• BSc. (Hons) Psychology, University of Stirling, Scotland
• MSc Psychology, University of Stirling, Scotland
• PhD Health Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
• HPC Registered Physiotherapist

My research at the University of Stirling involved the measurement of pain in chronic conditions and testing the pain relieving effects of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) for painful haemorrhage in persons with haemophilia. My PhD research monitored the severity and description of pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis over 7 years and used psychosocial measures of to predict the long-term course of the pain. I moved back to Scotland and a post at QMU in 2003.

Since working at QM I have focused my research on the psychological aspects of living with chronic pain; TENS for pain relief and compliance with exercise in patients with chronic conditions including peripheral arterial disease and mechanisms of placebo analgesia. I have played a key role in the development and growth of the Special Interest Group for Pain and Movement in the International Association for the Study of Pain since 1990.