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, currently online. Our group is made up of 8-18 year old children and young people who are passionate about being involved in and supporting research.
We meet on a Thursday tea-time (16:30-18:00) and are always looking for new members. All enquiries are welcome.
Upcoming dates meeting dates:
Contact details
Heather Rostron (Senior Research Nurse at Leeds Children’s Hospital, & Leeds Young Research Owls lead), can be contacted at Leeds Children’s Research Team, D Floor Martin Wing, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds LS1 3EX.
About Heather Heather Rostron is a Senior Research Nurse at Leeds Children’s Hospital, and an NIHR 70@70 Senior Nurse Research Leader. 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.
About Darren
Darren is a Youth Worker at Leeds Children’s Hospital and supports Heather and LYRO. Darren is known for his funny ice breaker sessions and for encouraging members to speak up during meetings.
“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
“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
