Leeds Young Research Owls formed in October 2019. We started off as a group of 2 children and young people, and have now grown to over 20 members. We feel very privileged to have joined the well-respected GENERATIONR Alliance. Some of us are patients, and some of us are aspiring healthcare professionals and scientists.
We meet every other month, alternating online and Face to Face. Occasionally we can accommodate extra, bespoke meetings according to researchers’ needs. Our group is made up of 10-18 (ish!) year old children and young people who are passionate about being involved in and supporting research.
We usually meet on a Thursday tea-time (17:00-19:00) and are always looking for new members. All enquiries are welcome. Please email: leedsth-tr.lyro@nhs.net
Upcoming meetings 2025:
Contact details
Heather Rostron (Leeds Young Research Owls lead), can be contacted at leedsth-tr.lyro@nhs.net or Leeds Children’s Research Team, D Floor Martin Wing, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds LS1 3EX.
About Heather Heather Rostron is a PhD student funded by the NIHR and Senior Research Nurse at Leeds Children’s Hospital. Heather has worked in clinical research with children and young people since 2005 at the University of Nottingham, Central Manchester NHS FT, and Leeds Teaching Hospitals. Heather leads Leeds Young Research Owls.
My name is Libby and I am 18 years old. I joined the group after being recommended last year in the hope of gaining experience into the world of healthcare research and the chance to speak with people in the industry. As well as meeting new, young people with similar interests, I believe the group also provides the chance to learn and comment on various different trials and projects. For example, we provided feedback on the ‘scan-me project’, which involved looking into how children and their families felt about having scans after brain tumour treatment and ways in which this could be improved. We also got to speak with a Cardiac surgeon, who demonstrated 3D printed heart models and holograms. As well as getting to try these out for ourselves, we also learnt about the importance these provided for improving the accuracy of surgery. I love being a member of the owls as we are given lots of opportunities to learn about health research and to make an impact on future generations.
October 2025
Listen below to our LYRO alumni Izzy talking about how she supported the PeRFekT study with LYRO lead Heather Rostron:
September 2025:
Hi my name is Henry, I’m 18 years old and have been a part of LYRO for almost 2 years. I have just started studying medicine at Newcastle and couldn’t have done it without the support of the Owls. Through the Owls I have learnt a variety of communicational and team working skills which is just brilliant to demonstrate in interviews and a personal statement. More importantly, the Owls and medical research we took part in was a piece of my inspiration to become a doctor. I am just so grateful for all the help the Owls has given me! Thank you for this incredible opportunity and hopefully we can have even more young people so they can have as fortunate experience as I have!
August 2025:
My name is Oliver, I’m 18 years old and I’ve been a member of LYRO for about 2 years. I’ve recently accepted an offer for medical school. I included some of my experiences with LYRO on my personal statement and I also discussed the brilliant insight it gave me into medicine as a whole, and medical research, at my interviews. Without the meetings with the Owls, I wouldn’t have had the unique experiences to talk about throughout my application process. Thank you for the opportunity, it confirmed my interest in and aspiration for medicine!
Anonymous LYRO member:
Thank you so much for the certificates and the vouchers the certificates will definitely help me for when I am looking for jobs such as care assistant jobs so thank you once again I appreciate everything you have done and all the opportunities you have provided me with!
May 2025:
“The Leeds Owls inputs have been very useful and insightful and a huge thanks for their time and guidance.”
Dr Divya Bhaskaran
April 2025:
“As members of a research team focusing on young people’s mental health, we have sought out the views of the Owls on several occasions when thinking about how to advance our research in a new direction or when we hit an important challenge. Each time they could not have been more helpful and encouraging. They have helped us to better understand what really matters to the young people at the heart of our research plus offered lots of practical advice that has helped us to find the best way forward.”
ComBAT Research Team, University of York
December 2024:
Several members of the Leeds Owls met with researchers at the University of York on 10th December to discuss a new project about men’s mental health. The team are keen to develop a new intervention to promote mental wellbeing in young men aged 13-17 and wanted the Owls to give their thoughts on the intervention’s content, presentation and mode of delivery. Four Owls took part and engaged in some great discussion that the researchers will use in the development of the intervention. This included information about the length of sessions, the importance of adopting an individual and self-guided format as well as the best methods to present the information to young men. Working with the web developer, the researchers will now build a prototype tool and are excited to share this with the Owls and get feedback once ready.
ComBAT Research Team, University of York
June 2024:
“I attended the Leeds Young Research Owls group last week as I am in the early stages of developing a research project looking at mental health. The group were so good to work with! They were really engaged and asked lots of thoughtful questions. The group gave me so many useful insights and I’m really looking forward to going back some time in the future.” Dr David Turgoose, Lecturer in Clinical Psychology and Academic Tutor, University of Leeds
“What was really good for my project was that the ages of the group fitted so well with my study… some that fall into my 11-16 age range and a few members that fall just either side- that gave me a really good idea whether my study info was well-pitched for the very youngest and eldest in my target group.”
Grace Lewis, University of Leeds Postgraduate Researcher, regarding her children’s asthma project
“Thank you very much for taking the time to review the documents for me. Your feedback is clear and very helpful!”
Laurie Cave, HEE/NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow and Specialist Children’s Cystic Fibrosis Dietitian
“We were impressed with how the young people engaged with our project. Their feedback was really clear and will help us as we develop our methodology as well as our information. It gave us a lot of confidence for the next steps. Thank you research owls!”
Professor Adam Glaser, Paediatric Oncology & Late Effects, University of Leeds; Consultant Paediatric & Adolescent Oncologist, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
“Your members should be so proud of themselves. I can’t believe how knowledgeable and professional they all were, especially the younger ones.”
Ms Aimee Charnell, Surgical Review Fellow & PhD candidate, University of Leeds
“I really enjoy working with the LYRO group, to gain insight into the views of young people on research, which improves the studies and my skills in explaining our work.”
Dr Bob Phillips, Senior Clinical Academic, University of York & Honorary Consultant in Paediatric / Teenage-Young Adult Oncology at Leeds Children’s Hospital
“We asked the the Young Research Owls to help us understand findings from our project exploring empowerment. Heather helped us to organise and work with the group and provided excellent background support and guidance. The Young Research Owls were amazing to work with. We found them fully engaged, deeply thoughtful and they provided so much insight and guidance to us. We are very grateful to them for spending their valuable time with us and hope that they enjoyed our time together as much as we did!”
Dr Amanda Mason-Jones, Associate Professor in Global Public Health, University of York
Leeds Young Research Owls turned 5 years of age at the end of September 2024. Affectionately known as ‘The Owls’, they celebrated in style with a birthday cake and a record in-person attendance. LYRO leader Heather Rostron said, ‘The Owls continue to be a lively, diverse, and dynamic group. The last 5 years have literally […]
At out last F2F meeting in January, Mr Karl Ward from Research and Innovation Education department, came and spoke to us about the basics of research as part of our new induction the Owls group. We enjoyed taking part in a chocolate randomised controlled trial and hearing about what research actually is and why we […]
In our most recent meeting on 7th March 2024, the spotlight fell upon the innovative CHORAL (Child Health Outcomes Research at Leeds) program. This initiative, spearheaded by the University of Leeds in collaboration with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Leeds Hospitals Charity, stands as a significant effort aimed at confronting the challenges posed by […]
