI field in 2011. Having lived in South Africa since 2002, her CEI experience is rooted in sub-Saharan Africa. Gill's practice supports action-oriented community based participatory research, often incorporating creative methods including storytelling, photography and mapping approaches. Gill works to advance equitable partnerships between researchers and at-risk communities, to strengthen co-production and policy engagement. Since 2018, her CEI focus has been to inform environmental disaster risk management and better understand the mental health impacts of climate change. Gill is passionate about building capacity for engaged research in low and middle income countries (LMICs). 

Gill is co-lead author on Module 2 and lead author on Module 3 of the course.

Alun Davies leads Mesh, a platform for community engagement with health research. Working with coordinators embedded in African, Asian, Latin American, and Caribbean research institutions, Mesh strengthens engagement practice by sharing skills, knowledge, and resources. A key achievement is establishing a large Kenyan school engagement programme, enabling young people’s insights to shape health research implementation. Al has led several multi-country engagement projects, including a WHO technical working group on Good Participatory Practice for Covid-19 research and conducting rapid research to identify social and behavioural priorities for WHO guidelines on mpox research.

Al is lead author on Module 4 of the course

Rodrick Sambakunsi is a science communication and CEI specialist, with over 15 years of practical experience. For the past 10 years, Rodrick has worked for Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust on a number of different roles developing and implementing innovative CEI strategies. More recently, Rodrick has led an implementation of an African-led collaboration of creative engagement practitioners, community groups, experts, and policy makers to promote dialogue and research about vaccines.

Rodrick is lead author on Module 1 of the course. 

Please note this episode was recorded in late 2024. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

This is the sixth episode of our series, Spotlight on community engagement and involvement (CEI): Leaving no one behind.

Host, Dr Saumu Lwembe, is joined by NIHR-funded researchers, Dr Munzer Alkhalil, Research Fellow at London School of Economics, and Professor Getnet Tadele, Professor at Addis Ababa University, who share their experiences of conducting CEI as part of their health systems research.

Together, they discuss what is meant by leaving no one behind, the differences between doing CEI in health systems research compared to other types of research, challenges, the impact of CEI on their research, and provide tips for leaving no one behind in CEI. 

Get to know our speakers

Dr. Munzer Alkhalil is a medical doctor and research fellow at LSE IDEAS. He co-founded and led the Idlib Health Directorate in Syria from 2013 to 2020. In addition to his medical and research work, Munzer has played a significant role in community empowerment by supporting the development of local councils, documenting war crimes, and leading advocacy campaigns to protect healthcare in conflict zones. He also co-led the community engagement and involvement strategy for the NIHR-funded Research for Health Systems Strengthening in Syria (R4HSSS). His research focuses on improving health systems and humanitarian business models in conflict settings. 

Professor Getnet Tadele is a distinguished academic whose work bridges the fields of health and social sciences, with a particular focus on global health challenges. His key areas of interest include neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), childhood studies, and sexual and reproductive health. Getnet's global academic engagement has taken him to more than 100 destinations worldwide, where he has participated in teaching, research, examinations, conferences, and workshops. In addition to his academic achievements, Getnet is a dedicated community mobilizer, contributing to the construction of schools and bridges in Ethiopia. He was co-investigator of the NIHR-funded Social Sciences for Severe Stigmatising skin conditions (5S) Foundation.

Dr Saumu Lwembe is an expert in the involvement of people and communities in health and care research. As an assistant director at the NIHR, she has a key role in ensuring that diverse citizens can work in successful partnership with NIHR and with the research projects that NIHR funds, both in the UK and in low and middle income countries. Saumu has significant experience in global public health policy and systems, with a strong focus on narrowing the gap between ambition and action. She holds a Doctor of Public Health degree from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Please note this episode was recorded in early 2025. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

This is the fifth episode of our series, Spotlight on community engagement and involvement (CEI): Leaving no one behind.

