Head of the Graduate School and Centre Co-director: Centre for Health, Activity and Rehabilitation Research
Professor Cathy Bulley (PhD, BSc (Hons) is a Professor in the Dietetics, Nutrition & Biological Sciences, Physiotherapy, Podiatry & Radiography Division. She is also Head of the Graduate School and co-director of the Centre for Health, Activity and Rehabilitation Research (CHEARR). Since 2018 she has been a founding co-director of the Health Design Collective Social Enterprise, a spin-out from 69´«Ã½.
- Overview
- Research Interests
- Research Publications
- Funded Projects
- Teaching & Learning
I trained as a Physiotherapist at QMU between 1994 and 1998 and remained to complete my PhD in health psychology between 1998 and 2002. After working clinically, I found that my heart lay in research and development. I focused on using audit, service evaluation and research to advocate for people who are living with different long-term health conditions and for the people in their lives – families and informal carers. I have worked with people living with the impacts of breast cancer and its treatment, lymphedema, stroke, multiple sclerosis and renal disease. More recently, my focus has moved to developing and evaluating devices to support people with foot-drop, which is a side effect of many different health conditions.
I take a pragmatic approach and use quantitative and qualitative methodologies as appropriate to ask and answer questions from different perspectives. More recently my work has progressed into enterprise and entrepreneurship. My research interests in people’s experiences of health devices led to collaboration with others to form a spin-out social enterprise called the ‘Health Design Collective’ . We collaborate with end-users to co-design fit-for-purpose, accessible, attractive and affordable heath care products. Our primary focus is on footwear for footdrop. I am progressing research into the footwear and strategies to support decision-making.
Affiliations/Memberships to Other Organisations:
- Member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
- Registered with the Health and Care Professions Council
- Member of the Association for Chartered Physiotherapists in Neurology
Professional Social Media:
Research/Knowledge Exchange Centre Membership:
Co-director of the Centre for Health, Activity and Rehabilitation Research
I have wide ranging interests which have developed through conversations with interest-holders, interdisciplinarity and support of others. My most persistent research focus has been on foot-drop and devices that support people who are living with it, particularly functional electrical stimulation. This interest has led to my involvement in social entrepreneurship – particularly in co-founding a spin-out social enterprise called the Health Design Collective. We are developing and researching innovative UPnGO™ footwear for footdrop. This has developed my fascination with ensuring a circular approach to research and knowledge exchange – with much shorter and more iterative relationships between research, innovation and practice.
Throughout my research career I have developed my belief that everyone should be reflective about their underlying influences and the ways in which we research, innovate, practice and teach. This has led me to interests in person-centredness and in decolonising research, curricula and practive.
Active Research Interests:
- Experiences of foot-drop and related orthotic devices, particularly functional electrical stimulation
- Development of new devices for foot drop to provide options for people
- User-centred product design
- Knowledge exchange, enterprise and entrepreneurship
- Person-centred practice
- Decolonising research, teaching and practice
Research Methods:
- Qualitative research methods using face-to-face, online and telephone interactions, and most frequently from pragmatic, realist or phenomenological perspectives.
- Involving interest-holders throughout the research journey (including Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement).
- Service evaluation and development
- Digital research methods
- Survey methods
Research and KE Grants & Contracts Funding:
2025: NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) Connect award: Specialised footwear for foot drop: Laying the foundations for product launch and NHS adoption strategy. Bulley, C. (Principal Investigator), Jagadamma, K., Santos, D., Robinson, G., Russell, J., van der Linden, M., Blackledge-Foughalli, G., Fatoye, F. £149,624.00. January 2025 – March 2026.
2021: MS Society Catalyst Award: The feasibility of Frame Running as an exercise option for people with MS with impaired balance and mobility. (van der Linden, M., Andreopoulou, G., Bulley, C. (Co-Investigator), Koufaki, P., Jagadamma, K., Theis, N) - £47,750.00 – January 2022 – December 2022
2021: SFC Research Funding to Mitigate the effects COVID 19 on the Research Base; Support After COVID: health and social care delivery for COVID-19 and influences on access to support across Scotland. Bulley, C. (Principal Investigator), Dewing, J., McCormack, B., Salisbury, L., Tyagi, V., Sagan, O., Magowan, R., Nicols, K.) - £28,280.00 – January 2021 – July 2021
2021: HDC Founders were awarded further Innovation Fellowship by 69´«Ã½ with a total of £15,000 to provide support for their time
2020: Chief Scientist Office Rapid Research in Covid-19 Programme: Research Portfolio 69´«Ã½ submission; Project 4: Supporting recovery from illness experienced in isolation due to a pandemic context: survey and development of recommendations for practice. (Bulley, C. (Principal Investigator), Dewing, J., McCormack, B., Salisbury, L., Tyagi, V., Sagan, O., Magowan, R., Nicols, K.) - £28,326.00 – May 2020 – October 2020.
