Allison Hirst

I joined QResearch as Senior Project Manager in July 2021. I support Julia-Hippisley-Cox and team to manage the activities of QResearch. This includes project management, finance and HR.

Immediately prior to joining QResearch I was Project Manager and Researcher for 8 years at the IDEAL Collaboration https://www.ideal-collaboration.net/ working with surgeons and methodologists to improve the quality of research in surgical and device innovation.

I have over 25 years experience in a variety of health researcher/project management roles. These include:

• Senior Research Fellow, the EQUATOR Network https://www.equator-network.org/
• Senior Project Manager of the Kadoorie Biobank Study, a blood-based prospective cohort study of 500,000 adults in China, a collaboration between the University of Oxford and the Chinese National Centre for Disease Control.
• Project Manager/Researcher of the HOPEFUL Study: a multi-centre retrospective cohort study comparing the efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness of hysterectomy and uterine artery embolisation (UAE) for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids. (HTA Ref: 03/60/01)
• Research & Development Fellow, NICE. I developed the national clinical guideline on Osteoporosis.
• Macmillan Research Fellow, Cochrane. I carried out a Cochrane systematic review “Benzodiazepines for insomnia in palliative care”.
• Research Assistant, Nuffield Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Oxford. I coordinated a large-scale primary research project looking at the influence of the media, specifically the TV hospital drama ‘Casualty’ on attendance rates at A&E Departments across the UK.
• Research Assistant, Department of Medicine, Pacific Medical Center, Seattle, USA. I carried out a project examining the bone density of female athletes.

I gained my first degree in Human Sciences, Wadham College, University of Oxford and then an MSc in Exercise and Health Sciences from the University of Bristol. I have a Diploma in Teaching in Higher Education and am a registered Level 3 UK Athletics Coach.