Spotlight on... Roxanne Crosby-Nwaobi

What is your role and what does it involve?

I am the lead nurse for research at Moorfields Eye Hospital (MEH), an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology (UCL IoO), an NIHR Clinical Lecturer at MEH/IoO and Interim Programme Director for NIHR Senior Research Leader programme – a veritable mouthful! My role involves doing my own research into increasing access to eye health care and research in underserved communities and embedding research locally and nationally. As a Clinical Academic Ophthalmic Nurse, I can generate new knowledge, implement findings, and monitor its impact, teach the next generation of professionals and interact with patients, families, and communities – best of both worlds and the best job in the world!

How long have you been at UCL and what was your previous role?

I’ve been at UCL IoO since 2014 where I started as the module lead for a Research and Statistics module. I now lead the Research and Statistics module for the Clinical Ophthalmic Practice and the Orthoptics programmes and the Clinical Ophthalmic Practice dissertation module. My previous role was as the Head of Research nursing at the NIHR Clinical Research Facility.

What working achievement or initiative are you most proud of?

Last year, I received nine national awards/nominations. Please see list below:

• Listed as the first of 75 Faces of Nursing Research for the 75th birthday of the NHS (NHS Futures / NHS England Chief Nursing Officer’s research team)
• Moorfields Chair’s award for an outstanding contribution to Moorfields (Winner)
• Zenith Global Health Awards Clinical Research and Education (Winner)
• Nursing Times Award Care of Older People: Eye Envoys programme (Winner)
• Nursing Times Digital Technology Innovation - Digital Practice of the Future (Winner)
• Royal College of Nursing Awards - Nurse Researcher of the year (Winner)
• Moorfields’ stars awards excellence in equality, diversity, and inclusion award.
• BAME Health and Care Awards Ground-breaking Researcher of the Year Award
• Zenith Global Health Awards Innovation in Healthcare category: Eye Envoys programme

I have so much to be thankful for. I am most proud of the work my team and I have been able to do in underserved communities with our charity partners, the Ascension Trust and others.

Tell us about a project you are working on now which is top of your to-do list

The underserved community is "a group that is less well represented in research than would be desirable from population prevalence and healthcare burden". Funded by the North Thames Clinical Research Network, we have developed strategies to improve research participation including community engagement, increased accessibility, culturally sensitive research, educational outreach, and supporting the next generation of researchers. We conduct eye health workshops and research seminars on common eye conditions, preventing avoidable sight loss, the correct method and timings to put in eye drops, and how to participate in research. We have co-produced and translated with patient groups, our research adverts in five different languages. These adverts are displayed on our clinic waiting area screens at 28 locations across London and are used at our workshops. Research projects catering to the specific needs of underserved populations are also underway, such as studying diabetic retinopathy prevalence and management among minoritized groups. Our recent radio show broadcasted in English and Hindi, had >14 hours of airtime across 128 radio stations. The content reached an incredible 42,905,105 prime-time listeners. We have since received invitations to present at virtual patient community meetings from India, Canada and East Africa.

What is your favourite album, film and novel?

Favourite album: U2 – All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000)

Favourite film: The King and I (1956 film)

Favourite novel: Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (1996)

What is your favourite joke (pre-watershed)?

Sadly none…

Who would be your dream dinner guests?

Dame Elizabeth Anionwu (nursing royalty and author), Maya Angelou (American memoirist and poet), Albert Einstein (theoretical physicist) and Amelia Earhart (American aviator) and my nuclear family.

What advice would you give your younger self?

“God’s got it!” Through my research, I have realised that faith isn’t just a protected characteristic, to some, it’s their identity. In 2018, I was told by a Caucasian male senior colleague that I was the wrong colour and gender to succeed at the institution and in research. That comment led me on a journey of reflection and self-discovery. Who am I? Who do I want to be? What future do I want for my three year-old daughter (at the time)? I relied on my faith to pull me through.

What would it surprise people to know about you?

I used to be fluent in three languages and play the recorder and the guitar. I actually attended a U2 concert and had a head-banging time!

What is your favourite place?

The four walls of my house!