Dr Laura Charlesworth

I joined the Institute for Health and Care Improvement in August 2025. In this role, I hope to contribute to the Institute’s mission of inspiring positive change to navigate the health challenges of the modern world.

Alongside this role, I also work with a UK Professional Body focusing on education. My career to date has spanned academic, research, and strategic roles. These include leading health research at a think tank, where I delivered projects addressing key healthcare challenges and informed policy through research driven insights. Previously as Associate Professor, I combined teaching in Allied Health Professions with research, portfolio development, and civic engagement. I have also undertaken roles with organisations including Public Health England, Cancer Research UK, and Sheffield Hallam University.

I completed my PhD in spring 2024, titled: Enabling Coping in People Living with Cancer and Severe Mental Illness. This research explored how individuals with severe mental illness perceive their needs when diagnosed with and treated for cancer. Using in-depth interviews and grounded theory analysis, a new theoretical model explained how personal experiences, resilience, healthcare encounters, stigma, and wider social determinants of health shaped coping with comorbidity.

As Health Services Research Fellow, I aim to advance research in cancer care, comorbidity, person-centred care, health service design and reducing health inequalities. Building on my research to date, I am committed to generating new evidence and insights that improve experiential and clinical outcomes for people accessing healthcare. I am delighted to have joined the Institute and look forward to collaborating with colleagues within York St John University and across the wider health and care community.