Professor Priscilla Harries

Faculty of Health, Science, Social Care and Education
Department of Adult Nursing and Allied Health
School of Nursing, Allied and Public Health
Penrhyn Road
Health, Education and Society

Professor of Occupational Therapy and NIHR ARC London Research Capacity Development Lead

[email protected]

ORCID

About

Professor Priscilla Harries, Dip.COT, MSc, PhD, FHEA, FCOT

I have worked in the public sector for more than 35 years across various clinical, research, and management positions in health and education in London. I am currently:

Research Capacity Development Lead for the NIHR ARC London.
European Commission Action CA23101 - COST Management Committee member and Grant Awarding Co-ordinator for ‘Building Opportunities for Participation and Accessibility through lifelong community Mobility’.
Kingston University Co-lead for the MRC London Launchpad Regional Accounts for Clinical Researchers (RACR) award.
Fellow of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists
Visiting Professor, Institute of Infection and Immunity, St George’s, University of London
Visiting Professor, Health Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London

My research is focused on research capacity development. Current awards:

Co Investigator for the NIHR ARC London Kingston University joins £22 million initiative to transform health and social care research across London | Kingston University London
Management Committee member and Grant Awarding Co-ordinator for European Commission Action CA23101 - COST ‘Building Opportunities for Participation and Accessibility through lifelong community Mobility’.
Kingston co-lead for the MRC RACR awards Medical Research Council Regional Account for Clinical Researchers (RACR) | Health at UCL
Partner award holder - South London Health and Care Professional Internship Programme | NIHR

I hold a number of national roles, including:

Appointed member of the NIHR Health and Care Professions Postdoctoral Fellowships Panel

Former appointments/roles

REF 2021 Subpanel for UoA3 Allied Health, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy/Employee of Research England.
Chair of the Editorial Board for the British Journal of Occupational Therapy.
Member of the NIHR HTA Prioritisation Committee.
Elected Vice-Chair of Council at the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT).
Chair of the RCOT Research and Development Board.
Appointed member of the NIHR Health and Care Professions Doctoral Fellowships Panel (former Deputy Chair).
Led the NIHR ARC Research Leadership Academy, which is nationally delivered.
Principal Investigator for the NIHR ARC South London Pre-doctoral Awards New predoctoral NIHR awards available to support health and social care professionals employed in London | ARC South London
Principal Investigator for the NIHR ARC South London Social Care Research Capacity Building Award (SHARE) New funding to support social care research skills | ARC South London (nihr.ac.uk)
Academic Career Development Lead and Theme Lead for Research Capacity Development - NIHR ARC South London | ARC South London (nihr.ac.uk)
Strategic Advisory Board member for the Wellcome Trust doctoral fellowships scheme for health professionals
Research Centre Director and Associate Dean Research, Kingston and St George's Joint Faculty.
Associate Dean of International Education, St George's, University of London.
Head of Clinical Sciences (Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Nursing, Public Health, Physician Associate, Health Economics), Brunel University London.

My clinical posts were as an occupational therapist in neurosurgery, neurology, and mental health at the Maudsley Hospital.

I am a strong supporter of doctoral students and ECRs and founded and lead the RISE and NIHR ARC Research Leadership Academies.

Qualifications

PhD Psychology
MSc Occupational Therapy
Dip. COT (with Distinction)
Fellow Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
Fellow Royal College of Occupational Therapists (FRCOT)

