CRRA3G Research Group: research as a core function of academic life in a peer-led community of practice
CRRA3G Research Group: research as a core function of academic life in a peer-led community of practice
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Christina is an associate professor of technology enabled care and a global expert on Artificial Intelligence in radiography. She is the lead editor of the award winning textbook Artificial Intelligence for Radiographers and has held many leadership positions as chair in AI working and advisory groups at the College of Radiographers and the EFRS. She has published more than 100 papers in peer reviewed journals, has nearly £4million in career research grant funding and her work has shaped policy and practice in medical imaging and AI.
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Research in healthcare is vital for building the evidence base of academia, improving practice for patients and practitioners and ensuring safety, efficacy, efficiency and sustainability of healthcare services 1-3. Radiography is a young profession; despite the leaps in research quality, quantity and dissemination over the last two decades, radiography research capacity still lags behind other allied health professions. Heavy clinical and academic workloads, lack of research culture, and reduced opportunities for research funding4-6 means that research in radiography often runs in the fringes of daily work, by few dedicated academics and clinicians, who work in their own personal time (evenings, weekends and holidays), often paying expenses from their own pocket, while trying to inspire the next generation of radiographer researchers. This ecosystem is not sustainable, and we are in real risk of losing the many benefits research brings into clinical, academic and professional practice.
Different initiatives funded by the College of Radiographers (CoR)7,8 and the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) 9,10 are trying to address these challenges. The Formal Radiography Research Mentoring Scheme led by the CoR since 2017 is the national research mentoring platform for radiographers based in the United Kingdom (UK). It has now supported more than 70 radiographers to apply for research grants, network with research leaders, disseminate work through peer reviewed journals, present in national and international conferences and complete their PhDs7. The CoR has also established the CoR Industry Partnership Scheme (CoRIPS) grants and the Doctoral fellowships to support further research capacity8. The NIHR-funded Diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers’ incubator9 and PCAF and DCAF programmes for allied health professionals10 also support individual radiographers into research careers.
Despite these developments, research in radiography still happens sporadically, in clusters and as a secondary pursuit. The City St George’s Research in Radiography, Radiotherapy and Radiology Group (CRRA3G for short) was formally launched in September 2024, after running informally for five years since 2019 at the legacy organisation City, University of London. CRRA3G attempts to change this narrative of solitary research by individual people by giving more power and visibility to researchers and by enabling team cohesion and the creation of a safe, collaborative, ethical community of practice. Wenger’s theory of communities of practice highlights the importance of informal networks in professional growth11. The remit of CRRA3G was to create a structure to enable foundational research, driven by priorities identified by the grassroots workforce, to maximise high individual engagement and benefit, to create closely knit clinical-academic-industry collaborations, and to encourage peer-led, democratic participation in decision making. Nursing and midwifery research12 has shown that peer-led communities encourage innovation, build resilience, and strengthen professional identity. The motto of CRRA3G is “Integrity, Diversity, Resilience” which is also reflected by its logo (Figure 1) designed by the group’s doctoral students. Integrity is vital as only ethical, meaningful and important for the workforce research should be carried out under its remit. Diversity is a key driver for innovation, agility and creativity in the group; members of CRRA3G are of different genders, ethnicities, races, abilities, neuro-tribes, sexual orientations, and social status, amongst other protected characteristics. Finally, resilience defines our response and attitude to the adverse environment for researchers, where research grant funding has become even more competitive than ever before, national and international research priorities are being reconsidered in light of the current geopolitical backdrop and research time becomes scarcer due to increasing workloads. CRRA3G is a radiographer-led research group, but it is multidisciplinary by nature; its members come from different professional backgrounds (radiography, radiology, medical physics, data science, operational research, engineering, psychology, to name a few) and from different areas of professional practice (academia, clinical practice, industry, policymaking, professional bodies). More than anything, CRRA3G vision is to provide a safe community of practice for like-minded individuals, who believe research is a peaceful form of activism that can shape the world for the better, one project at a time.
