Prof Anne MacFarlane

Anne is founder and overall academic lead for the PPI Research Unit. She is the Director of WHO Collaborating Centre for Migrant’s Involvement in Health Research which is hosted in the Unit. She is a social scientist with more than 25 years’ experience using qualitative research methods in health services research. She has specialist expertise in participatory health research, particularly in relation to migrant health. Anne is Principal Investigator for a number of participatory health research projects. She established and led PPI as a theme in the Health Research Institute (HRI) (2016-2019) to build capacity in the UL health research community for partnered research across topics and disciplines.

Anne is involved with international collaborations in Europe and North America to advance the evidence base about best practice for PPI and participatory health research. She is active in projects with WHO Europe, the International Collaboration for Participatory Health Research and the North American Primary Care Research Group. Her current research interests include the sociological concept of space and how this can enhance understanding of participatory spaces in health.