Domains

Delivery of the Graduate Research School Core programme

Design and Leadership of the NIHR ARC Research Leadership Academy

Former PhD students

Dr Austin Claffey (2010) Metamemory function of people with Multiple Sclerosis.
Dr Miranda Davies (2011) Detecting and preventing financial abuse in older adults. (Top University PhD academic and impact ‘Walduck' prize 2012, 1st prize School PhD conference 2009)
Dr Alison Blank (2011) The journey in to work: Exploring users' perspectives of Vocational Rehabilitation Services for people with severe and enduring mental health problems. (2nd prize PhD School conference 2008).
Dr Stephanie Tempest (2014) Promoting MDT working in stroke rehabilitation: evaluating the use of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. (School 1st prize PhD conference 2008)
Dr Nicola White (2017) Identifying factors used to predict death at end of life stage: identification of super prognosticators and information use in effective decision making. Palliative care: Clinicians' EstimateS (P:CES) St George's Hospital Medical School. Funded by St George's Hospital and UCL
Dr Samia Elyoussfi (2021) Better health for people with rare endocrine disorders: promoting patient engagement in regular screening. Brunel University. Funded by Barts Charity – Harries Brunel PI grant holder.
Dr Edsel Ing (2022) Giant Cell Arteritis: Diagnostic Prediction Models, Temporal Artery Biopsy & Epidemiology (Supported by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Professional Development Grant) Kingston University
Dr Bhupinder Sharma (2023) Imaging assessment of lymphoproliferative disorders; advancing global methodologies and tools. Kingston University (Supported by the Royal Marsden Trust)
Dr Graham Boniface (2024) Therapeutic Exercise Prescription in the Rheumatic Adult. Jointed funded by University of Oxford and Brunel University London.
Dr Julie Tilson (2025) Knowledge translation in physiotherapy practice: improving education, lowering barriers, and promoting behaviour change. Kingston University

Current PhD students

Praveen Jain (Dramatherapist) – Personal theatre of the broken hearts: Processing post break-up trauma and masculinity through therapeutic performance.

OTD Capstone site mentor for students from Creighton University, USA (2018–2023)

MSc Occupational Therapy Dissertation

Students supervised

Chana T (2016) Identifying USA occupational therapy Driving Rehabilitation Specialists (DRSs) judgement on policies when assessing fitness-to-drive decisions for older adults and people with disabilities.
Lim H H (2015) Predicting driving ability for drivers with medical condition using the ‘DriveSafe and DriveAware' in Singapore: A Pilot study.
Wightman E (2014) Systematic Review: Interventions to Improve Driving Ability after Neurological Impairment.
Parker C (2012) The development of a web-based resource to centralise information and promote awareness and access to information about coloured lens glasses in England.
Perkins L (2012) The development of an online resource to centralise information about the screening and provision of coloured lens glasses in England.
Fowler L (2012) The development of an online resource to centralise information about the screening and provision of coloured lens glasses in England.
Wignall S (2012) The development of an online resource to centralise information about the screening and provision of coloured lens glasses in England.
Elkin K (2011) The Psychosocial Effects of Internet Use of Older Adults: A Systematic Review.
Jamaludin A (2011) A systematic review of the effectiveness of weighting strategies for upper limb postural and intention tremor.
Lowry C (2011) A systematic review of occupational therapy interventions for osteoarthritis of the carpometacarpal joint of the thumb.
Smyth G (2008) Service User Experiences of Social Inclusion in Community Occupations.
Bird B (2007) Post-operative splinting for Dupuytren's contracture: a systematic review. Recipient of the Brunel Goldtel 'Best Dissertation' Prize.
Macebo A (2007) HAQ-DAS-WIS Correlational Study.
Dorer G (2006) Community occupations of mental health service users: A quantitative study of engagement and social inclusion. Recipient of the Brunel Goldtel 'Best Dissertation' Prize.
Glanfield S (2005) Negative symptoms of schizophrenia: An investigation into occupational therapists' awareness and use of evidence based interventions.
Burstein B (2005) Educators' perceptions of the usefulness of an Occupational Therapy training package for children with development co-ordination disorder.
Vaughan J (2004) Occupation in Assertive Outreach Team.

2003–2013 MSc Occupational Therapy Programme Director

Responsible for admissions, budget management, course design and evaluation, Clinical Sciences, Brunel University London (VC discretionary award for outstanding work in teaching and research in 2004).