NIHR-funded researchers, Renata Peppl, Daisy Bin Co, Iliana Curiel and Monsermín Gualan join host, Razina Hussain to share their experiences of engaging Indigenous and native communities in health research in Latin America. 

Thank you to Lucia Alvarez and Ana Lorena Guerrero who provided voice overs for Daisy and Iliana. 

Get to know our speakers

Renata Peppl is a Research Centre Manager and Creative Researcher at Queen Mary University of London. For over 10 years, she has been involved in developing international and transnational collaborations with grassroots organisations, focusing on Arts & Community engagement methodologies as a resource for researching Mental Health Conditions, Gender-Based Violence, Urban Violence, and homelessness in the UK, Latin America, and South Asia.
 
Renata is Co-Chair at the Latin American Women's Rights Service and Co-Director at MinA - Migrants in Action, a community-based arts organisation that collaborates with migrant women from the Global Majority with experience of gender-based violence in London.

Daisy Bin Co was born in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. She belongs to the Maya Q’eqchi’ ethnic group and completed university studies in Psychology, later specializing in University Teaching, at the Rafael Landívar University of Guatemala. She then pursued a master's degree in Public Management at the University of Barcelona.

Daisy is Academic Deputy Director at the San Pedro Claver S.J. Campus of La Verapaz at Rafael Landívar University, where she also teaches.

Renata and Daisy are affiliated with NIHR GHR Centre for Community Management of Long-Term Conditions in Latin America (LatAm Centre).

Iliana Curiel is a Physician, Pediatrician, Master in Public Health and Social Policy (Former Scholar at the Center). Iliana is an Indigenous member of the Wayuu people in Colombia and founder of the NGO, Organización Los Hijos del Sol, focused on research and social projects for indigenous communities. 

Iliana lectures at the University of La Guajira and is a researcher at the NIHR LatAm Centre at UniJaveriana, specialising in Global Health, community participation, social policies and intercultural approaches to health for indigenous populations.

Monsermin Gualan is a physician with master's degrees in Healthcare Management and Health Sciences Research. Monsermin has worked with indigenous communities in Ecuador, spending a year in the Amazon providing medical care to Kichwa and Waorani communities while learning about their culture. He is the Ecuador Coordinator for the NIHR GHR Unit on Social and Environmental Determinants of Health Inequalities (SEDHI), which evaluates the impact of social and environmental policies on health inequalities. CEI is a key pillar, with indigenous populations being a priority as Ecuador is a pluricultural and plurinational country.

Razina Hussain is an experienced community engagement and development specialist with a strong track record in working with communities and fostering stakeholder collaboration. As a Senior Programme Manager at the NIHR, she has led initiatives to improve health equity, inclusion and public involvement in research and healthcare. Razina designs and delivers impactful programmes that strengthen community voices, working hard to ensure sustainable development, meaningful engagement and lasting social change.

This episode was recorded in early 2025. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

This is the fourth episode of our series, Spotlight on community engagement and involvement (CEI): Leaving no one behind.

Host Mark Lutton, NIHR Assistant Director for Global Health Programmes is joined by Sweta Pal, Director of CEI for NAMASTE at Sangath, Dr Natasha Fothergill-Misbah, Research Associate at Newcastle University, and Dr Andrew Sentoogo Ssemata, Post-doctoral Scientist at MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit. Together, they discuss engaging disabled people in health care research. 

The guests share what is meant by leaving no one behind, challenges of engaging gender groups in their research, the impact of their research on communities and the impact on their research, and provide tips for leaving no one behind in CEI.  

Get to know our speakers

Sweta Pal is a public engagement professional. Her work has spanned youth mental health and early child development focusing on co-developing health promotion programmes which involve individuals with lived experience of a health concern into programme conception, design and implementation. Sweta employs participatory research methodologies to co-create health education programmes targeted at diverse audiences and communicate complex sociocultural subjects through accessible mediums and promote help-seeking. Through Sweta's work, she strives to create a world where all young people are able to thrive and enjoy good mental health without stigma and discrimination.

