Developing a research idea

Example: Chris Elliott, University of York

Chris Elliott uses fruit flies to study the fundamental causes of Parkinson’s. Chris had been presenting his research to local groups for many years. His journey with patient and public involvement was initially driven by recognising he needed to communicate his research more clearly to lay members of funding panels. Chris started working with people affected by Parkinson’s to develop the plain English summary of his funding applications.

“The involvement made me realise that to try and find simple ways to explain the complexity of cellular life is quite a challenge and it’s one I need to think about some more.”

Chris has built up relationships with people affected by Parkinson’s in his local area, and he regularly consults them on his research. He now routinely works with people affected by Parkinson’s to develop plain English summaries of his research. He says this has allowed him to gain new perspectives on his research and has increased his knowledge of Parkinson’s.

People affected by Parkinson’s have also helped determine the direction of Chris’s work. For one of his funding applications, Chris had three research questions he could potentially explore. He asked PPI contributors to prioritise the questions to help him decide what he should focus on. To his surprise, people affected by Parkinson’s listed the questions in the opposite order to what he had anticipated, which led him to change the focus of his research.