Professor Kevin Turner

Professor Kevin Turner, MA DM FRCS (Urol), Consultant Urological Surgeon and Visiting Professor Bournemouth University

I am a Consultant Urological Surgeon at Royal Bournemouth Hospital and a Visiting Professor at Bournemouth University. In 2015 I co-founded the BU Surgeon Wellbeing Research Team with colleagues in the Department of Psychology. The aim of the team is to generate original research data concerning the impact of adverse events on surgeons and to develop and trial novel interventions designed to ameliorate that impact.

Prior to coming to Bournemouth, I trained in Urology in Oxford, Edinburgh and Melbourne. My clinical interests are in urological cancer, particularly surgery for pelvic cancer and robotic / minimally invasive surgery. I have been elected a Hunterian Professor of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and have been awarded the European Association of Urology Thesis Award for my research in renal cancer. I co-edit the Oxford Handbook of Urological Surgery.

Dr Kevin Thomas

Dr Kevin Thomas BSc MSc PhD, Associate Professor in Psychology, Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University

I have been an academic researcher for almost 20 years, working in the fields of cognitive psychology and social-cognitive psychology. My current research mainly focuses on the interplay between different aspects of well-being (e.g., emotion) and decision-making and the resultant effects on future performance, particularly in applied contexts such as healthcare. I have published a number of peer-reviewed journal articles based on my research, which has attracted grant funding from bodies such as the Economic and Social Research Council and the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences. In the course of my research, I collaborate with university researchers at national and international level as well as healthcare professionals in the NHS.

Dr Maddy Greville-Harris

Dr Maddy Greville-Harris BSc MSc PhD DClinPsy, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Bournemouth University

I graduated from the Open University with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology in 2008 and then completed an MSc in Psychological Research Methods at the University of Exeter in 2010. I became interested in clinical and health psychology, completing a PhD at the University of Exeter in 2013 in collaboration with the Peninsula School of Medicine and Dentistry. This work explored the effects of understanding and non-understanding communication in the context of chronic pain consultations, particularly focusing on the potential placebo and nocebo effects. I then worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Southampton from 2014-2015 focusing on qualitative research, digital interventions and placebo effects in the context of chronic pain.

I am very interested in research and practice that focuses on improving wellbeing in health and mental health settings. I completed my training as a Clinical Psychologist in 2018, and have experience of working in the NHS providing consultation and training in the looked after children service, focusing on the impact of traumatic experiences on child development. I now work as a Lecturer in Psychology at Bournemouth University.  My main research and clinical interests include disordered eating, patient-provider interactions, as well as the impact, and interventions for, traumatic experiences and complex trauma.

Dr Agata Wezyk

Dr Agata Wezyk BSc MSc PhD, Lecturer in Psychology, Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University

I graduated in 2008 from University of Lodz (Poland) having completed a 5-year MSc programme in Health and Clinical Psychology. I have always been interested in health and occupational psychology, and initially I worked in HR for about two years. Then, I moved on to a research position in Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine (Lodz, Poland) where I worked on several research projects focusing on employees' well-being and related issues (job stress, fitness for work, presenteeism, work-life balance). In 2017 I was offered a PhD studentship at Bournemouth University, and I successfully defended my thesis “Understanding Stress and Health Through the Use of Visual Metaphor” in 2021. At the same time, I joined the Psychology Department as a lecturer. My main research interests revolve around stress and health, particularly in the workplace settings. My recent research projects include studying individual protective factors, family and social support networks, and organisational support available to psychology practitioners during and after the Covid-19 lockdowns, understanding work-life balance of women-academics with caring responsibilities, and exploring arrangements around sharing work and childcare between parents.

Professor Emma King

Professor Emma King BMSc(Hons), MBChB, PhD, FRCS-ORLHNS, Consultant Head and Neck Surgeon at University Hospitals Dorset and Professor of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology at the University of Southampton

I am Consultant Head and Neck Surgeon at University Hospitals Dorset and a Professor of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology at the University of Southampton. My academic interests include the tumour microenvironment and understanding ways to manipulate it. I am National Lead for the Head and Neck Sub-Speciality Oversight Group, for Head and Neck Cancer Research. I have recently joined the Surgeon Wellbeing Team and am looking forward to learning more qualitative aspects of research especially with regard to supporting surgeons and understanding career choices in medical students.