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Lisa Newington (Chair)
Physiotherapist – London
Lisa graduated in 2006 with an MSc in Physiotherapy and has been working as a hand therapist since 2008. Lisa has worked in both the NHS and private settings and enjoys treating patients with a range of upper limb injuries and acquired conditions.
In 2012 Lisa was awarded an AHP Research Training Fellowship at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London Biomedical Research Centre, where she developed a qualitative study exploring participation in clinical research.
Lisa has continued to combine her interest in clinical practice and research and was awarded a Wessex HEE/NIHR Clinical Academic Internship in 2014 in association with the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit (University of Southampton). This collaboration led to the development of a series of studies to explore return to work after carpal tunnel release, and in 2015 Lisa won an NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship to complete this research.
Lisa also continues to work clinically at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London.
Lisa was co-opted to the Clinical Evidence Committee in 2013, becoming chair in 2015, and is committed to supporting and promoting hand therapy research.
Donna Kennedy
Occupational Therapist – London
Donna is an occupational therapist with over 30 years of post-qualification experience. She has trained and worked both in the U.S. and the UK; completing a BSc at Tufts University in 1984 and an MSc at the University of East Anglia in 2009.
She has been a certified hand therapist (CHT) since 1992. She has worked as the director of hand therapy at a large major trauma centre; in private practice and most recently as clinical specialist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Currently, she is undertaking an NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship in pain research at Imperial College London.
She has published her work in peer-reviewed journals and presented internationally. She has diverse research interests including outcome measurement, reliability and prognostic research. She is passionate about promoting excellence in hand therapy, both in clinical care and research.
Suzanne Beale
Occupational Therapist – Birmingham
Suzanne qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 1991 and has specialised in Hand Therapy since 1996. Suzanne currently works as a Clinical Specialist Hand Therapist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Hand (QEHB), starting this role in 2001.
Since 2015, Suzanne has also worked as an academic research therapist within the Hand and Peripheral Nerve Service at QEHB. Suzanne’s specialist interest is within the peripheral nerve injury service, specifically the assessment and treatment of nerve and tendon transfers. Other interests include patient education and post-graduate training of therapists within hand therapy.
Suzanne completed a Masters in Hand Therapy at Derby University in 2005. Suzanne joined the BAHT CEC in 2016 and is keen to support the further development of research in the clinical workplace.
Victoria Jansen
Physiotherapist – East Grinstead
Victoria graduated as a physiotherapist in 1996, and after her rotational post, initially specialised in burns, plastics and trauma working in the Burns units at Roehampton, and East Grinstead as well as abroad in Auckland, New Zealand and Singapore. Victoria has worked in the Pulvertaft Hand Unit, in Derby since 2000, and her caseload includes both acute hand trauma and chronic conditions. Victoria has a dual role as both a senior hand therapist and a researcher.
Victoria’s special interest is in the therapy management of hand OA and wrist pain, with thumb OA being the focus of her current research activity. She has presented her research at national (BAHT) and international conferences (IFSSH and EFSSH), and published her work in peer reviewed journals.
In 2014, she was awarded a HEE/NIHR ICA Programme Masters Studentship and completed a Master’s in Research Methods at the University of Nottingham. Victoria is about to start a further HEE scholarship to prepare a PhD application.
Victoria joined the CEC in 2017 and is committed to supporting members to develop the knowledge base for the conditions we treat, and the evidence base for hand therapy practice.