We are pleased to announce Dr Madeleine Harrison as a winner of the 2026 OPSYRIS Rising Star award. Dr Madeleine Harrison is a Research Fellow in the School of Medicine and Population Health at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on stroke rehabilitation and communication after stroke, using qualitative, mixed-methods and co-design approaches to develop and evaluate complex healthcare interventions.
Madeleine completed her Stroke Association funded PhD at the University of Sheffield, where she evaluated treatment fidelity within the NIHR-funded Big CACTUS trial, which investigated computerised therapy for people with post-stroke aphasia. She currently leads the process evaluation for the NIHR-funded COM-STAR programme, which is developing and evaluating a communication training package for NHS stroke staff, and is Co-Investigator and joint lead of the implementation work package for the NIHR Aphasia Partnership Training (APT) programme. Madeleine’s research is informed by behaviour change and implementation theory and is underpinned by a strong commitment to meaningful patient and public involvement, ensuring that people with lived experience contribute throughout the research process.