Dr Danni Collingridge Moore has been awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours for her work on the Covid-19 Taskforce, based in the Cabinet Office.

She gained her PhD from Lancaster University in 2021 while working as a researcher at the University’s International Observatory on End of Life Care (IOELC).

Here she was a researcher on the EU funded PACE study, which aimed to compare the effectiveness of palliative care for older people in care homes in Europe. The research led to the development of the PACE Steps to Success intervention, a free to use resource translated into six languages, and an online course, Improving Palliative Care in Care Homes for Older People.

Dr Collingridge Moore was awarded an MBE as a Lance Corporal in the Army Reserve when she was mobilised to the Covid-19 Taskforce, based in the Cabinet Office, as the health team lead and as a subject matter expert on care homes.

She co-ordinated the sourcing, analysis, and presentation of health data on the Covid-19 dashboard, providing forecasting assessments to identify likely Covid-19 scenarios. The dashboard was briefed to senior ministers and updated daily.

“The opportunity to be part of the Taskforce, giving a voice to care home residents and fighting their corner during the pandemic, was an honour and a privilege.”

Dr Collingridge Moore has recently been awarded a post-doctoral fellowship to continue her research at the university as the Dowager Countess Eleanor Peel Trust Sir Robert Boyd Fellow. The fellowship will look at identifying appropriate policy recommendations for care homes during pandemics, and how to implement and measure them.

“The IOELC team have always been supportive and encouraging of my involvement in the Army Reserves, and I am looking forward to continuing my research into improving care in care homes at IOELC in 2022.”

Professor Catherine Walshe, co-director of the International Observatory on End of Life Care said ‘We are incredibly proud of Danni and her contributions as a student, as a researcher, and via the Army Reserves. We are delighted that this has been recognised with the award of her MBE, and that she has been awarded a fellowship based here with us to explore this vitally important area further.”