About
Interdisciplinary by training,
applied by conviction.
Justin Aunger BA (Hons), PhD, PGCert (HE), FHEA — Research Fellow II, Institute for Applied Health Research, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham. UK & USA citizen with the right to work in both.
I am a health services researcher with an interdisciplinary background, keenly interested in individual and organisational behaviour change. I obtained my PhD in behaviour change applied to health at the University of Birmingham and my interdisciplinary BA (Hons) in health science at University College Maastricht in the Netherlands.
I am currently employed as Research Fellow in the Core Theme of the Patient Safety Research Collaboration (PSRC) at the University of Birmingham, where I am Deputy Lead of the Pathways and Culture theme, working on building research capacity and improving patient safety. I am leading projects with a focus on improving safety culture and developing a safety net for patient follow-up in early diagnosis of lung cancer.
Previously, I graduated from my European Commission-funded PhD in 2020, which focused on developing and testing a randomised clinical trial of a behaviour change intervention with older osteoarthritic NHS patients to reduce their sedentary behaviour. Since then, I have delivered two NIHR projects using realist methodologies as the sole research fellow. My research has had a consistent focus on changing human behaviour in complex healthcare contexts. As such, I have a wide variety of skills, including traditional qualitative and quantitative research methods, behavioural science, academic writing, realist methods, project management and teamworking, and various types of evidence synthesis.
I am currently working on grant acquisition and taking on more teaching roles; I hold over £2m of funding as Co-Investigator and £300k as Principal Investigator.
Career
Roles to date
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Oct 2025 — now
Research Fellow II — Midlands Patient Safety Research CollaborationInstitute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham
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2023 — 2025
Research Fellow — Midlands Patient Safety Research CollaborationInstitute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham
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May — Oct 2023
Commercialisation and Impact FellowSchool of Health Sciences, University of Surrey
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2021 — 2023
Research Fellow — Strategies to address unprofessional behaviours among staff in acute healthcare settings: a realist reviewNIHR HS&DR · School of Health Sciences, University of Surrey
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2019 — 2021
Research Fellow — Towards a framework for partnering as an intervention for improvement in the NHSNIHR HS&DR · Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham
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Jun 2019
Secondment — Netherlands Organisation of Applied Scientific Research (TNO)Data Science division
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2016 — 2019
Marie Curie-Skłodowska Early-Stage Research Fellow — PANINI Innovative Training NetworkEuropean Commission funded · Physical Activity and Nutritional Influences in Aging, University of Birmingham
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2014 — 2016
ICT Helpdesk Manager (part-time alongside studies)University College Maastricht
Education
Degrees
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2025
PGCert in Higher Education — with DistinctionUniversity of Birmingham
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2020
Doctor of Philosophy — Behaviour Change Applied to HealthSchool of Sport, Exercise, and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham
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2016
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) — Interdisciplinary Health SciencesUniversity College Maastricht
Leadership & management
Leading projects and people
During my PhD I was the Chief Investigator of a clinical trial with NHS patient participants. Since then, I have been the sole research fellow on two NIHR-funded projects, in all cases relying on robust project management skills to deliver them on time while collaborating and organising activities with colleagues — including during the pandemic. I now line-manage two researchers and supervise interns, PhD, and master's students, and am keen to foster their development.
I am also keen to mentor the next generation of researchers. I recently hosted a second-year medical student as an intern through an NIHR undergraduate internship award. She gained co-authorship on multiple papers and paid research opportunities in the institute — leading to further internships as she pursues a clinical academic career path.
Citizenship
Supporting the research community
In all my roles since my PhD I have started, chaired, or joined early career researcher support groups and been a visible member of these committees, tying in with head of school and research executive meetings, alongside organising events throughout the positions I have held.
- 2026Accepted as an NIHR mentor to other junior academics
- 2026Invited special collection guest editor, "Advances in Qualitative and Mixed Methods Methodology for Realist Evaluation and Synthesis"International Journal of Qualitative Methods
- 2025 — 2026HSR UK Conference organiser and abstract reviewer
- 2025Realist Conference abstract reviewer
- 2025 — nowEditorial board memberBMC Health Services Research
- 2023 — nowMember of ECRAG early career committeeInstitute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham
- 2018 — nowRegular peer reviewerAmerican Journal of Human Biology, BMC Health Services Research, BMJ Open, Pilot and Feasibility Studies
- 2022 — 2023ECR Community RepresentativeSchool of Health Sciences, University of Surrey
- 2020 — 2021Founded and chaired a committee for early career research staff engagementSchool of Social Policy, University of Birmingham
- 2017 — 2019Volunteer at weekend open days — demos and presentations for prospective studentsSchool of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham
Equality, diversity & inclusion
EDI at the forefront
I work to ensure EDI is at the forefront of all my work. Examples include my dedicated research grants focused on narrowing the ethnicity gap in bullying, harassment, and abuse of NHS staff, as well as applying for grants that specifically seek to promote greater representation in health research, such as through the NIHR undergraduate internship programme.