Dr Helen Parretti
Helen is the chief investigator for the Promise Care Study and has overall responsibility for the management of the study. She is a GP who also does some work in specialist weight management clinics and a consultant clinical associate professor at UEA. She is a council member for the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS) and is co-lead author on the 2020 BOMSS nutritional guidelines.
Professor Kate Jolly
Kate is Professor of Public Health at the University of Birmingham; she has a research interest in weight management.
Mr Ken Clare
Ken is PPIE co-I and lead for the Promise Care Study. He is PPIE lead at the the Obesity Institute at Leeds Beckett University, Director of Support Services Obesity UK and Chair of the European Coalition for People Living with Obesity.
Dr Laura Jones
Laura is an Associate Professor of Qualitative and Mixed Methods Applied Health Research at the University of Birmingham. She is supporting the qualitative elements of the PROMISE-CARE study.
Dr Nick Cavill
Nick is an independent consultant specialising in public health, with a particular focus on non-communicable diseases. In recent years he has embraced the concept of system mapping to describe the complexity of public health issues and seek system-wide solutions.
Professor Colin Greaves
Colin develops and evaluates behavioural interventions to prevent chronic illness and to improve health and mental wellbeing in people with a range of health conditions.
Dr Karen Coulman
Karen is an obesity researcher and dietitian based at the University of Bristol and North Bristol NHS Trust. She is co-Director of the Bristol Health Partners ‘Healthy Weight’ Health Integration Team, research co-lead for Dietetics for the British Obesity and Metabolic Society and co-authored the 2020 British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society nutritional guidelines.
Dr Emma Shuttlewood
Dr Emma Shuttlewood is an experienced Clinical Psychologist who leads a Specialist Psychology NHS Weight Management and Bariatric Surgery service, works as an Associate for a private surgery company and offers consultation on the psychologist aspects of health programmes designed for use in Primary Care. She is a member of BOMSS council and the British Psychological Society’s Obesity Special Interest Group committee.
Dr Ross Watkins
Ross is the senior research associate working on the Promise Care study
Patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) advisory group
Our PPIE advisory group includes four people with direct experience of having bariatric surgery from across the UK. They help with the running of the study by contributing patient perspectives. We aim to expand this group during the study. Please email us (promise.care@uea.ac.uk) if you'd like to know more about being in the group. (Image is from the Irish Coalition for People Living with Obesity Image Bank).