Katy is the Programme Manager for the BiB: Age of Wonder research programme, and has been working with BiB for over ten years. She’s worked across BiB projects including Starting School, Growing Up, Digital BiB and Primary School Years, as well as a key role within the Centre for Applied Education Research. Her work has primarily focused on supporting schools and the education system to embed research into practice, and facilitating large scale research projects in school settings.

Katy has a background in Psychology, completing her PhD at the University of Leeds in 2016, in partnership with the BiB. This focused on identifying and supporting children with movement/handwriting difficulties within primary schools in Bradford.

Why you enjoy working at BiB

The people. Working with such an enthusiastic and friendly group is fantastic!

Favourite toy when you were a child

Sticker Factory

Favourite pastime when not at work

Exploring new places

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Katy A. Shire, Alex Newsham, Atif Rahman, Dan Mason, David Ryan, Deborah A. Lawlor, Gail Opio-Te, Hannah Nutting, Jane West, John Pickavance, Josie Dickerson, Kate E. Pickett, Laura Lennon, Lydia Gunning, Mark Mon-Williams, Sean Smith, Simon Gilbody, Sufyan Dogra, Theresa Walsh, Rosemary McEachan, John Wright, (2024). Born in Bradford’s Age of Wonder cohort: protocol for adolescent data collection. Wellcome Open Research, 9(32), DOI: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.20785.1,
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Rosemary R C McEachan, Gillian Santorelli, Aidan Watmuff, Dan Mason, Sally E Barber, Daniel D Bingham, Philippa K Bird, Laura Lennon, Dan Lewer, Mark Mon-Williams, Katy A Shire, Dagmar Waiblinger, Jane West, Tiffany C Yang, Deborah A Lawlor, Kate E Pickett, John Wright, (2024). Cohort Profile Update: Born in Bradford. International Journal of Epidemiology DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyae037,
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Josie Dickerson, Brian Kelly, Bridget Lockyer, Sally Bridges, Christopher Cartwright, Kathryn Willan, Katy Shire, Kirsty Crossley, Maria Bryant, Najma Siddiqi, Trevor A Sheldon, Deborah A Lawlor, John Wright, Rosemary RC McEachan, Kate E Pickett. , (2022). ‘When will this end? Will it end?’ The impact of the March–June 2020 UK COVID-19 lockdown response on mental health: a longitudinal survey of mothers in the Born in Bradford study. BMJ Journals , 12(1),
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Josie Dickerson, Brian Kelly, Bridget Lockyer, Sally Bridges, Christopher Cartwright, Kathryn Willan, Katy Shire, Kirsty Crossley, Maria Bryant, Najma Siddiqi, Trevor A Sheldon, Deborah A Lawlor, John Wright, Rosemary RC McEachan, Kate E Pickett, (2022). ‘When will this end? Will it end?’ The impact of the March–June 2020 UK COVID-19 lockdown response on mental health: a longitudinal survey of mothers in the Born in Bradford study. BMJ Journals, 12(1), DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047748,
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Kate E Pickett, Mildred Ajebon, Bo Hou, Brian Kelly, Philippa K Bird, Josie Dickerson, Katy Shire, Claire McIvor, Mark Mon-Williams, Neil Small, Rosemary McEachan, John Wright, Deborah Lawlor, (2022). Vulnerabilities in child well-being among primary school children: a cross-sectional study in Bradford, UK. BMJ Journals, 12(6), DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049416,
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Josie Dickerson, Brian Kelly, Bridget Lockyer, Sally Bridges, Christopher Cartwright, Kathryn Willan, Katy Shire, Kirsty Crossley, Maria Bryant, Najma Siddiqi, Trevor A Sheldon, Deborah A Lawlor, John Wright, Rosemary RC McEachan, Kate E Pickett, (2022). ‘When will this end? Will it end?’ The impact of the March–June 2020 UK COVID-19 lockdown response on mental health: a longitudinal survey of mothers in the Born in Bradford study. BMJ Journals, 12(1), DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047748,
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Sufyan Abid Dogra, Kate Lightfoot, Rosslyn Kerr, Jennifer Hall, Olivia Joseph, Nasiba Siddig, Hannah Nutting, Katy A. Shire, Helen Roberts, Neil Small, Rosemary R.C. McEachan, John Wright, (2022). Born in Bradford Age of Wonder cohort: A protocol for qualitative longitudinal research. Wellcome Open Research, 7(270), DOI: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.18096.1,
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Josie Dickerson, Brian Kelly, Bridget Lockyer, Sally Bridges, Christopher Cartwright, Kathryn Willan, Katy Shire, Kirsty Crossley, Maria Bryant, Najma Siddiqi, Trevor A Sheldon, Deborah A Lawlor, John Wright1, Rosemary RC McEachan, Kate E Pickett, (2022). ‘When will this end? Will it end?’ The impact of the March-June 2020 UK Covid-19 lockdown response on mental health: a longitudinal survey of mothers in the Born in Bradford study. BMJ Journals, 12(1), DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047748,