Selection of research grants (last 10 years)

2026-20231 Co Investigator for the NIHR ARC London Kingston University joins £22 million initiative to transform health and social care research across London | Kingston University London
Kingston co-lead for the MRC RACR awards Medical Research Council Regional Account for Clinical Researchers (RACR) | Health at UCL (£700,000)
2024–2028 Secondary proposer and management committee/grant awarding co-ordinator. COST Action: Building Opportunities for Participation and Accessibility through lifelong community Mobility. European Commission (average EURO 550,000)
2024–2026 Principal Investigator. Social Health and Research Empowerment programme (SHARE), NIHR £245,000.
2019–2026 Deputy Theme Lead – Capacity Building theme, NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) South London. Value of ARC Themes award at Kingston University £83,888.
2018–2022 Joint Principal Investigator Wellcome Trust: Research on Research. Identifying outstanding research proposals: An examination of grant reviewers' judgement processes £175,000
2016–2019 Co-investigator. Barts and The London Charity £75,000. Better health for people with rare endocrine disorders: promoting patient engagement in regular screening.
2016–2019 Partner Investigator (WP2 lead) Marie Curie Programme Grant. Improving care, assessment, communication and training at the end-of-life (I-CAN-CARE), UCL. £1.5 million (grant number: MCCC-FPO-16U
2017–2018 Co-Investigator CNWL NHS Trust/Brunel. Healthy Living Training - making every contact count. HEE NWL Strategic Investment Funding £93,500.
2016–2017 Principal Investigator. HEE NWL £80,000. Initiatives to increase community practice placement capacity for occupational therapy and physiotherapy pre-registration students.
2014–2016 Co-Investigator. Dawes Trust Charity £98,388. A study of the prevalence and nature of financial abuse of those lacking mental capacity.
2015–2015 Co-Investigator AUS$25,000. Public Transport Victoria. Understanding mobility aid users access on public transport.
2015–2015 Principal Investigator. £125,000. Motability 10th Anniversary Trust Fund. Scoping our future research priorities.
2013–2015 Principal Investigator. Imperial College Healthcare Charity (£12,627) FEC £27,812). Prioritisation of referrals for dietetic acute adult services.
2012–2015 Principal Investigator. UK College of Occupational Therapists Research Foundation. £79,975 Development of a web-based decision aid to assist occupational therapists to make optimal fitness-to-drive decisions for disabled and older drivers.
2012–2012 Co-investigator Joseph Rountree Foundation £28,000. "Risk, trust and relationships in an ageing society".
2011–2012 Principal Investigator. ESRC follow-on grant £92,743 (FEC £115,929). Developing decision training tools to enhance the ability of professionals to detect and prevent financial elder abuse.
2008–2011 Co-investigator. Cross council grant. New Dynamics of Ageing cross-council programme (2008–2011), "Detecting and preventing financial abuse of older adults: An examination of decision-making by managers and professionals in health, social care, banking." Grant ref RES-352-25-0026 £268,526.81 (FEC £325,878).

Mentorship for ICA NIHR CDR Fellows (1–2 hours a month) – The NIHR has an ICA Mentorship scheme available to Clinical Academics undertaking their Doctoral Fellowships. I was nominated by my professional body and was successfully appointed to the NIHR Academy; I have been a committed and active mentor since the inception of the Scheme. I regularly participate in the mentor and mentees training events and have mentored two ICA CDR Fellows (max allowed) every year since the inception of the Scheme. These very talented mentees have included a range of health professionals including Physiotherapists, Dieticians, Nurses etc.
NIHR ICA Clinical Academic Doctoral Fellowships Panel (1 week a year) – In November 2020 I was appointed a Deputy Chair of the NIHR ICA CDRF Panel. I have been a panel member for the last three years. I provide advice to those applying on an ad hoc basis, and give a week a year to the reviewing tasks and panel interviews.
Fellow of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists.
NIHR HTA Prioritisation Committee C member.
HEE/NIHR appointed Mentor for the Integrated Clinical Academic Program for Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professionals http://www.healthresearchmentor.org.uk/website/54-2/
Invited member of the expert review interview panel for the NIHR/HEE ICA Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship Scheme
Member of the UK Council of Deans for Health, Expert Research Advisory Group
Member of the Council of Allied Health Professions Research Professoriate
Former Chair of the Editorial Board for the British Journal of Occupational Therapy (2012–2013).
Former Member of the Editorial Board of the British Journal of Occupational Therapy (2010–2012).
Former Member of the ESRC Peer Review College (2012–2014).
Member of the Editorial Board of the Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy (2018–2020).
Former Member of the College of Occupational Therapists-Specialist Section: Mental Health (Member of Editorial Board for national peer-reviewed journal publication 2006–2010 and voted Acting Chair of Editorial Board for 2010–11).
Former Expert Consultant to Department of Transport – The Blue Badge Scheme Local Authority Guidance (England), 2011.

