Rebecca Cowan

My role

I am a paediatric research nurse within the research team.

My responsibilities

I am responsible for searching for new research studies, assessing feasibility, setting up and delivering studies within children’s services in Solent. A key part of my role is maintaining good links with services and study teams. I worked closely with the study team and health visiting team to set up the E-See study in Portsmouth. I have worked on the DRI study; co coordinating trial medication and site file management. I have been involved in recruiting participants for UK-CDI study and the SMART study.

My background

Previous to my role in research I was a paediatric nurse on the Neonatal Unit and in the Emergency Department at QA Hospital, Portsmouth. My role as staff nurse on the Neonatal Unit, QA Hospital involved being a ‘research champion’ helping to identify potential participants for trials as well as collecting source data.  Before I came into nursing I gained a degree in History of Art, Design and Film, so had a little change of career coming into nursing!

Why I love my job

I love knowing that the work we are doing is going to help health care in the future and hopefully improve the care people receive going forward and the positive impact it will have on future generations.

More about me

I am a mummy to two little children who take up a lot of my time, and so I enjoy spending time with them and having lots of fun showing them this journey of life. Apart from that I enjoy keeping fit and healthy and getting outside for lots of walks, my husband and I love to be at the beach as often as the British weather allows us!

Current projects/research studies

The costs of Autism – mapping the cost of diagnosing a child with autism.

Prevenar – looking at the effectiveness of the pneumococcal vaccine in babies.