Andrew Sentoogo Ssemata is a post-doctoral socio-behavioural scientist under
the Disability Research Group (DRG) at the MRC/ UVRI & LSHTM Uganda
Research Unit, Entebbe. Andrew is also a member of the International
Centre for Evidence in Disability (ICED) and a Research fellow in the Department
of Global Health and Development at LSHTM.

Andrew has led on several community engagement initiatives for trials in Malaria,
HIV, menstrual health and disability. Currently, he is a co-researcher on the
NIHR professorship grant to Prof Hannah Kuper that is conducting a cluster randomized trial on improving access to healthcare for disabled people utilizing participatory learning and action for disability (PLA-D) groups in Uganda (2022-2026).

Dr Tash Fothergill-Misbah’s research has focused on Parkinson’s disease and ageing in Africa, stigma and access to healthcare. She is the CEI co-lead for the NIHR Global Health Research Group on Transforming Parkinson’s Care in Africa (TraPCAf), working across 7 countries. Tash has coordinated the grant’s CEI work alongside ‘Parkinson’s Africa’, the grant’s CEI partner. These activities have involved:

•  proposal development workshops 
• advocacy and awareness raising through community engagement and documentary films
• Parkinson’s training workshops
• the establishment of support groups for Parkinson’s
• patient advisory workshops to inform the research process

Mark Lutton is Assistant Director of Global Health programmes at the NIHR Academy. He is responsible for the delivery of NIHR’s Global Health capacity strengthening programmes and personal awards. Prior to joining NIHR, Mark was CEO of an FCDO funded research consortium aiming to strengthen health system resilience in fragile and shock prone settings. He has a background in capacity strengthening, programme management and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning. Mark holds a BSc in Zoology (University of Edinburgh) and an MSc in Public Health (LSHTM). 

Please note this episode was recorded in late 2024. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

Gary Hickey, NIHR Senior Research Manager for Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement hosts this episode and is joined by Dr Jayakayatri Jeevajothi Nathan, Research Manager at Universiti Malaya, Farzana Khan, Chief Executive Director of Fasiuddin Khan Research Foundation, and Jo Vearey, Associate Professor at the African Centre for Migration and Society, University of the Witwatersrand. 

Together, they discuss what is meant by leaving no one behind, the impact and challenges of engaging mobile, stateless and displaced communities in their research, and community engagement and involvement (CEI) tips.  

Get to know our speakers 

Dr Jayakayatri Jeevajothi Nathan (Kay Nathan) and Farzana Khan are affiliated with NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Respiratory Health (RESPIRE-2). 

Kay Nathan collaborated with the RESPIRE team in Sabah, Malaysia, to develop a clinical algorithm for diagnosing smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis in resource-limited settings. Her efforts focus on engaging stateless communities who face compounded challenges — legal barriers, societal stigma, and high illiteracy rates — that limit their access to healthcare. Through community outreach, Kay raises awareness, dispels misconceptions about tuberculosis, and reducing stigma, adapting health information into pictorial formats and videos in local dialects to bridge literacy gaps. Inspired by the principle of “leave no one behind,” her commitment is to create trust and ensure these marginalised communities have access to essential healthcare, overcoming barriers step by step.

Dr. Farzana Khan, a Bangladeshi physician, scientist, and CEO of the Fasiuddin Khan Research Foundation (FKRF), holds a PhD in Global Health from the University of Edinburgh. With a professional background encompassing palliative care and public health, her research endeavors center on investigating the delivery and impact of quality palliative care in marginalized environments such as urban slums and humanitarian settings in low and middle income countries.

Dr. Khan's contributions extend to her collaboration with the UN-IOM in Cox's Bazar, where she has been pivotal in establishing palliative care services in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Jo Vearey is affiliated with Global Health Research Group on Disrupting the cycle of GEndered violence & Poor Mental health among Migrants in precarious Situations (GEMMS). 

