Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Royal Preston Hospital

Christian is a consultant paediatric neurologist with a keen interest in research, working closely with local universities. He is the lead for paediatric neuromuscular service in Lancashire and South Cumbria. He has worked on a number of collaborations with MMU, looking at activity and pain in children and adults with muscular dystrophy.

Candiss is a Paediatric Research Physiotherapist with a background in community paediatric physiotherapy.  She has recently joined the research team at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals to help set up and run Dr DeGoede’s DMD Hydro study.  Prior to that Candiss developed her specialist skills working for a children’s charity that provided assessments and treatments for children with complex needs, gaining post graduate qualifications in Bobath and Sensory Integration.  She then accepted an NHS post as a lead physiotherapist in a special school alongside holding a varied caseload in paediatrics, including respiratory.  She completed a secondment in Grand Cayman as a Locum Paediatric Physiotherapist before returning to her previous NHS post.  Candiss has always been keen to be involved in research and so found this research post at Royal Preston Hospital very exciting.  This interest started at University where she was a participant in an educational study and has continued since qualifying as she regularly consents to participate in studies that require physiotherapists to participate.

Paula works as a research nurse in the Child Health Department at Royal Preston Hospital. She has a wide role in the set up and management of research studies in children, and advocating research in our trust. She has been closely involved in the development and running of a trial looking at a new device to help children who wet the bed, and is about to start an exciting study looking at determinants of activity in children with muscle conditions.