2020: Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Professional Network Fund: Development of Clinical Guidelines for the use of Functional Electrical Stimulation to support walking Stage 2: Delphi Consensus Study (Bulley, C. (Principal Investigator), Burridge, J., Adonis, A., Street, T., Joiner, S., van der Linden, M.) - £10,000.000 – January 2021 – December 2021.
2019: HDC Founders were awarded further Innovation Fellowship by 69´«Ã½ with a total of £15,000 to provide support for their time
2019: Joint funded by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Professional Network Fund and the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Neurology: Development of Clinical Guidelines for the use of Functional Electrical Stimulation to support walking Stage 1: Design and systematic review of the evidence (Burridge, J., Bulley, C. (Co-applicant), Meagher, C., Street, T., Taylor, P.) - £10,000.000 – October 2019 – February 2020
2018: HDC Founders were awarded Innovation Fellowships by 69´«Ã½ with a total of £15,000 to provide support for their time
2018: HDC was Runner-up in the ‘Social Enterprise’ category of Converge Challenge (£4000 cash award and £4000 in-kind support)
2018: The Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR) Doctoral Fellowship Grant: The distinctiveness of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual (LGB) persons affected by cancer treatment and impact on personhood: a participatory research study in Scotland. (Hill, G.: Doctoral Student and Dewing, J., Bulley, C. (Research Supervisors) - £24,957.00
2016: Multiple Sclerosis Society: Scoping the Needs Of FamiLies and Carers of people with MS (SNOFLAC-MS Study). (Bulley, C. (Principal Investigator), Baer, G., McCormack, B., Donald, S., Lugton, K., Gillespie, D.) - £47,947
2014: NIHR National Institute for Health Research: PrEscription of intraDialytic exercise to improve quAlity of Life (PEDAL Trial). (Macdougal, I., Mercer, T., Feehally, J., Kalra, P., McIntyre, C., Jardine, A., Ford, I, Walker, A., Macdonald, J., Greenwood, S., Pugh, C., Kumwenda, M., Koufaki, P., Smith, A., Palmer, N., Bulley, C. (Co-applicant; lead of qualitative sub-study)) - £ 1,368,413.00
2010: Breast Cancer Institute: Continuation: Validation of a multifaceted screening tool for identifying perceived changes in pain, fatigue, arm swelling and function after breast cancer treatment. (Bulley, C (Principal Investigator), Coutts, F., Blyth, C., Tan, C.) - £7,942.00
2009: MS Society: The impacts of core stability exercise (Pilates) on posture, pain, function and quality of life in wheelchair-users with Multiple Sclerosis, a feasibility study. (van der Linden, M., Bulley, C. (Co-applicant), Mercer, T., Hooper, J., Cowan, P.) - £39,190
2009: Breast Cancer Institute: Validation of a multifaceted screening tool for identifying perceived changes in pain, fatigue, arm swelling and function after breast cancer treatment. (Bulley, C. (Principal Investigator), Coutts, F., Blyth, C., Tan, C.) - £31,510.00
I particularly enjoy working with students who come from varied countries and cultures. My primary topics of interest relate to integrating research and practice with knowledge exchange – particularly enterprise and entrepreneurship. I promote practice-based dissertations at all levels in the physiotherapy subject area and have supported students to publication and presentation from their dissertations.
More recently, I have designed and provided a student placement focusing on research and knowledge exchange. This aims to support students studying a pre-registration Masters degree in Physiotherapy in developing in-depth insights into working with people who have clinical needs to develop research, then make change happen through innovation, commercialisation and implementation.
I am currently Head of the Graduate School at QMU and aim to support Doctoral and MRes students in receiving high quality student experiences where they progress along the path towards independence in research and knowledge exchange. This includes supporting the Doctoral Candidates Association and ensuring involvement of students in strategic discussion and decision-making that influences their experience.
