Professor Graham Moore: mentoring the next generation of research leaders in Wales

“I get as much satisfaction from seeing someone I’ve mentored secure their first major grant as I do from getting one myself, if not more.” – Professor Graham Moore

Professor Graham Moore is now into his second term as a Senior Research Leader for Health and Care Research Wales and is the newly appointed Director of the Centre for Development, Evaluation, Complexity and Implementation in Public Health Improvement (DECIPHer). In these leadership roles, he is now more focused than ever on developing the next generation of researchers.

Across his career, Graham has combined a commitment to policy-relevant research with methodological innovation, making a tangible difference to the lives of people in Wales and beyond.

Since joining Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences in 2005, he has worked on evaluations of public health interventions which continue to be applied in Wales to this day, including the Primary School Free Breakfast Initiative, the National Exercise Referral Scheme and the country’s pioneering smoke-free workplaces legislation.

His initial project, a randomised trial of a universal free breakfast programme, was significant to the direction of Graham’s career. He said:

“I was fascinated by whether a universal policy like this could reduce inequalities.

“It turned out it did.”

Now, years later, his own children are benefiting from the very same initiative he helped to evaluate, a full-circle moment.

Over the past decade, Graham has actively supported a network of early- and mid-career researchers to establish their own independent programmes of work.

Among them are Dr Jemma Hawkins and Dr Kelly Morgan, two researchers who, with Graham’s mentorship, secured major funding to lead impactful public health studies, including the Health and Care Research Wales Health Research Award.

Dr Jemma Hawkins, Reader, DECIPHer, School of Social Sciences, said:

“The Health Research Award was my first successful funding award as lead applicant. The funded study was a pilot randomised controlled trial investigating the use of digital activity monitors within the Welsh National Exercise Referral Scheme. The award's structure, with Graham as principal co-applicant in a mentoring capacity, played a pivotal role in supporting me both in developing the application and in delivering the study. It was also instrumental in helping me establish my independence as a research lead. As my research career progressed, I had the opportunity to follow in Graham’s footsteps, becoming principal co-applicant and mentor for Dr Kelly Morgan’s successful Health Research Award application three years later."

Dr Kelly Morgan, Senior Research Fellow, DECIPHer, School of Social Sciences said:

"With the support and mentorship of Graham, I was fortunate to secure two Health and Care Research Wales funded awards - a Health Fellowship and a Health Research Award. The Health Research Award focused on a school-based peer role model intervention aimed at increasing physical activity among 9–11-year-old girls (the CHARMING study). Graham’s continued support has been instrumental in enabling me, since then, to mentor a colleague on their Social Care Research Fellowship (since 2022) and to successfully secure a Health and Care Research Wales Emerging Leaders Award."

Graham added:

“To see people you’ve mentored secure major grants, build teams and shape the research agenda is hugely rewarding.” 

His reappointment as Senior Research Leader is an excellent opportunity to continue mentoring the next wave of research talent. Alongside DECIPHer’s latest £2.9 million Health and Care Research Wales award secured by Graham and his team, the plan is to consolidate existing areas of strength, such as mental health, diet and physical activity and substance use, while developing research in newer areas, such as links between climate change and public health.

“We’ve built a brilliant team here and I want to keep creating opportunities for others to lead, learn and succeed. 

“That’s how we make research sustainable, and that’s how we make a difference for Wales.”

The Health and Care Research Wales Faculty is looking for mentors to support the Faculty Mentoring Scheme, who can provide different experiences and perspectives for mentees who may be facing challenges along their career pathway. Complete the Faculty mentor profile form and help Graham build the next generation of researchers in Wales.