We are delighted to announce that Charlotte Cotterill and Katie Zwerger have both successfully passed their PhD vivas, marking significant achievements in their academic careers. Both researchers have now joined our team as Research Associates, with Katie taking on the additional role of Knowledge Mobilisation Champion.

Dr Katie Zwerger: Understanding Dementia Care and Safety
Katie has recently joined the ARC Yorkshire and Humber team, where she is working on the Understanding Variation in Admissions from Care Homes (UVAC) study with Dr. Carl Marincowitz at the University of Sheffield. Her NIHR School for Social Care Research-funded PhD at the University of Birmingham, which she passed with major corrections in October 2024, focused on a crucial aspect of dementia care.
Katie’s research explored how individuals attending social and support services for people with dementia – including service users, their families, friends, and care workers – understand and navigate risk and safety in daily life. Her innovative methodology included remote informed consent and qualitative data collection, utilising a triadic approach within existing care networks. Through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, photo-elicitation, and various interview techniques, her research yielded valuable insights into adult social care, particularly highlighting risk and safety navigation as a form of relational care.

Dr Charlotte Cotterill: Revolutionizing Epilepsy Care in Primary Settings
Charlotte’s PhD research, funded under the NIHR ARC Yorkshire and Humber Urgent and Emergency Care Theme, has broken new ground in epilepsy care management. Passing her viva with minor corrections, her thesis examined how primary care could provide comprehensive, patient-centred epilepsy care alongside specialist treatment.
Her research addressed the significant challenges in current UK epilepsy care, where access to neurology services varies considerably and waiting times are often lengthy. Through a combination of interviews, service mapping, and document analysis, Charlotte developed a model of care for ‘primary care epileptology’. Her work highlighted the potential for both general practitioners and GPs with extended roles in epilepsy to provide enhanced care services.
Charlotte’s findings offer practical insights into how new roles can address fragmented health services and provide crucial psychosocial care for people with epilepsy. Her recommendations emphasise the need for greater primary care representation in epilepsy guidelines, enhanced medical education, and improved access to accredited CPD courses.
We congratulate both Dr Zwerger and Dr Cotterill on their achievements and look forward to their continued contributions to our research community.