Jo’s internationally recognised and globally-impactful research in the field of migration and health is informed by her commitment to social and epistemic justice. Fundamental to her research practice is investigating the ethical, empirical and methodological factors —  and their entanglements — that are associated with engaged research approaches. At international and local levels, Jo exlpores approaches that encourage genuine engagement with epistemic injustice in agenda-setting processes and in the development of evidence-informed migration and health governance framework, policies and programmes.

Gary Hickey is a Senior Research Manager at the NIHR and Chair of the International Patient and Public Involvement Network. He is passionate about promoting and sharing knowledge from across the globe on how to involve the public and communities in research. Gary works with researchers and the public, providing advice, guidance and training on patient and public involvement in health and social care research. He also writes, presents and is involved in several podcasts on these issues.

This episode was recorded in late 2024. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

Conversations to Cultivate Change: Leading with purpose - Professor Robina Coker on building a career, mentorship and research

In this episode, host Dr Keerti Gedela is joined by Professor Robina Coker, professor of practice and consultant in respiratory medicine at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Robina was previously the clinical director of the NIHR Clinical Research Network North West London, before its transition as part of the NIHR Research Delivery Network.

Drawing on over 35 years in clinical medicine, Professor Coker reflects on her early inspirations, the evolving realities of working in the NHS, and the enduring values of patient-centred care. She shares thought-provoking insights on medical education, compassionate leadership, and the importance of nurturing diverse perspectives within clinical and research teams.

Robina also discusses her leadership journey and the lessons she has carried forward - shaped by personal mentors and a deep belief in the power of encouragement and inclusion.

This inspiring conversation highlights the role of reflection, resilience, and representation in shaping a more equitable and innovative future in health and care research.

Listen now to learn why leadership rooted in authenticity and support can transform teams and systems.

Host Dr Keerti Gedela is a clinician based at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and leads research inclusion work for the NIHR North London Regional Research Delivery Network.

This is the second episode of our series, Spotlight on community engagement and involvement (CEI): Leaving no one behind. 

Heidi Surridge, NIHR Senior Research Manager for CEI, hosts this episode and is joined by Prince Tommy Williams, Executive Director of Lifeline Nehemiah Projects, Mangenda Kamara, Co-founder of 2YoungLives, and Sanjog Thakuri, Consultant on Child Participation, Governance and Professional and Organisational Development. 

The guests discuss what is meant by leaving no one behind, challenges of engaging gender groups in their research, the impact of their research on communities and provide tips for leaving no one behind in CEI. 

Prince and Mangenda are affiliated with the NIHR Global Health Research Group: Implementation of simple solutions to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and build research capacity in Sierra Leone.

Get to know our speakers

Prince Tommy Williams has over 20 years of experience in CEI. His impactful leadership during the 2014 to 2015 Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone saw him coordinate a vital response for the Kuntorloh, Wellington community, saving 20,000 lives providing messaging and essential support to 18,000 individuals in quarantine homes. Under his guidance, projects funded by Big Lottery, Comic Relief, Lifeline Network International and NIHR have successfully reached marginalised groups in deprived communities. Prince's unwavering commitment to improving lives, leaving no one behind, continues to inspire and empower those in need.

Mangenda Kamara is a research assistant for 2yL, a community engagement expert, a gender expert and a PhD student in the Department of Sociology and Social Work. With extensive experience in community engagement, Mangenda  specializes in guiding, coaching and mentoring people in the community, especially women, to drive positive change. Her work fosters inclusive educational environments and empowering local communities. 

In Mangenda's PhD research, she explored adolescent pregnancy in Sierra Leone through a womanist lens, focusing on the Tombo and Mattru Jong communities. This research strengthens her commitment to advocating for gender equity, youth empowerment and educational access. Her engagement spans policy advisory roles, grassroots initiatives and partnerships that create sustainable community-driven solutions. 

