Louca-Mai Brady is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Health and Community Care (CRIPACC), where she is developing a programme of work focused on children and young people's participation in health and social care research and services, including leading the Herts YPAG young people's research advisory group. 

Louca-Mai has a background in applied social research in academia and the voluntary and public sectors, and as a freelance research consultant, trainer and public involvement advisor. In addition to peer-reviewed journal articles, her publications include an edited book on young people’s participation in healthcare (Brady, 2020)’ and a toolkit to support young people-led research.

• Twitter: @Louca_Mai
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Prizes

Patient Experience Network national awards 2018: Transformer of Tomorrow

• Research with children and young people
• Public involvement and co-production
• Children and young people's participation in health and care services, policy, evaluation and research
• Qualitative and participative research
• Inclusive approaches to involving children and young people who are marginalised or ‘less often heard’
• PhD supervision

• Children's rights in healthcare and research
• Research with children and young people: qualitative methods and ethics
• Participative research approaches
• Involving children and young people in research

Louca-Mai started her career working in social care and has been involved in public engagement and involvement since 2007. She has particular interests and expertise in supporting, and advising on, the involvement of children and young people in health, public health and social care research. Her work in this area includes:

• Managing the Hertfordshire GenerationR young people's advisory group
• Development of guidelines and a toolkit for training and supporting young researchers for Barnardo’s services 
• Co-facilitated a workshop with and for young disabled people on young disabled people’s voices in healthcare (Council for Disabled Children, 2021). 
• Strategic lead and facilitator of young people’s advisory group for the NIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre (eyeYPAG). Co-produced an evaluation of the YPAG with young group members and an associated peer-reviewed journal article.
• Associate for the UCL Co-production Collective on a Kings Health Partners project on the role of personalised care in addressing health inequalities for people affected by COVID-19, including developing and running a participative analysis workshop (2021).
• Public involvement advisor on UCL Institute of Education systematic reviews on the effectiveness of interventions for children and young people who have experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACEs, 2018) and online content on eating disorders (2021). Included planning and co-facilitating workshops with young people with lived experience.
• While employed as a Research Associate at the Centre for Public Engagement, Kingston and St George’ s University, Louca-Mai developed and piloted a school-based young people's advisory group and supported the involvement of young people in the development of research proposals, including working with inpatients in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and young people, school staff and professionals on a project about school support for young people who self-harm.
• Led James Lind Initiative project on evaluating the extent and impact of young people’s involvement in NIHR studies (2016-17). See Brady and Preston (2020). 
• Public involvement lead in NIHR-funded adaptation and feasibility study of a family and social network intervention for young people who misuse alcohol and drugs. This included recruiting and supporting a group of young advisors (2013-16). See Brady et al. (2018)
• NIHR INVOLVE advisory group member (2007-2016). Associate member (2016-2019). Member of working group on children and young people (2018-2019).
• Led work on children and young people's involvement in research at the National Children's Bureau Research Centre, including supporting the groups that became the GenerationR network, a Big Lottery Fund project working with young disabled researchers and leading a Wellcome Trust-funded young people's advisory group for public health research.