Project Board
Gp Capt Professor Alexander Bennett
Chair of our Project Board
Alex Bennett is the Chief Investigator of the ADVANCE Study and Chair of the ADVANCE Study Project Board. He has been Head of the Academic Department of Military Rehabilitation (ADMR) since June 2011 and is a Consultant in Rheumatology and Rehabilitation at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) alongside RAF Consultant Advisor in Rheumatology and Rehabilitation. As Defence Professor of Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Alex has an extensive research portfolio and currently oversees all research at ADMR at Stanford Hall.
Professor Anthony Bull
Board member
Anthony Bull is a Professor of Musculoskeletal Mechanics at Imperial College London. As a Project Board member, Anthony helps to lead the overall study. As the Imperial College principal investigator, he has financial and governance oversight of key teams, including clinical, admin and data. He focuses on musculoskeletal conditions and has multiple ongoing studies investigating the effect of amputation on musculoskeletal health and function.
Professor Sharon Stevelink
Board member
Sharon Stevelink is a Professor of Applied Epidemiology and Occupational Health at King’s College London, and has been an active member of the King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) since 2012. She joined the ADVANCE Project Board in September 2026 and supports the study’s mental health and psychosocial research stream. She also leads several studies exploring the health and wellbeing of serving personnel and veterans, and has particular expertise in mental health, psychosocial and socioeconomic outcomes, including employment and welfare support. Sharon brings this expertise to help us understand the long term mental health, psychosocial and socioeconomic outcomes of combat injury, building on her contribution to the ADVANCE baseline mental health findings.
Lt Col (rtd) Professor Christopher Boos
Board member
Professor Christopher Boos is Consultant Cardiologist whose primary role at ADVANCE is to lead and support cardiovascular research within the study. Christopher recently left the Armed Forces as their Senior Cardiologist but maintains strong clinical and research links. He is the Specialty Lead for Research and Innovation at Poole Hospital and has >100 publications in peer-reviewed journals. His current research interests include cardiovascular risk, heart rate variability and the effects of high altitude on cardiac function.
Emma Coady
Board member
Emma joined the ADVANCE Team in 2019. As the ADVANCE Programme Manager, she oversees all aspects of the study and ensures the study meets its aims and objectives within the defined timelines and budget. She works closely with all the relevant teams within ADVANCE, such as the researchers, collaborators, data team, clinical and admin teams, and is a member of the ADVANCE Project Board.
Paul Cullinan
Board member
Paul Cullinan is a Professor of Respiratory Medicine with training in epidemiology and an interest in working populations. He retired from Imperial College, London in 2022.
Dr Harriet Kemp
Board member
Harriet Kemp is a Senior Clinical Lecturer within the Division of Anaesthetics Pain Medicine & Intensive Care at Imperial College London. She joined the ADVANCE Project Board in April 2025. Her main research interests are the long term, pain-related, outcomes associated with traumatic injury and critical illness. Clinically, she runs a specialist neuropathic pain service at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital. Harriet brings her extensive experience and expertise in pain research to help us understand pain-related outcomes from combat injury.