Testimonial – Keri Lodge

Dr Keri Lodge, Consultant Psychiatrist, LYPFT.

I completed a BSc in Biology, followed by an MA (by thesis) using qualitative research methods, before embarking on a career in medicine. During medical school, I really missed research, so I became an Academic Foundation Programme doctor, giving me the opportunity of completing a systematic review into tools used to detect depression in people with a learning disability alongside my foundation doctor clinical training. Having been bitten by the clinical research bug, I went on to become an Academic Clinical Fellow in learning disability psychiatry, undertaking a MMedSci in Health Science Research as part of which I completed three systematic reviews into tools used to identify autism in people who are d/Deaf, blind and who are deafblind.

After this, I took up my current post as a consultant in learning disability psychiatry with the Leeds Autism Diagnostic Service, attracted to this post because I knew there were likely to be opportunities to get involved in research, although I did not really know what this might look like. Then, Covid 19 struck, and our focus was of course on clinical work.

When we emerged into the post-lockdown world, I was not sure how to go about re- establishing clinical research within our team. Luckily, our service was able to take part in the Embed programme. As part of this, Wendy and her colleagues have supported me to learn how to be a research champion and how to coordinate our research development. We have focused on identifying clinical research training needs within our service, and supporting and encouraging all members of our multidisciplinary team to get involved in clinical research, from being research advocates to being principal investigators and pump- priming grant applicants. One of my key aims was to further develop our research network, and the support from Wendy and her colleagues has been invaluable in making connections. It’s exciting to see both ongoing and new clinical research being undertaken by different members of the team, and the list of ideas for future projects is growing. On a personal level, I really enjoy being able to use the research-bit of my brain alongside clinical work, it’s a good balance that certainly keeps life interesting!