FiMT Research Centre Conference 2025

Understanding and supporting the Armed Forces Community in an evolving world.

20 May 2025

Bush House, London, United Kingdom

The Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre Conference 2025 will be an unmissable event, giving a platform to individuals across service provision, government, and research, presenting current topical evidence involving ex-Service personnel and their families. Alongside fascinating talks on the day, there will be ample opportunities for networking with professionals from across the UK and international Armed Forces Landscape

The theme for 2025 is 'Understanding and supporting the Armed Forces Community in an evolving world'. Featuring speakers covering topics within the following areas:

New or emerging issues impacting Serving and ex-Service personnel and their families.
The impact of a rapidly changing landscape inside and outside the military on the Armed Forces community.
Harnessing past insights, present realities and future innovations to benefit the Armed Forces community

More information about the FiMT Research Centre conference 2025 will be confirmed soon.

Agenda

09:00– 09:30: Registration & refreshments.

09:30 – 09:35: Welcome.

09:35 – 09:50: FIMT RC update.

09:50 – 10:45: Key note : "The impact of trauma on ageing and factors to mitigate its effects" - Professor Janet Lord, University of Birmingham.

10:45 - 11:15: Morning break and poster presentations.

11:15 – 11:20: Session intro by chair.

11:20 – 11:50: Sue Liburd MBE DL - Lived experience speaker and Q&A

11:50 – 12:10: Professor Walter Busuttil, Combat Stress and KCL- 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner.

12:10 – 12:30: Dr Cathryn Rodway, The University of Manchester - 2024 Research Excellence Award Winner.

12:30 - 13:40: Lunch and poster presentations.

Stream One: Transition

13:40 - 13:45: Session intro by chair.

13:45 – 14:05: Forecasting the Armed Forces community: How can population forecasting inform the design and delivery of support services in the Armed Forces sector? – Catherine Galley, RAND Europe.

14:05 – 14:25: Perceived value of military Service on post-Service life: A focus group study of UK ex-Service personnel – Dr Karishma Jivraj, Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre.

14:25 – 14:45: Identifying and examining the barriers and facilitators to ex-Servicewomen making a successful and sustainable transition to civilian life in the UK: The SUSTAIN Study - Dr Marie-Louise Sharp, King's College London/University of Birmingham.

14:45 – 15:05: Q&A panel.

Stream Two - Health and Wellbeing

13:40 - 13:45: Session intro by chair.

13:45 – 14:05: Research priorities of Canadian Veterans living with chronic pain – Douglas Rust, Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans.

14:05 – 14:25: Preventing Veteran suicide: A landscape analysis of existing U.S.-based programs, their evidence, and what the next generation of programs may look like – Dr Rajeev Ramchand, RAND.

14:25 – 14:45: LGBT+ Veterans and moral injury: Addressing the legacy of the UK military gay ban policy – Dr Gill McGill, Northumbria University.

14:45 – 15:05: Q&A panel.

Stream Three - Families

13:40 - 13:45 Session intro by chair

13:45 – 14:05 Lost Love: Exploring the long-term psychological impact of the sudden military death of a parent on children who are now adults. – Mary Moreland MBE, Northumbria University.

14:05 – 14:25 The impact of “Living in Our Shoes” five years on: Evaluating progress and determining priorities for meeting the needs of Armed Forces families going forward – Dr Gabriela Misca, University of Worcester.

14:25 – 14:45 The development of suicide bereavement guides for the Armed Forces community - Dr Sharon McDonnell, Suicide Bereavement UK.

14:45 – 15:05 Q&A panel

15:05 –15:35 Afternoon break and poster presentations

15:35 - 15:50 FiMT Research Centre Awards introduction and presentation.

15:50 – 16:15 2025 Early Career Researcher Award winner presentation and Q&A.

16:15 – 16:40 2025 Innovation and Impact Award winner presentation and Q&A.

16:40 – 17:05 2025 Research Legacy Award winner presentation and Q&A.

17:05 – 17:15 Closing remarks.

Speakers

Professor Janet M Lord CBE

Professor Janet Lord CBE is emeritus Professor of Immune Cell Biology and was founding director of the Institute for Inflammation and Ageing at Birmingham University. Her primary research focus is in the effect of ageing upon immune function and how this limits the ability of older adults to resolve inflammation and predisposes them to chronic inflammatory disease such as Rheumatoid arthritis. She also researches the link between chronic systemic inflammation and physical frailty, notably sarcopenia, in old age and chronic disease. Professor Lord has a particular interest in the role played by stress (physical and psychological) and the altered HPA axis in modulating immunity and frailty in old age and following an injury such as hip fracture. More recently she has begun to research the inflammatory response to major trauma and how this varies with age and influences patient outcomes.
Sue Liburd MBE DL

Sue is a multi-award-winning businesswoman and senior executive advisor. A British Army veteran, she served for seven years in a variety of appointments. Currently, Sue is Deputy Chair of the NHS England Armed Forces Public Patient Voice Advisory Group, notably contributing to initiatives on gender, race and ethnicity. She is a non-executive director for NHS Humber Health Partnership Group and Board lead for the Armed Forces Covenant. Sue is a member of the Government’s Veteran’s Advisory Board, and an Army Race Champion on the Army’s Strategic Race Advisory Board. Her academic research focuses on constructively disrupting workplace cultures, exploring diversity management paradoxes, and developing frameworks for organisational change. Sue is emerging as an insightful voice on inclusive leadership across both public and private sectors.

Venue

Bush House, King's College London, Bush House, London, United Kingdom

Bush House, at King's College London on the Strand Campus will host the FiMT Research Centre Conference in 2025.

The presentations throughout the day will be held in the spacious auditorium, and our drinks reception following the conference will be held in a beautiful eighth-floor venue with outstanding views of the London skyline.

The Address is as follows:

Bush House Arcade,

KCL Strand Campus,

London

WC2B 4QN

Delegates will enter from the Strand, adjacent to St mary Le Strand Church

Nearest tube stations:

Temple (District and Circle lines): 2 minute walk.
Charing Cross (Bakerloo and Northern lines): 10 minute walk,
Embankment (District, Circle and Bakerloo lines): 10 minute walk

Nearest train stations:

Charing Cross: 9 minute walk.
Waterloo: 12 minute walk.
Waterloo East: 10 minute walk.
Blackfriars: 12 minute walk.

Get directions

KCMHR Veterans Mental Health Conference.

6 February 2025

Bush House, Strand Campus, King's College London.

The Veterans Mental Health Conference is organised by the King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) and will be held in the same location, on the 19th of May 2025. Bringing together leading academics, researchers, medical professionals and charities to discuss the key issues in military mental health and the Armed Forces community.

Find out more