Irene leads The Victoria & Stuart Project and DAPPLE Project Team (Kingston University London), a multi-award-winning, inclusive team of researchers, working on NIHR-funded research  aimed at improving palliative and end of life care for people with learning disabilities. Co-production is at the heart of this project. Irene – Professor of Intellectual Disability and Palliative Care – was named ‘Pioneering Nurse 2020’ by St Christopher’s Hospice.

Andrea works as a Research Fellow on the DAPPLE Project: Developing effective service models for palliative and end of life care for people with a learning disability. She was Project Manager for The Victoria and Stuart Project: Co-designing a toolkit and resources for end-of-life care planning with people with learning disabilities within social care settings. Andrea won the 2025 Early Researcher Award from the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC).