COSTA research teams

Within COSTA, we’re supported by, and work in collaboration with, three different teams. Further detail about each team and their role in the study is provided below.

Core Team

The Core team is a group of seven researchers and clinicians and one PPI (Patient and Public Involvement) partner. This team meets bi-monthly to discuss the study progress and provide guidance on project direction.

Professor Kirstie Haywood

COSTA Chief Investigator, University of Warwick

Kirstie is a Professor of Health Outcomes with an established international reputation for her research in applied health outcomes research, specially, patient-reported outcomes, measurement science and health-related quality of life research in clinical trials and clinical practice settings.

Throughout her research she has sought to work closely with patients and the public as research partners.

Dr Sofie Power

COSTA Research Fellow, University of Warwick

With a background in physical activity and health, Sofie finished her PhD in 2024, where she designed, developed and refined a home-based exercise programme, in collaboration with people with lived experience.

Sofie is looking forward to contributing to the development of a core outcome set for ankle fracture that resonates with all the relevant stakeholders.

Dr Nathan Pearson

University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire

Nathan is a psychologist and mixed-methods researcher who has led the development of patient-reported outcome measures, core outcome sets and complex health interventions. Working collaboratively with patient partners, his work seeks to identify and understand ‘what matters’ to patients to support timely access to care and improve health outcomes.

Dr Liz Tutton

University of Oxford

Liz is a senior research fellow at the University of Oxford and honorary research fellow at the University of Warwick.

Her themes of work focus on the experience of illness, injury and healthcare from the perspectives of multidisciplinary staff, patients and their family, carers, older people and people suffering acute traumatic injury. Liz conducts mixed methods research, including a range of qualitative methodologies such as phenomenology and ethnography.

Dr Alex Joeris

AO Foundation

As a former surgeon with more than 10 years clinical practice experience, Alex is highly interested in the development of COS for different trauma areas. The identification and definition of the most appropriate outcome domains and its respective outcome measurements is an important aspect to improve patient care in time of scarce resources. Therefore, the COSTA project is a wonderful opportunity to improve care of patients with distal tibia and ankle fractures. As Head of Medical Scientific Affairs at AO, it is a great pleasure for Alex to serve for the COSTA project with his expertise in clinical research, health economics and patient care.

Mr Richard Grant

PPI Representative

Richard Grant has been involved as a PPI contributor to many different health related research projects based in Warwick University Medical School, Universities of Oxford [NDORMS]& Liverpool [[GI HPRU], Coventry City Council HDRC.

He is a member of ARC West Midlands and familiar with the dedication and enthusiasm researchers have for their work directed at patient benefit.

By being a member of the research team he can contribute the patient/public dimension and ensure the best possible results are produced.

Professor Marilyn Heng

Boston Medical Center, Massachusetts

In addition to providing clinical care and teaching, Dr. Heng conducts clinical research focused on patient-reported outcomes research in orthopaedics. She holds a Masters of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health with a graduate certificate in Quality, Patient Safety and Outcomes Research.

Professor David Keene

University of Oxford

David Keene is a physiotherapist and researcher based at the University of Oxford in the UK. He has been doing research on improving outcomes after ankle and other fractures for over a decade.

Dr Rodrigo Pesantez

Bogotá, Columbia

Rodrigo is an orthopedic trauma surgeon working at Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogotá for the last 29 years. He fixes acute fractures and does reconstruction of delayed unions and malunions. Rodrigo has been involved with the AO since 1996 and through this connection and interest in PROMS, he has started this collaboration in the COSTA study.

International Advisory Group

The International Advisory Group is formed of nine clinicians and researchers from around the world. Through online meetings and email communication, this group provides guidance that will improve the international applicability of COSTA. Our group members are listed alphabetically below:

Professor Matthew Costa

Professor of Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery and Consultant Trauma Surgeon, England

Professor Mandeep Dhillon

Orthopaedic Surgeon and Director of Regenerative and Sports Medicine and Orthopaedics, India

Dr Prakash Jayakumar

Senior Medical Director and Orthopaedic Surgeon, USA

Mr Simon Lambert

Consultant Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon, England

Mr Andrew Metcalfe

Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and Professor of Trauma and Orthopaedics, England

Dr Marinis Pirpiris

Orthopaedic Surgeon, Australia

Dr Kyle Schweser

Orthopaedic Surgeon and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, USA

Professor Martin Underwood

GP and Professor of Primary Care Research, England

Patient and Public Involvement Group

The Patient and Public Involvement group is formed of three members who provide patient and/or public insight throughout the study. They help to ensure the study, and associated materials, are appropriate for our patient population. Our group members are listed alphabetically below:

Liz Baird
Richard Grant
Deb Smith