Figure 1. CRRAG logo represents its values: “Integrity, Diversity, Resilience”. Integrity is represented by the hard rock formation, diversity by the different colours and resilience by the mountain shape , showing that research practice can be an uphill journey requiring stamina and mental agility.
Figure 1. CRRAG logo represents its values: “Integrity, Diversity, Resilience”. Integrity is represented by the hard rock formation, diversity by the different colours and resilience by the mountain shape , showing that research practice can be an uphill journey requiring stamina and mental agility.
Thanks to the unwavering support of the Associate Dean Research Professor Steve Gillard and the Research and Innovation Committee at the School of Health and Medical Sciences at City St George’s University of London, CRRA3G was formally approved as a new research group in September 2024 and has received practical support to i) create its own branding tools (powerpoint, word files) designed by the marketing team and voted (from a set of options) by the wider group, ii) design its own website13, supported by a dedicated expert research group administrator, where all core members and doctoral students contributed their expertise, iii) to organise and coordinating research training events, and iv) have access to a small budget to run its own termly research webinars. This formality and formal endorsement were necessary not just as a seal of approval from the University’s and school’s leadership, but as a key enabler of creating the identity of the group. Senior leadership approval ensured safety, autonomy, ownership, and accountability, creating the basis of a sense of belonging, community, connection and responsibility that enabled fruitful collaborations both internally with other groups, centres, departments and schools and externally with key partners form academia, clinical practice, policymakers and industry14.
The group is led by Director Associate Professor Christina Malamateniou and Co-director Dr Emily Skelton. It has 12 core members, all experienced radiography academics, and six PhD students. It also has more than 50 associate members, all experts from a multidisciplinary background and a wide geographical spread globally in different UK regions, European countries and as far as the United States of America (USA) and Australia. These experts work with CRRA3G on joint research projects and grants, publications and training programmes. The doctorate programme of CRRA3G is a vibrant subgroup called the Radband (Figure 2), to ensure robust peer support, frequent training events and a strong sense of identity, community and purpose for what is considered the engine of the group’s research capacity. All its PhD students are funded from prestigious fellowships, most of these externally (UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), College of Radiographers, NHS England, Sovereign funds, Industry sponsorships) and competitively awarded, often through many rounds of applications and interviews.
Granting associate membership is based on careful review of an applicant’s curriculum vitae, of their personal statement and of their regular engagement and commitment with the group’s training, research and networking activities. Membership is reviewed every year by the group’s directors.
Figure 2: The logo of the PhD programme of CRRAG, called Radband. It was designed by the PhD students themselves to reflect the medical imaging and oncology direction and the many talents of the doctoral researchers, many of which are accomplished musicians
Figure 2: The logo of the PhD programme of CRRAG, called Radband. It was designed by the PhD students themselves to reflect the medical imaging and oncology direction and the many talents of the doctoral researchers, many of which are accomplished musicians
CRRA3G offers many benefits to its members in the following domains:
Research training and personal development
CRRA3G hosts monthly webinars on topics ranging from research methods, thematic expertise or networking activities with key professional bodies and learned societies. Occasionally these webinars are led by CRRA3G key collaborators to forge collaborations and benefit students and staff. All CRRA3G members need to attend at least 4 webinars annually. These are well attended with about 25-30 attendees each time and advertised well ahead to all registered members. All webinars are recorded with consent and saved into an e-library accessible by and available to all members for their learning and upskilling. CRRA3G also hosts a weekly research clinic ran by its two co-directors. Appointments are open to all CRRAG members as a priority, but also accessible to all radiographers in the UK with an interest and commitment in research careers, and to other allied health and medical professionals within the Department of Allied Health at the School of Health and Medical Sciences at City St George’s, subject to time availability. More than 50 appointments have been registered just in the first 6 months of the research clinic opening, with academics, clinical practitioners, research fellows and assistants, master’s and PhD students seeking support for research dissemination (abstract and paper writing, and conference presentation preparation), research career progression and advice, research grant writing and management, research leadership amongst the most common requests for support. Doctoral student supervision appointments are separate to the research clinic to ensure protected time for PhD students with their supervisors. CRRA3G has seven academics who can supervise PhDs, two of which are category A. The group also organises termly seminars with key experts in the field, such as with the deputy scientist of the UK Imaging Biobank or the Principal Investigator of the NIHR South London Centre15.