Sanjog Thakuri is an intersectional feminist with a special focus on Boyhood, Masculinity, and MenEngage. He has worked with and for the community for over 2 decades by engaging the community for the advocacy and transformation of harmful social norms. Sanjog's policy support for government and advocacy programming for and with development partners and UN agencies is mostly focused on empowering the community and listening to them. 

Heidi Surridge is a Senior Research Manager at the NIHR - Global Health Research, CEI and Research Inclusion. She has a nursing background, before gaining a BA (Hons) in Social Sciences and a Masters in Sociological Research in Health Care, then working as a health researcher in the UK.

Heidi has worked for the NIHR for 16 years, facilitating, supporting and advocating public and community involvement in research and the management of research funding. She is dedicated to enabling communities to have ethical, relevant and mutually beneficial involvement in health research worldwide, from research priority setting through to policy and service provider uptake.

This episode was recorded in late 2024. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

This is the first episode of our podcast series, Spotlight on community engagement and involvement (CEI): Leaving no one behind. 

Episode 1 introduces the Leave No One Behind agenda and discusses its importance in the context of CEI. 

Gary Hickey, NIHR Senior Research Manager for Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement hosts this podcast and is joined by Professor Kara Hanson, Director of Global Health Research Programmes at NIHR and Noni Mumba, Head of Community Engagement at KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme. 

The guests discuss the importance of CEI in NIHR-funded research and what is meant by leaving no one behind, challenges and examples from their work, and provide tips for leaving no one behind in CEI. 

Get to know our speakers

Gary Hickey is a Senior Research Manager at the NIHR and also Chair of the International Patient and Public Involvement Network. He is passionate about promoting and sharing knowledge from across the globe about how to involve the public and communities in research. Gary works with researchers and the public providing advice, guidance and training on patient and public involvement in health and social care research. In addition, he writes, presents and is involved in several podcasts on these issues.

Kara Hanson is Professor of Health System Economics and Dean, Faculty of Public Health and Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She holds degrees in Economics and Political Science (McGill University, Canada); Economics and politics of development (University of Cambridge); and International Health Economics (Harvard University). Her research contributions are in the areas of health financing and the private health sector. She is Director of the UK NIHR Global Health Research Programme.

Noni Mumba is an engagement practitioner with over 10 years expertise in community engagement for global health research. This expertise also includes engaging broadly with specific publics of interest, including local and national policy makers in Kenya. Her role at KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) includes development of engagement strategies and innovative approaches for the engagement and involvement of host communities, stakeholders, and policy makers in research planning, conduct, and uptake of findings into policy. She also supports monitoring, evaluation and learning of engagement activities.

Noni is involved in building the capacity of KWTRP engagement staff and researchers on engagement. In the last 5 years, this capacity strengthening has extended beyond KWTRP through webinars, teaching engagements, and collaborative research projects.

In this episode of Conversations to Cultivate Change, host Dr Keerti Gedela sits down with consultant ophthalmologist and Director of Research & Development, Dr Christiana Dinah, to explore her inspiring journey through medicine and research. From her early years in Nigeria to breaking barriers in UK healthcare, Christiana shares her experiences of being championed and underestimated, navigating career challenges as an immigrant, and using her unique perspective to drive inclusion and innovation in clinical research.

Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking discussion on resilience, purpose, and how we can better support diverse voices in healthcare.

Antipsychotic medicines reduce the risk of psychotic episodes – and they are recommended for long-term use by people with schizophrenia or recurrent psychosis. But the medicines can have such unpleasant side effects that people prescribed these drugs may want to reduce or to stop them.

In this podcast, Helen Saul, Editor in Chief of NIHR Evidence, speaks with Joanna Moncrieff, Professor of Critical and Social Psychiatry at University College London; and Rachel Upthegrove, Professor of Psychiatry and Youth Mental Health at the University of Birmingham. They discuss an NIHR trial in which people were supported to gradually reduce their antipsychotic treatment

Read a full transcript of the episode here.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.