Leah Fitzsimmons

Public and Patient Involvement Manager, University of Birmingham

Leah works on public and patient involvement and engagement (PPIE) for the UK SPINE. Her role is to connect the work of the UK SPINE network with the public and patients. This involves making sure research recognises and meets public needs as well as finding was to communicate and engage people with what the science of ageing is and why it’s so vitally important. Leah joined the team in January 2021.

Leah also works on PPIE for other projects at the University of Birmingham, where she is based, and before that she was a Public Engagement Officer for the University where she supported hundreds of researchers from all disciplines to engage with the public in innovative and meaningful ways. Before becoming a public engagement and involvement professional, Leah was a researcher herself, and worked on understanding how viruses contribute to cancer from 2009 to 2017. Leah is also an Ambassador for the charity Sense About Science and is committed to helping ensure research is something everybody can access, influence and use.