Research does not happen in isolation. For Research Appreciation Day 2026, we are recognising the importance of co-production and celebrating the patients, carers and members of the public who help shape research across Oxford Health.
Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) is a vital part of the research process. By sharing their lived experience, public contributors help researchers ask the right questions, improve study design, develop accessible participant information, and ensure research reflects the needs and priorities of the communities it aims to serve. Meaningful involvement helps create research that is more relevant, inclusive and impactful.
This Research Appreciation Day, we want to say thank you to the many public contributors who generously give their time, insight and expertise to support our work across the research infrastructures at Oxford Health. Their perspectives strengthen research at every stage and help ensure that studies are developed with people, not just for them.
We spoke to researchers and public contributors who have shared their experiences of working together and why collaboration is essential to delivering better research.
Our Pain Theme researcher Amanda Wall, a DPhil student at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department for Clinical Neurosciences tells us: “I don’t see the point of designing research without the input of the people it will impact. It’s a bit like going shopping for someone without their shopping list – you might think you know what they need, but it’s unlikely to be what they actually want.
“For me, co-production means collaborating throughout the entire research cycle, and that patient involvement makes research stronger. Public contributors have helped us secure funding through grant applications, shape protocols, determine how much data we collect, interpret findings and support dissemination.
“In one of our healthy volunteer studies, participants completed five sets of a virtual reality task, but feedback from our PPI contributors highlighted that this would be too much for clinical participants, so we reduced the task to three sets. This kind of input helps ensure research is relevant, practical and designed around the needs of the people it is intended to benefit.”
Roger Ede and Mike Etkind are both contributors in our Depression Therapeutics Theme’s Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group.
Mike told us: “Co-production to me means a relationship between a public contributor and researcher where there is an equal balance of power, and where the public contributor feels genuinely listened to and is made to feel part of the research team. Ideally it starts at the design stage of the research all the way through to its conclusion.
“Done well, I believe co-production provides a constructive external perspective and challenge which will make the research run more smoothly and provide results which are more likely to resonate with and benefit current and future patients.”
Roger said: “As someone who has benefited from NHS care throughout my life, I feel a responsibility to give something back through research for the benefit of current and future patients. Patient and public involvement gives me the opportunity to do that, while also ensuring that research remains focused on what matters most: improving patient outcomes.
“My own experience of living with clinical depression, and of seeing the impact of suicide on family and friends, means I understand the importance of high-quality mental health research and can help advocate for the interests of patients.
“One of the most rewarding aspects of my involvement has been contributing to the PETRUSHKA project from its early stages as a concept in 2016 through to its progression into the PRADA study. Working alongside clinicians, researchers and patients to shape the design and methodology has shown me the value of genuine collaboration in creating research that can ultimately benefit patients.”
Dr Amy Gillespie, Depression Therapeutics Theme Manager and senior post-doctoral researcher in the University of Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry said: “The research I do can’t happen without patients and the public participating in it, and my primary motivation is to help people suffering with depression, so for me it simply doesn’t make sense to do research without patient and public involvement.
“Making PPIE a larger part of my academic life has helped make my research (and the research I support) more inclusive, more successful, and more meaningful to people with depression. It keeps me grounded in the perspective of our research participants and the patients we aim to benefit.”
These reflections highlight the impact of meaningful patient and public involvement throughout the research process. By bringing together research expertise and lived experience, co-production helps ensure studies remain relevant, accessible and focused on the needs of the people they aim to benefit.
How can you get involved with our research?
Find out more about our patient and public involvement opportunities across Oxford Health and how your experience could help improve studies, services and outcomes for others.
NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Oxford Health – Get Involved
NIHR Clinical Research Facility: Oxford Health – Get Involved
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust – Patient and Public Involvement, Count Me In
