I am a retired person, enjoying excellent health and taking a great interest in the world around me. For ten years, I was a member of the North-East Research Design Service Consumer Panel. My earlier education in social research methods was very relevant when reviewing lay summaries of research projects, both orally and in writing. Since then, I have moved on to a contributary role at the Specialist Centre for Public Health, based at Newcastle.

I joined the Insight Panel in December 2020, as I felt that the role would enable me to extend the lay involvement in research that I have found so rewarding. It has been fascinating and I really value the interaction with researchers.

I live in Saltburn, Cleveland and am pleased to be able to offer a perspective from the extreme south-east of the region. I am comfortable taking part in Zoom/Teams meetings, but also value meeting face to face to discuss the ethical issues that researchers bring to us. Working with this team for several years has enabled me to get to know the researchers and the other Insight Panel members. We have benefited from the consistently good administration of all that we’re involved in.

I really am interested in all research topics, love to learn and am keen to take part in further training for my role. Having been dealt a relatively good hand in life, I enjoy putting something back.