The Project Advisory Group

The role of the Project Advisory Group is to provide advice to the researchers to make sure that the research takes into consideration the views of patients and healthcare professionals and to ensure the research is of a high standard.

The Project Advisory Group membership comprises the eight members of the Research Team and representatives of patients/public and healthcare professionals and researchers. T
hey will use their experience and expertise to provide advice to help develop the detail of the methods of each phase of the research and with the interpretation of findings. They will ensure that the research stays focussed on the clinical aspects of the project and what is important to users of orthotics.

Mr Robert (Roy) Bowers
As a Senior Teaching Fellow in the National Centre for Prosthetics and Orthotics, Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Strathclyde I have more than 30 years’ experience in orthotics. My main clinical and research interests are in the lower limb orthotic management of neurological disorders. I have advised on international panels and co-written key works on the biomechanics of lower limb orthoses.

Mr Simon Lalor

My specialism as Clinical Lead Orthotist at Queen Mary’s Hospital, Roehampton, London is in the lower limb orthotic management of neuromuscular diseases. I have been consulted internationally as an expert on fine-tuning and analysis of orthotic interventions to produce recommendations for future patient orthotic treatment pathways. My work has led to an in-depth understanding of both normal and pathological gait and the efficacy of lower limb orthoses in neuromuscular diseases.

Rory O’Connor
I am a Senior Lecturer in Rehabilitation Medicine and Co-lead for Student Education at the University of Leeds. I trained at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dublin and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, in London.  My research has focused on innovations in rehabilitation in technology, outcome measurement and education and I have developed research portfolios in conditions including amputation, stroke and multiple sclerosis. Among the research awards I have received is an MD from the UCL Institute of Neurology in Queen Square in London for my research on outcome measurement in neurological rehabilitation. I am Chair of the Specialty Advisory Committee for Rehabilitation Medicine; Honorary Secretary of the British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine; and a member of the NICE Stroke Rehabilitation Guideline Development Group.


Dr Margaret Phillips 
My clinical and research interests are in orthotics, neuromuscular disease and physical activity which I pursue in my roles as Associate Professor at Nottingham University and Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine, Royal Derby Hospital. My wide experience in clinical research includes using a variety of research methods and I have published papers concerning biomechanical and qualitative aspects of the use of orthoses. Currently I am leading a group writing guidelines for the role of rehabilitation in management of people with neuromuscular disease on behalf of the British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine. 
I am also working with the Uganda Polio Project, which involves providing orthoses to people who have had polio and similar conditions in Uganda, and measuring the effects of such provision.

Dr Gita Ramdharry
I am a Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy at the Faculty for Health & Social Care Sciences, Kingston University with clinical and research experience in the field of neuromuscular diseases (NMDs). I have published papers on orthotic management in people with neuromuscular diseases and have an interest in gait and the biomechanics of posture and gait. Work experience includes the provision of orthoses to people with neuromuscular diseases; and I lead a number of neuromuscular related professional physiotherapy bodies. Current work includes developing best practice guidelines. 



Dr Cynthia Iglesias Urrita 
My role on the Project Advisory Group is to provide expert advice on the costing of orthotic devices. My current research activity focuses on the potential contribution of Bayesian methods for evidence synthesis to the evaluation of therapeutic medical devices, such as orthoses. I am a Health Economist/ Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Health Sciences and internal affiliate at Centre for Health Economics and Hull-York Medical School, University of York.