Dr Sarah Lester
- Research Associate (Public Health)
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4651-9345Biography
I joined the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit Systems Science team in November 2024. Originally, I set out to capture learning across two different projects taking systems approaches to tackling health inequalities - the SIPHER Consortium and the GALLANT programme.
I now focus primarily on GALLANT (Glasgow as a Living Lab Accelerating Novel Transformation), a project which uses Doughnut Economics, alongside other alternative economic paradigms, to work towards a Climate Resilient Glasgow through City-University Partnership. I'm a member of the workstream one team (systems transformation), which draws from a range of participatory and systems science approaches to help the city move towards climate resilience whilst tackling health, social and economic inequalities.
Before moving to Glasgow I worked at the EPPI-Centre at University College London (UCL), where I produced evidence syntheses for a range of policy and practice partners including the Department of Health and Social Care. I also worked on systematic reviews for the purposes of informing National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on a range of mental health and social care topics.
My doctoral work, funded by NIHR ARC North Thames, used qualitative complexity-informed methods to explore how local authorities in England responded to initiatives to build up collaborative research infrastructure to address health inequalities and the social determinants of health.
Research interests
I am interested in using a complex systems lens in order to understand the relationship between evidence and policy in public health and climate change-related topics.
Publications
2025
Edwards, Rachael C., Kneale, Dylan, Stansfield, Claire and Lester, Sarah 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4651-9345
(2025)
What does being “research active” mean in public health practice? Exploring behavioural and motivational dimensions of research activity in English local government through perceptions from embedded researchers.
Journal of Public Health,
(doi: 10.1007/s10389-024-02369-x)
(Early Online Publication)
2024
Kneale, Dylan, Stansfield, Claire, Goldman, Rebecca, Lester, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4651-9345, Edwards, Rachael C. and Thomas, James
(2024)
The implementation of embedded researchers in policy, public services, and commercial settings: a systematic evidence and gap map.
Implementation Science Communications, 5(1),
41.
(doi: 10.1186/s43058-024-00570-3)
(PMID:38627834)
(PMCID:PMC11020794)
2022
Lester, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4651-9345, Khouja, Claire, Khatwa, Meena, Raine, Gary, Rees, Rebecca, Kwan, Irene, Wright, Kath, Sowden, Amanda and Thomas, James
(2022)
Adult Specialist Services for Victim-Survivors of Sexual Violence and Abuse: a Systematic Map of Evidence.
Documentation.
EPPI Centre, Social Science Research Unit, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London.
2020
Lester, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4651-9345, Khatwa, Meena and Sutcliffe, Katy
(2020)
Service needs of young people affected by adverse childhood experiences (ACEs): a systematic review of UK qualitative evidence.
Children and Youth Services Review, 118,
105429.
(doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105429)
(PMID:32895586)
(PMCID:PMC7467867)
2019
Lester, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4651-9345, Lorenc, Theo, Sutcliffe, Katy, Khatwa, Meena, Stansfield, Claire, Sowden, Amanda and Thomas, James
(2019)
What helps to support people affected by Adverse Childhood Experiences? A review of evidence.
Documentation.
EPPI Centre, Social Science Research Unit, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London.
Articles
Edwards, Rachael C., Kneale, Dylan, Stansfield, Claire and Lester, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4651-9345
(2025)
What does being “research active” mean in public health practice? Exploring behavioural and motivational dimensions of research activity in English local government through perceptions from embedded researchers.
Journal of Public Health,
(doi: 10.1007/s10389-024-02369-x)
(Early Online Publication)
Kneale, Dylan, Stansfield, Claire, Goldman, Rebecca, Lester, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4651-9345, Edwards, Rachael C. and Thomas, James
(2024)
The implementation of embedded researchers in policy, public services, and commercial settings: a systematic evidence and gap map.
Implementation Science Communications, 5(1),
41.
(doi: 10.1186/s43058-024-00570-3)
(PMID:38627834)
(PMCID:PMC11020794)
Lester, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4651-9345, Khatwa, Meena and Sutcliffe, Katy
(2020)
Service needs of young people affected by adverse childhood experiences (ACEs): a systematic review of UK qualitative evidence.
Children and Youth Services Review, 118,
105429.
(doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105429)
(PMID:32895586)
(PMCID:PMC7467867)
Research Reports or Papers
Lester, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4651-9345, Khouja, Claire, Khatwa, Meena, Raine, Gary, Rees, Rebecca, Kwan, Irene, Wright, Kath, Sowden, Amanda and Thomas, James
(2022)
Adult Specialist Services for Victim-Survivors of Sexual Violence and Abuse: a Systematic Map of Evidence.
Documentation.
EPPI Centre, Social Science Research Unit, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London.
Lester, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4651-9345, Lorenc, Theo, Sutcliffe, Katy, Khatwa, Meena, Stansfield, Claire, Sowden, Amanda and Thomas, James
(2019)
What helps to support people affected by Adverse Childhood Experiences? A review of evidence.
Documentation.
EPPI Centre, Social Science Research Unit, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London.
Prior publications
Thesis
Sarah Lester (2025) Becoming research-active in the social determinants of health: a study of intelligent accountability in local government Sarah Lester.
Article
Rachael C. Edwards, Dylan Kneale, Claire Stansfield, Sarah Lester (2024) “They don't have the luxury of time”: interviews exploring the determinants of public health research activity that contextualise embedded researcher roles in local government Health Research Policy and Systems Sarah Lester. ISSN 1478-4505 (doi: 10.1186/s12961-024-01162-2)
Rachael C. Edwards, Dylan Kneale, Claire Stansfield, Sarah Lester (2024) What are the mechanisms driving the early stages of embedded researcher interventions? A qualitative process evaluation in English local government Social Science & Medicine Crossref. (doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116407)
Theo Lorenc, Sarah Lester, Katy Sutcliffe, Claire Stansfield, James Thomas (2020) Interventions to support people exposed to adverse childhood experiences: systematic review of systematic reviews BMC Public Health Sarah Lester. ISSN 1471-2458 (doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-08789-0)
Report
Dylan Kneale, Rachael C Edwards, Claire Stansfield, Sarah Lester, Rebecca Goldman, James Thomas (2023) What are embedded researchers and what influence do they have in public health settings? EPPI Centre, University College London Sarah Lester.
