Meet Our team
Professor Jason Halford
Principal Investigator & Food and Nutrition workstream Co-Lead
Jason is the Head of the School of Psychology, with a background in Appetite and Obesity (and current chair of the European Association for the Study of Obesity).
He has led international projects such as SATIN and SWEET, and the SWITCH intervention trial, and has interests in childhood obesity, commercial determinants of health and mental health issues associated with these.
He also co-leads on the Food and Nutrition workstream.
Sarah Pontier
project manager
Sarah holds a BA with honours in History and Philosophy from the University of Kent. She is enthusiastic about working on this project and looks forward to its positive impact on a child’s first 1,000 days, as well as on the community of Leeds.
With years of experience in project management within the public sector, Sarah has contributed to initiatives across various charities aimed at bringing about transformative change and helping people escape poverty, particularly in disadvantaged areas of the UK and internationally, including organisations like Christians Against Poverty and Tearfund.
Sarah has a particular interest in the higher education sector and academia. She has a passion for history and is also eager to learn more about leadership. She is committed to helping others fulfil their potential and purpose in life.
Xiaorui Gu
Project Support Officer
Xiaorui has a Master’s degree in Sociology, with a particular interest in family wellbeing and the social factors that shape children’s early development.
She has worked within healthcare and administrative settings, gaining experience in providing front-line support to expectant parents and clinical teams in NHS antenatal services, supporting families at a key stage in the journey to parenthood.
Xiaorui is passionate about projects that seek to reduce inequalities and improve outcomes for children and families. She is excited to contribute to My First 1000 Days and its ambition to give every child the best possible start in life.
Dr Kinga Patterson
Research Fellow
Kinga’s main research experience and interests lie in interdisciplinary studies that explore the language and psychological outcomes of hard-to-reach populations.
She recently completed her PhD at Northumbria University, using eye-tracking to examine language processing speed and accuracy in adults with low literacy levels.
For the past three years, she has been the Managing Editor of Language and Cognition, a journal by Cambridge University Press.
Alongside research, Kinga teaches Psychology at the Open University on Mondays and Tuesdays, focusing on dissertation and research methods modules for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Dr Rumana Hossain
Research Fellow
Rumana’s background is in Language Teaching-Learning and Education. She is passionate about reducing inequalities in health and education.
This led her to work and publish extensively on applied health and education research projects with the NHS and academia.
Her expertise lies in qualitative research methods, education and health intervention design, development and evaluation.
Dr Neve McLean
Research Assistant
Neve holds a PhD in Infant Nutrition from the University of Otago, New Zealand, where she contributed to a multidisciplinary study of infant nutrition and health. The findings from her work are actively shaping infant feeding guidelines and food policy in New Zealand.
Neve is passionate about enhancing our understanding of infant nutrition and health and supporting healthy development in children.
Dr Marlies Rijnders
Consultant on Centering group care
Marlies worked as an independent midwife in the Netherlands for 10 years & is now a research-midwife at TNO Leiden. She introduced group antenatal care & group well-baby clinics in the Netherlands, conducted several studies on group care in the Netherlands and is scientific project leader of an EU granted implementation study of Group Care during the first 1000 days in 7 countries.
She is board member of Group Care Global & advisor of CenteringZorg, the Dutch Organization for ante- and post-natal Group Care.
Dr Symone Detmar
Tno Project partner
Symone is program manager of the programme “Youth, growing up healthy, safely and with equal chances” at TNO, where she is responsible for the strategic course involving 50 professional researchers. Within this program preventive interventions have been developed for children aged – 10 months to 23 years, with specific attention towards strengthening the first 1000 days of life.
Workstream Leads
Professor Cat Davies
Language & cognitive Development Workstream co-lead
Cat is a Professor of Language Development and the Dean for Research Culture at the University of Leeds, where she also leads the Leeds Child Development Unit.
Her research focuses on children’s early language, literacy, and education; most recently investigating the effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns on children’s cognitive development. Cat co-leads the Language and Cognitive Development workstream.
Professor Amanda Waterman
Language & cognitive Development Workstream co-lead
Amanda Waterman is Professor of Cognitive Development.
She is Academic Lead for Cognitive Research in the Born in Bradford longitudinal study, Co-Lead for the University of Leeds within the N8 Child of the North project, and part of the leadership group for the Centre for Applied Education Research.
Amanda co-leads the Language and Cognitive Development Workstream.
Dr Camilla Nykjaer
Physical Activity Workstream Co-Lead
Camilla is a Lecturer in Nutrition, Physical Activity and Public Health with the School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Leeds.
Her research is focussed on lifestyle behaviours during pregnancy and beyond, with an ambition to improve women’s health through a healthy lifestyle. Camilla co-leads the physical activity stream for MyFirst1000Days.
Professor Angharad Beckett
Disability inclusive group care lead
Angharad is Professor of Political Sociology & Social Inclusion. Her research focuses on human rights, inclusion & wellbeing of disabled children & young people.
She is committed to the principles of inclusive research. She advises national and international government bodies and collaborates with disabled people’s organisations during policy-negotiations.
She is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Disability & Social Justice and co-Editor of the ‘Routledge International Handbook of Children’s Rights and Disability’.
Family Wellbeing Workers
Marcus Uhuru
Senior Family Wellbeing Worker
Claire Parkin
Family Wellbeing Worker
Marcus is our senior wellbeing worker, he has over 20 years’ experience working with families and communities across health and social care and the criminal justice system. He designed and delivered programmes to prevent youth crime, raise knife crime awareness, and promote healthy relationships.
He is the creator of The Journey Project, a healthy relationship programme for culturally diverse parents, and is a trained facilitator of “Caring Dads“, an internationally recognised parenting programme that uses therapeutic models to help fathers break cycles of abusive behaviour.
In his free time he enjoys Sports and Music.
Claire has a background in child development and has worked in different children’s services organisations for the past 30 years.
She is passionate about supporting families to improve outcomes and ensure children have the best start in life.
In her free time she enjoys walking, visiting new places and spending time with family and friends.
Sophie Gross
Family Wellbeing Worker
Sophie has spent 12 years working with children and families across the city of Leeds. She has experience in fostering, adoption, and parent support.
Her passion lies in helping care-experienced parents thrive.
She is a Winston Churchill Fellow after conducting research in the USA on family support services for parents.
She has also taught Early Years and Health & Social Care, sharing her knowledge of child development and family support with students.
Hattie Spanton
Family Wellbeing Worker
Hattie is one of the Family Wellbeing Workers. She has a background in social work, art therapy, and child development.
Hattie has worked with diverse communities, including families, children, and survivors of domestic violence. These experiences have allowed her to develop a deep understanding of the challenges individuals face and the tailored support they need to overcome them.
Hattie has a commitment to empowering others, helping them build stability and achieve personal growth.