Research collaboration opportunities and capacity building
CRRA3G members participate in joined research grants both nationally in the UK and internationally. Strong international research partnerships for joint grants exist with Ireland, Switzerland, the USA and Australia and these have had many successes in acquiring small and medium level grants within the group’s priorities.
Research networking and career advancement
CRRA3G coordinates many successful research and networking events for key areas of practice, like research capacity building, the support of the workforce after the COVID-19 pandemic and the celebration and dissemination of its research achievements16,17.
The group has applied for more than £2.5 million worth of grants and has been competitively awarded more than £400,000 in its 18 months of running, most of these in research and doctoral fellowships and some small and medium research grants. Since its formal launch in September 2024 (Figures 3-8) it has published 56 papers, in 90% of the cases as the leading institution, in the most respected academic journals in the fields relating to its research priorities. There are more than 200 different coauthors in these papers from 30 different countries, showing the reach and range of collaborations CRRA3G brings. Its members have received 12 national or international awards in recognition of their contributions to the profession and they have actively participated as researchers in 10 different conferences or study days, furthering the reputation of the department, the school and the University18.
Beyond the numbers, CRRA3G has become a safe community of practice to discuss, design and conduct high quality research, a supportive environment to develop early career researchers, support middle career researchers for their next step and a source of pride for the department and reputation building internally and externally. This has resulted in City St George's being ranked 6th out of 28 radiography faculties in the UK in research capacity in the recent Times Higher education (THE) rankings19. This is the highest position the division of radiography has across all other indicators of academic quality in this ranking scheme. CRRA3G also contributes to a positive and supportive research culture within the institution, a key performance indicator for the REF 2029 exercise, which decides funding allocations to different HEIs based on rankings on different measures, including research culture20.
Figure 3: Dr Christina Malamateniou, CRRA3G Director and Associate Professor of technology enabled care, opens the launch event on September 5th 2025 to a room full of more than 100 attendees and collaborators from all over the world.
Figure 3: Dr Christina Malamateniou, CRRA3G Director and Associate Professor of technology enabled care, opens the launch event on September 5th 2025 to a room full of more than 100 attendees and collaborators from all over the world.
Figure 4: Dr Emily Skelton, CRRA3G co-director and senior lecturer, presents exciting findings of research on perinatal imaging and parental bonding using Ultrasound. This work was funded by the College of Radiographers doctoral fellowship scheme and forms one of the group’s research priorities under person centred care.
Figure 4: Dr Emily Skelton, CRRA3G co-director and senior lecturer, presents exciting findings of research on perinatal imaging and parental bonding using Ultrasound. This work was funded by the College of Radiographers doctoral fellowship scheme and forms one of the group’s research priorities under person centred care.
Figure 5: Research Event delegates during one of the launch event breaks. More than ten external sponsors funded the launch event of CRRA3G, showing its reach and potential.
Figure 5: Research Event delegates during one of the launch event breaks. More than ten external sponsors funded the launch event of CRRA3G, showing its reach and potential.
Figure 6: Active discussion during the AI session chaired by Professor Susie Shelmerdine (centre), Visiting Professor at CRRA3G and by group members (from right to left): Gemma Walsh, Nikolaos Stogiannos, Julien Greggio and Dr Benard Ohene Botwe.
Figure 6: Active discussion during the AI session chaired by Professor Susie Shelmerdine (centre), Visiting Professor at CRRA3G and by group members (from right to left): Gemma Walsh, Nikolaos Stogiannos, Julien Greggio and Dr Benard Ohene Botwe.