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Kate E Pickett, Mildred Ajebon, Bo Hou, Brian Kelly, Philippa K Bird, Josie Dickerson, Katy Shire, Mark Mon-Williams, Neil Small, Rosemary McEachan, John Wright, Deborah A Lawlor, (2021). Vulnerabilities in child wellbeing among primary school children: a cross-sectional study in Bradford, UK. medRxiv DOI: 10.1101/2021.01.10.21249538,
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Liam JB Hill, Katy A Shire, Richard J Allen, Kirsty Crossley, Megan L Wood, Dan Mason, Amanda H Waterman, (2021). Large-scale assessment of 7-11-year-olds’ cognitive and sensorimotor function within the Born in Bradford longitudinal birth cohort study. Wellcome Open Research
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Josie Dickerson, Brian Kelly, Bridget Lockyer, Sally Bridges, Christopher Cartwright, Kathryn Willan, Katy Shire, Kirsty Crossley, Maria Bryant, Trevor A. Sheldon, Deborah A. Lawlor, John Wright, Rosemary R C McEachan, Kate E. Pickett. , (2021). Experiences of lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic: descriptive findings from a survey of families in the Born in Bradford study. wellcome open research
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Daniel D. Bingham, Andy Daly-Smith, Jennifer Hall, Amanda Seims, Sufyan A. Dogra, Stuart J. Fairclough, Mildred Ajebon, Brian Kelly, Bo Hou, Katy A. Shire, Kirsty L. Crossley, Mark Mon-Williams, John Wright, Kate Pickett, Rosemary McEachan, Josie Dickerson, Sally E. Barber on behalf of the Bradford Institute for Health Research COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Group, (2021). Covid-19 lockdown: Ethnic differences in children’s self-reported physical activity and the importance of leaving the home environment; a longitudinal and cross-sectional study from the Born in Bradford birth cohort study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity DOI: 10.1186/s12966-021-01183-y,
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Katy A. Shire , Jo Atkinson , Emily A. Williams , John Pickavance , Sara Magallón , Liam JB. Hill , Amanda H. Waterman , David A. Sugden & Mark Mon-Williams , (2021). Developing and Implementing a School-led Motor Intervention for Children with Handwriting Difficulties. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 14(3), 274-290. DOI: 10.1080/19411243.2020.1837047,
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Katy Shire, Elizabeth Andrews, Sally Barber, Alison Bruce, John Corkett, Liam J. B. Hill, Brian Kelly, Rosemary McEachan, Mark Mon-Williams, Louise Tracey, Amanda H. Waterman, John Wright, (2020). Starting School: a large-scale start of school assessment within the ‘Born in Bradford’ longitudinal cohort. Wellcome Open Research 5-47.
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Philippa K Bird, Rosemary R. C. McEachan, Mark Mon-Williams, Neil Small, Jane West, Peter Whincup, John Wright, Elizabeth Andrews, Sally E Barber, Liam J B Hill, Laura Lennon, Dan Mason, Katy A Shire, Dagmar Waiblinger, Amanda H. Waterman, Deborah A. Lawlor & Kate E. Pickett , (2019). Growing up in Bradford: protocol for the age 7–11 follow up of the Born in Bradford birth cohort. BMC Public Health DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7222-2,
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Lucy H. Eddy,Megan L. Wood,Katy A. Shire,Daniel D. Bingham,Emma Bonnick,Amy Creaser,Mark Mon-Williams,Liam J.B. Hill, (2019). A systematic review of randomized and case-controlled trials investigating the effectiveness of school-based motor skill interventions in 3- to 12-year-old children. Wiley Online Library , 45(6),
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Shire KA, Hill LJB, Snapp-Childs W, Bingham GP, Kountouriotis GK, Barber SE, Mon-Williams M, (2016). Robot Guided “Pen Skill” Training in Children with Motor Difficulties. PLoS ONE, 5(3), 384-402. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0151354,
Bingham DD, Costa S, Hinkley T, Shire KA, Clemes SA, Barber SE, (2016). Physical Activity During the Early Years: A Systematic Review of Correlates and Determinants. American journal of Preventive Medicine, 51(3), 384-402. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2016.04.022,
Britten L, Shire KA, Coats RO, Astill SL, (2016). The effect of standing desks on manual control in children and young adults. Gait and Posture 42-46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaitpost.2016.04.027,
Snapp-Childs W, Shire KA, Hill LJB, Mon-Williams M, Bingham GP, (2016). Training compliance control yields improved drawing in 5–11year old children with motor difficulties. Human Movement Science 171-183. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.humov.2016.05.006,
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Kountouriotis GK, Shire KA, Mole CD, Gardner PH, Merat N, Wilkie RM, (2013). Optic flow asymmetries bias high-speed steering along roads. Journal of Vision, 13(10), 1-9. DOI: 10.1167/13.10.23,