Our Team

Professor Michael Scott
He was awarded the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists gold medal for outstanding contribution to the health service at national level in 2010. In 2014 he received the special achievement award from the Ulster Chemists Association for outstanding contribution to the development of pharmacy in Northern Ireland. In 2016 he was awarded the United Kingdom Clinical Pharmacy Association Lifetime Achievement Award. Most recently in 2019 he received the David Samways Award from the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists in recognition of outstanding National Contribution to the practice of pharmacy procurement.

Dr. Glenda Fleming
Glenda Fleming studied pharmacy at Queen’s, Belfast and after completing pre-registration training and registering with the PSNI, returned to Queen’s to undertake a PhD. Following a short period of working as research fellow for the Northern Ireland Centre for Postgraduate Pharmaceutical Education and Training (NICPPET) she moved to HSC R&D Office where she worked as a Programme Manager. In this role she contributed to the implementation of the HSC R&D Strategy, developed policies and procedures governing the conduct of R&D; and provided leadership in the co-ordination of pharmaceutical R&D throughout NI. Dr Fleming is currently Deputy Director for the Medicines Optimisation Innovation Centre (MOIC). During her career she has gained over 16 years of experience, on a part-time basis, in community pharmacy and has taught at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Anita Hogg

Dr. Fiona Dixon
Fiona also has expertise in utilising consensus research methodologies (The Delphi Technique) to identify healthcare priorities.
Fiona also is a talented singer and guitar player.

Dr. Rachel Huey
Rachel is a registered pharmacist and has worked in both community and hospital settings. Rachel’s PhD focused on pharmaceutics and targeted formulation development to treat neurodegenerative disease.
Rachel also has a black belt in martial arts.

Dr. Claire Scullin

Dr. Nicola Goodfellow

Dr. Katherine O'Neill
Katherine has experience of working in both hospital and university settings in a clinical research/ research role. She has developed expertise in research co-ordination, management, grant writing, quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Katherine has experience in writing for publication and presentation of research on national and international platforms.
Katherine also continues some clinical work as a Physiotherapist with the Early Intervention Team at Antrim Area Hospital

Elizabeth Hauxwell
Team Secretary

Dr. Sara Gardner
Dr Sara Gardner is a Senior Research and Innovation Programme Manager. Sara is a pharmacist and obtained her Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) with First Class Honours from Ulster University and after completing her pre-registration training and registering with the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Sara returned to Ulster University to undertake a PhD in Pharmacy Practice. Sara’s thesis was entitled “A multifaceted approach to improve the rational use of antibiotics and to reduce healthcare-acquired infections within secondary care settings in Northern Ireland”. Throughout Sara’s PhD studies and before joining the MOIC team Sara worked within community pharmacy as a locum pharmacist where she has gained valuable experience. Sara continues to work within community pharmacy as a locum pharmacist and also works within the clinical pharmacy team in Antrim Hospital
Dr Maureen Spargo joined the team at the MOIC as a senior research and innovation programme manager in November 2020. Prior to her role at the MOIC, Maureen worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the Primary Care Research Group at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB). She is a skilled healthcare services researcher with over 10 years’ experience coordinating and delivering health improvement initiatives across the academic, publishing and healthcare industries. She is a registered pharmacist with experience working in both hospital and community pharmacy settings. Maureen was awarded a PhD in 2017 from the School of Pharmacy at QUB for her thesis entitled ‘Optimising adherence and outcomes in patients with bronchiectasis’. Research interests include medication adherence, behaviour change and digital solutions for health. She is currently a member of the Expert Advisory Group for Digital Pharmacy at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Dr Sara Gardner is a Senior Research and Innovation Programme Manager. Sara is a pharmacist and obtained her Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) with First Class Honours from Ulster University and after completing her pre-registration training and registering with the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Sara returned to Ulster University to undertake a PhD in Pharmacy Practice. Sara’s thesis was entitled “A multifaceted approach to improve the rational use of antibiotics and to reduce healthcare-acquired infections within secondary care settings in Northern Ireland”. Throughout Sara’s PhD studies and before joining the MOIC team Sara worked within community pharmacy as a locum pharmacist where she has gained valuable experience. Sara continues to work within community pharmacy as a locum pharmacist and also works within the clinical pharmacy team in Antrim Hospital