Saadia Aseem

Advanced mental health professional and scholar with a passion for teaching and clinical research. Certified trainer and life skills coach. Awarded Doctorate in Mental Health from the University of Manchester. Extensive organisational experience in the NIHR and NHS in the United Kingdom leading research and in trial management for various international and national mental health research  projects. 

I have been heavily involved with local, national, and international research projects and randomized controlled trials over the last 15 years and have been awarded a PhD in Primary Care community Based Medicine. My key skills and responsibilities comprise of managing research teams effectively and efficiently in project planning, direction, operational management, and completion.  I have always been heavily involved with Chief investigators and site Principal Investigators to aid progression, management, and successful completion of projects.

My PhD included both quantitative and qualitative research methods, as well as evidence synthesis. I have conducted numerous focus groups and am well versed in conducting systematic reviews. I am proficient in research processes pertaining to research methodology, ethics applications, grant applications, writing reports for Trial Steering Committees, Data monitoring Committees, National Health Research UK, Health Research Authority UK, Medical Research Council UK, and Research for patient benefit (RFPB) NIHR Programs.

I am a member of the international faculty for the certificate/diploma courses conducted by Pakistan Institute for Living and Learning Resource Centre (PILL). I provide clinical research support to concurrent research studies. I supervise assessments in ongoing trials and mentor junior members of the PILL Research Team. Additionally, I provide training workshops for assessment questionnaires in Depression, Anxiety, PTSD and Psychosis. I also conduct qualitative research methods and Mental Health awareness workshops in UK and Pakistan for MPhil/PhD students and medical professionals.

Most recently, I have been managing the Roshni 2 Multisite Trial, which is the largest Culturally adapted CBT study in UK along with EASE: EMDR in Early Psychosis, RCT with University of Manchester and Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust. My current role in South Asia Self Harm Initiative (GCRF) SAHAR-M is to support the project in terms of management along with ethics and governance materials, data collection and analysis for the ongoing local and international projects.

My doctorate gave me the basic skills to be a successful researcher, educator and a thorough grounding in critical appraisal, and an introduction to the academic world. The confidence I gained working in a multi-disciplinary environment, and the insight into the expertise of other professionals, has been highly influential in my career.