Project Team

Core Team

Dr. Jitka Vseteckova - Project Lead 

Dr. Vseteckova is an academic at the Open University where she is involved in research, teaching, supervision and external collaborations.  She leads and presents the successful Ageing Well Public Talks and has an interest health policy and planning, public health and education. She is passionate about ageing well and particularly focussed on addressing health inequalities in this area.

Rachel Millar - Engagement Lead

Rachel has a background in science communication and particularly documentaries. She has worked on campaigns, events and has a wealth of engagement experience. She is motivated by social justice issues and a strong believer in the impact of education and empowerment. 

Professor Christothea Herodotou - Technology Lead

Prof. Herodotou is an academic at the Open University involved in research about learning technologies and social justice. She leads the award-winning, community and citizen science platform nQuire (nquire.org.uk). She is keen to engage people with research activities in ways that enable life-long learning and personal development.

Dr. Sinead Eccles - Nutrition and Hydration Lead

Chartered Neuropsychologist and Staff Tutor, School of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The Open University. Sinead has worked with in academia for over 20 years and has a background in Neuropsychology with a focus on the Biological Basis of eating disorders. Sinead is also very interested in the area of disordered eating and is also conducting research in the area of ‘Intuitive Eating and brain health’. 

Dr. Erica Jane Cook - Behavioural Change, Mind and Mental Well being Lead

Erica is a Registered Health Psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of Bedfordshire.   She has an active interest in what drives human behaviour, particularly at a population level and uses her knowledge and expertise to understand and facilitate positive behaviour change to improve health outcomes. 

Dr Ali Tomlin - Mind and Mental Well being 

Ali is an academic and chartered psychologist working at the University of Bedfordshire. She has teaching and research interests in cognitive psychology and is keen to understand how we can protect our brain health as we go through life.

Doug Anthoney - Participant engagement, Scotland

Doug is Health and Wellbeing manager at Age Scotland, Scotland’s national older people’s charity.  He is an experienced third sector professional in a wide variety of roles including communications and campaigns, community learning and development and project management. 

Dr Gráinne O’Connor - Research Assistant 

Gráinne’s professional background is in health, and she has a particular interest in the ways we can all make small and achievable changes to improve and maintain our physical, mental and emotional health across the life course. She looks for ways to translate academic research into real world solutions and as a researcher who became disabled as an adult, she is very aware that everyone has different abilities and potential challenges when it comes to making changes to their habits.

Wider Team Members

Dr. Yoseph Araya - Senior Lecturer in Ecology and Environmental Sciences, OU

Stephen Burke - CEO, Hallmark Foundation

Professor Angel Chater - Professor in Health Psychology and Behaviour Change, University of Bedfordshire/ University College London

Tony Collins-Moore - Carers Wellbeing Academy Manager and Volunteer Manager

Gurpreet Keila - Deputy Director (Projects), Centre for Learning

Bharath Lakkappa - Deputy Medical Director, Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Dr. Elke Loeffler - Senior Lecturer and Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Centre of Policing Research and Learning

Andrew Potter - GP Partner 

Mr Mark Russell - CEO, Age UK Buckinghamshire

Dr Dorothy Tse PhD, FHEA, FRSA - Senior Lecturer, Edge Hill University 

Julia Wright - National Director, Campaign for Learning