Clio Berry

Clio is the creator of the HOPEFUL intervention and the lead for The Looking Forward Project. She is an applied psychologist with over 15 years' interest in the study of hope. She studied Psychology and Philosophy at the University of Reading 2004-2007 and completed her PhD at the University of Sussex in Clinical Psychology in 2014. She has since worked in applied mental health research with posts at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Sussex. She is currently a Reader in Applied Mental Health Science at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School.

Her research focuses on understanding and improving the mental health of vulnerable groups - including young people, students, and people who are socially withdrawn. She is particularly interested in the intersection between mental health and social and occupational functioning. She has received more than £8 million, including funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Wellcome Trust, and the Office for Students.

Daniel Michelson

Daniel Michelson is the co-creator of HOPEFUL and co-lead of The Looking Forward Project. Daniel is Clinical Reader in Youth Mental Health at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. He studied Natural Sciences with Psychology at Cambridge and completed Clinical Psychology training at King’s, followed by academic posts at King's, Oxford, LSHTM and Sussex. He now works between the Academic Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, where he is an Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist.

His research and practice interests centre around mental health prevention, early intervention and recovery-oriented approaches for underserved young people and their families. He leads and collaborates on projects across the UK and internationally, including work on scalable youth mental health innovations in India, Malawi and Uganda. He has received research grants totalling more than £7 million, with awards from the MRC, NIHR, Wellcome Trust and Grand Challenges Canada.

Julia Fountain

Julia is a co-investigator on The Looking Forward Project and was involved in co-developing the HOPEFUL intervention. Julia is a Patient Public Involvement co-ordinator at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Julia works to ensure that people with relevant lived experience are included in research and that their voices are heard when research studies are being designed and delivered. Julia also has a background working within the voluntary sector working with people with a range of mental health issues. Julia has her own lived experience relevant to The Looking Forward Project, as she is the parent of a young woman who was NEET from the age of 15 who received help and support from a mentor.

Lindsay Forbes

Lindsay was involved in co-developing HOPEFUL and is a co-investigator on The Looking Forward project. Lindsay is Professor of Public Health at the Centre for Health Services Studies at the University of Kent. Her research interest is testing ways of preventing ill health and improving wellbeing outside the NHS – tackling the root causes before health problems become ‘medical’. She also focuses on developing capability, opportunity and motivation for using and creating evidence to improve the health of the public, particularly in local government.

Stephen Bremner

Stephen is Professor of Medical Statistics at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School and is the Senior Trial statistician on The Looking Forward Project. He has been working on the design, analysis and reporting of pragmatic trials in mental health since 2008 when he was a lecturer at the Pragmatic Clinical Trials Unit, Queen Mary University of London, also seconded to the Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, Newham Centre for Mental Health. Stephen has particular expertise in pilot and feasibility studies and is co-editor-in-chief of the BMC journal, Pilot & Feasibility Studies.

Paul McCrone

Paul is a co-investigator on The Looking Forward Project. He is a Professor of Healthcare Economics at the University of Greenwich where he has been since 2019. He leads a growing group of health economists at the University who are involved in a wide variety of projects. He was previously based at King’s College London. He has worked on many economic studies in health and social care. His focus is on mental health economics, and he has worked closely with colleagues in the UK, Europe, and Asia. He also teaches health economics, supervises PhD students, and has published widely in peer-reviewed journals. He has led health economics courses in the UK, Ethiopia, and Singapore.

Charlotte Rawlinson

Charlotte is a Trials Manager with an interest in supporting and delivering high quality research across psychology, neurology and public health. With a background in and passion for supporting young women, Charlotte is now the Trial Manager and main point of contact for The Looking Forward Project. Before working at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Charlotte has supported multiple large research studies at University College London and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery as a Research Assistant and Trial Manager.

Saskia Eddy

Saskia is the trial statistician for The Looking Forward Project, she advises the team on statistical aspects of the project and will perform the data analysis. Saskia is a Lecturer in Medical Statistics at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Saskia previously worked at King's College London as a Trial Statistician and worked in collaboration with NICE and NHS England to successfully commission two interventions for cancer and cerebral palsy. Saskia is a member of the international pilot and feasibility studies (PAFS) collaboration, and is interested in clinical trial methodology, particularly the design, sample size, and conduct of PAFS. Saskia has experience teaching medical (MBBS) and Public Health (MPH) students, as well as NHS professionals about medical statistics and experimental design.

Zoe Inman

Zoe is a Research Assistant on The Looking Forward Project. Her role in the project involves working with organisations across Norfolk to identify and refer young women to participate in the trial. She also engages with young women to invite their consent to participate in the study and complete study questionnaires. Zoe is a Research Nurse working within Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. She works on a variety of studies across child and youth, adult mental health and older person's services. She is interested in individuals’ experiences of living with mental health difficulties and their wellbeing.