Wessex Women and Girls

Desi joined Wessex Health Partners (WHP) team as a Programme Coordinator in January 2024. She has extensive knowledge of research set-up and experience in research delivery. Having graduated with an MSc in Clinical Neurodevelopmental Sciences at King’s College London, she began a career in the NHS as a researcher. Over the last nine years she has worked to facilitate the successful set-up and approval of projects in Research & Development as well as to support the running of clinical trials in oncology, trauma and emergency, and renal research. In her roles, Desi has led teams of research nurses, practitioners, data managers and trial coordinators to deliver cutting edge research accessible to all patients. She is a registered Clinical Research Practitioner with the Academy for Healthcare Sciences (AHCS) and a Licentiate Member of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences (IBMS). In her WHP role, Desi works on the women’s health portfolio of activities.

Professor of Epidemiology and Human Development in the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre at the University of Southampton. He is Associate Dean for Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise in the Faculty of Medicine and an honorary consultant at University Hospital Southampton. His research focuses on promoting health and care for parents before/during and between pregnancies to reduce disparities in maternity and offspring outcomes. His research has established that children's development and their susceptibility to obesity and allergic disorders are affected by the mother's diet and lifestyle before and during pregnancy, with long-term health implications mediated through epigenetic changes. He is nutrition theme lead for the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, co-chair of the UK Preconception Partnership, and lead for the Preconception and Interconception “PREPARE” collaboration within the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium. In 2022 he received an MBE for his services to medicine during the COVID-19 response.

Vanora Hundley is Professor of Midwifery in the Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health at Bournemouth University. She is the Capacity Development Lead for the Maternal and Infant Health Equity Research Centre (MIHERC), one of the nine collaborations that make up the NIHR Maternity Disparities Consortium. She was a member of the steering group for NHS Dorset’s Women’s Health Programme and several of the workstreams that underpin the programme. Vanora is an internationally recognised midwifery researcher and has worked in the UK, Hungary and the USA. She is a member of World Health Organization’s Technical Advisory Group on WHO Maternal and Perinatal Health Guidelines. She currently serves on the UoA3 panel for the REF2029 People, Culture and Environment pilot exercise.

Professor Ying Cheong is a leading specialist in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery and the founder of Complete Fertility Centre Southampton, UK. Her research focuses on the endometrium and its implantation environment, working across disciplines with the University of Southampton’s School of Electronics and Computer Science and Nanoscience. Her work contributes to the development of nano-therapeutics and medical biosensors. Professor Cheong has secured multiple NIHR and commercial research grants and is an experienced clinical trialist. She has held editorial roles within the Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility Group. Currently, she serves as an editor for Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group), Human Fertility (British Fertility Society), and Reproduction and Fertility(Society for Reproduction and Fertility). Beyond research, she is deeply engaged in undergraduate and postgraduate education, mentoring the next generation of reproductive medicine specialists.

Peter Phiri is a leading researcher in culturally adapted Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), particularly for psychosis in ethnic minority communities. He completed his doctorate at the University of Southampton in 2012 and has since focused on global mental health, student wellbeing and adapting evidence-based interventions for diverse populations. He co-authored Cultural Adaptation of CBT for Serious Mental Illness (2015), a key resource for practitioners. Peter is a Visiting Academic in the Faculty of Medicine and works in Research & Innovation at Hampshire & Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS FT. He also holds Visiting Professorships at the University of Ruhuna and Nnamdi Azikiwe University and is a BABCP Fellow. He serves as Associate Editor for The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist and Frontiers in Psychiatry. He leads and co-investigates multiple NIHR-funded trials across the UK.

Jan is a Senior Manager (Projects) in the Research & Development department at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. Her previous research interests centred on the specialty of Infection Prevention. In 2024, Jan co-authored the report ‘Research in the Wessex region in relation to women and girls’ health and care needs’. This led to the successful application to Wessex Health Partners for award funding, enabling the event held by WHP in May 2025. She has taken a founding role in this new network.