Researchers

Lee Hooper

Lee is a National Institute for Health Research Career Development Fellow, and is using the funding to carry out the DRIE study. This is research to identify the early stages of dehydration in older people (January 2012 to December 2014). She is a dietitian, nutritionist and systematic reviewer with a long term interest in the nutrition and hydration of older people. She is an expert systematic reviewer and has developed and managed many systematic reviews. Lee has been an editor for the Cochrane Heart Group for 10 years, was an editor of the Cochrane Oral Health Group for 5 years, and regularly referees systematic reviews for top medical and nutrition journals.

Lee works as a Senior Lecturer in Research Synthesis and Nutrition in the Norwich Medical School at the University of East Anglia and has a BSc in Biochemistry, PhD (University of Manchester) and current dietetic registration. She worked as a dietitian in the National Health Service for ten years, with extensive experience of community health promotion and cardiovascular health. Lee moved to research in 2000 and has since published over 70 peer-reviewed publications, mainly in the area of the effects of dietary change on health. Her publications have been cited over 1900 times (with an average citation per publication of over 27, and h-index of 22).

Lee is a memeber of the world Health Organization Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Group (NUGAG, subsidary of Diet and Health). As well as being a Cochrane editor, she is an editor of Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, was awarded Ibex Award by British Dietetic Association (2005), and was a member of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) Partners Council.

For Lee's UEA biography click here.

Diane Bunn

Research Assistant, DRIE Study & PhD Student

Diane started at the University of East Anglia in February 2012 as a Research Assistant and PhD student working with Dr Lee Hooper on the DRIE Study.

Prior to joining the UEA, Diane worked with the Norfolk Arthritis Register, a longitudinal observational study of inflammatory polyarthritis (IP) aiming to establish the cause, incidence and outcome of IP.

As Clinical Manager, Diane was responsible for a team of nurses and support staff involved in data collection. This involved recruitment from both primary and secondary care, as well as follow-up for the 3,500 participants recruited since 1990. This role also involved development and implementation of new protocols, including preparation of submissions to Ethics; liaising with collaborators locally and dissemination of results.

For Diane's UEA biography click here.

Florence Jimoh

Masters student

Florence began a Masters by Research in Clinical Science at UEA in September 2012, after volunteering with DRIE during August. She has been carrying out some of the observations in DRIE on participants drinking – interested in residents social interactions around drinks, as well as what and how much they drink when drinks are offered. As part of her masters Florence carried out her own research alongside DRIE on measuring how much people actually drink. She focused on developing and using a simple tool for assessing fluid intake (using pictures) for use by care home residents. She is supervised by Dr Lee Hooper.

Prior to joining the UEA, Florence worked as a Lecturer and researcher for twelve years at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, and carried out research at Fort Hare University, South Africa looking at the nutritional properties of wild vegetables and biological activities of medicinal plants. When she relocated to Norwich with her family, she took a career break from research and taught secondary school science.

Florence says “I have always believed that preventing a disease is more effective than providing a cure, and I am delighted that is the basis of our current research into dehydration. I intend to keep working on hope-filled endeavours that will improve peoples’ lives and result in knowledge that all people can share.”

Steering Group

The steering group of DRIE meets every 6 months (7 meetings over 3 years), usually over lunch. The group reviews the research being carried out and helps to ensure it is of a high quality. The steering group includes a wonderful range of skill, talent and experience, who can be called on to help solve any problems the DRIE researchers encounters. They are:

	Joyce Groves, member of PPIRes (Patient and Public Involvement in Research) with experience at the Care Quality Commission
	Vicky Cowap, Quality Assurance manager at NorseCare
	Hilary MacDonald, Chief Executive, Age UK Norfolk
	Linda Gill, Development Manager for Advice and Advocacy, Age UK Norfolk
	Sue Steel, Contracts Manager at UEA, and our study sponsor Sue has been involved with the administration of research and funding for 12 years and previously worked for the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, with which UEA has close research links. Her particular interests are the regulation of research its part in research integrity.
	Lee Shepstone, Professor of Medical Statistics at UEA UEA Biography
	Paul Hunter, Professor of Health Protection at UEA UEA Biography
	John Potter, Professor of Ageing and Stroke Medicine at UEA UEA Biography
	Fiona Poland, Senior Lecturer in Health and Society, supervisor for Diane’s PhD UEA Biography
	Carol Vince, member of PPIRes (Patient and Public Involvement in Research), carer and care home receptionist