RISE Research Leadership Academy: I co-designed (with ECRs) and lead the Faculty RISE Research Leadership Academy. This was very well received. The Academy, RISE 2020, incorporated lectures on research leadership journeys; expert-led discussions on topics such as strategy, impact, collaboration, policy development and mentorship as well as more practical sessions on costing grants and project management. The Academy has run annually since 2020.
Former Elected Vice-Chair and Council Member, Director and Trustee, Royal College of Occupational Therapists, UK (33,000 COT members) ending term of office June 2019
Former Elected Chair, R&D Board, Royal College of Occupational Therapists, UK
Former Chair of the Editorial Board for the British Journal of Occupational Therapy (2012–2013).

When Head of Clinical Sciences at Brunel University, I had responsibility for the line management of a wide range of disciplines. These included Occupational Therapy, Specialist Community Public Health Nursing, Physiotherapy, Physician Associate, Social Work, Public Health, Health Promotion and Health Economics. As the Head, I was responsible for the support and development of 80 academic staff and 1000 students. While Head, all the Brunel University London NHS commissioned programmes became green rated on the NHS QCPM RAG ratings. In 2018, I was awarded the Vice Chancellor's University Prize for outstanding academic leadership.

2014–2018: Chair of the Brunel University Student Misconduct committee; Chair of the Brunel Clinical Sciences Promotions Panel, Probationary Review Panel, Academic Committee and Management Board
2015–2018: Professor of Occupational Therapy and Head of Clinical Sciences, Brunel University London
2013–2015: Reader and Head of Clinical Sciences, Brunel University London – Managed 80 Faculty across 7 disciplines/1000 students, plus budget and overall evaluation of teaching and research performance of programs and Faculty
2013–2014: Occupational Therapy Division Director – Managed 26 and 350 OT students, plus budget and overall evaluation of teaching and research performance of programs and Faculty
2012–2013: Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, Divisional Research Lead and UoAs REF Impact Champion, School of Health Science and Social Care
2009-2013: Senior Lecturer, Divisional Research Lead and MSc Program Director (Occupational Therapy) including budget management, managing design and evaluation, School of Health Science and Social Care
2003–2009: Lecturer in Occupational Therapy and MSc Program Director (Occupational Therapy) including budget management, managing design and evaluation, School of Health Science and Social Care, Brunel University London (discretionary award for outstanding work in teaching and research in 2004)
1995–2003: Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, Health Sciences, School of Health Sciences and Social Care, Brunel University London
1993–1994: Sabbatical in Autumn term: Volunteer Lecturer and clinician in Occupational Therapy, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore, South India
1987–1995: Occupational Therapist, Bethlem & Maudsley Hospitals in the clinical fields of neurology, neurosurgery, adolescent psychiatry, eating disorders, older adults, psychosis, community mental health and post partum psychiatry

Publications

Identifying outstanding research proposals: an examination of reviewers’ judgement processes

Vallée-Tourangeau, Gaëlle, Vandrevala, Tushna, Wheelock, Ana, Gokalp, Hulya, Tomlinson, Christopher, Szigetvari, Fanni and Harries, Priscilla, 2026, Wellcome Open Research (11), Published

Professor Priscilla Harries

About

Former appointments/roles

Qualifications

Domains

Teaching and learning

Research

Business, knowledge transfer and international

Professional practice, knowledge exchange and impact

Leadership and management

Publications

Articles

Books

Book Sections/Chapters

Conference Items

Working Papers

Computer Applications

Gallery of work

Hosting Creighton University (USA) visitors to the Joint Faculty

Hong Kong - Amber recruitment Fair

Celebrating contributions to the Occupational Therapy profession

Stay connected