Figure 7: Although CRRA3G is based on the collective hard work of the team, learning in happiness is vital. This figure shows some CRRA3G members enjoying an away day in London in 2025.
Figure 7: Although CRRA3G is based on the collective hard work of the team, learning in happiness is vital. This figure shows some CRRA3G members enjoying an away day in London in 2025.
Figure 8: Many of the CRRA3G team members celebrate the team’s success at the end of the launch event in September 2025. The team is diverse in so many ways and diversity is where CRRA3G draws its strength from.
Figure 8: Many of the CRRA3G team members celebrate the team’s success at the end of the launch event in September 2025. The team is diverse in so many ways and diversity is where CRRA3G draws its strength from.
Despite the difficult economic climate, the shifting priorities in a turbulent geopolitical phase experienced globally, research remains a central point and a force for good in the world. It forms part of the Universities’ social mission and responsibility to show what is possible to achieve through collaboration and expertise and to highlight, address and solve urgent problems of our society.
However, research funding is becoming sparser and more competitive; research councils rethink their priorities; there is less support of grassroots research; University budgets are under pressure and there is growing uncertainty in all aspects of life and professional practice.
Strong, peer-led communities like CRRA3G, can provide a constant and a moral compass in times of change, like the ones we experience. Communities like CRRA3G build resilience, camaraderie and much needed connection, they can give direction to the younger scholars, and they offer a shelter when everything is in transition. CRRA3G has become for its members more than a research group. It is a source of team and individual pride, of collective effort towards a common noble cause, an agile, safe, inclusive community of practice where expertise is shared, research is valued, challenge is weathered and success is celebrated. To achieve all these benefits that CRRA3G demonstrated, radiography research should not happen anymore in isolation or in the fringes of academic practice; it should be delivered as core business in the different academic institutions, schools and departments, with a formal structure and membership, clear vision and mission, robust branding and identity and with open minded-ness and agility to mitigate risks and harness opportunities for further growth.
Affiliations:
- CRRA3G research group, Department of Allied Health, School of Health and Medical Sciences, City St George’s University of London, UK
- European Federation of Radiographer Societies, Cumeira, Portugal.
- Medical Imaging, Spire Healthcare, Washington, UK
- Radiology, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
- Magnitiki Tomografia Kerkiras, Corfu, Greece.
- Epsom & St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, London, UK
- Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey, UK
- King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Norfork and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Norwich, UK
- Alliance Medical UK, UK
- East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Colchester, UK
- Radchat, UK
- Bart’s Health NHS Trust, London, UK
- King’s College London, London, UK
- Department of Clinical Radiology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK.
- NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre, London, UK.
- Diagnostic Radiography and Allied Health Professions, University of Suffolk, UK
- School of Nursing, Midwifery, Allied and Public Health, Canterbury Christ Church University, Kent, UK.
- Faculty of Simulation, Keele University, Newcastle, UK
- Research Delivery NMAHPs, Health and Care Research Wales, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Northeast Scotland Breast Screening programme, NHS Grampian, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
- University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
- British Institute of Radiology, London, UK
- HealthBay Clinics, Dubai, UAE
- Radiology and AI, Medica Group
- East of England Imaging Academy
- Institute of Health Sciences Education, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Society and College of Radiographers, London, UK
Members of the CRRA3G
Malamateniou C1,2, Walsh G1,3, Potts B1,4, Greggio J1, Stogiannos N1,2,5, Packer J1,6, Butterfield E1, Ulett P1,8, Ukaji NF1,9, Silipo D1,10, Parish CJ1,11,12, Dearman J1,13, Bridgen P1,14, Mannion L1, Ohene-Botwe B1, Papathanasiou S1, Ngo M1, O’Sullivan C1, Ahmed S1, Amedu, C 1, Hendry J1, Jackson M1, Simcock IC1,15-17, Simcock CM1,15, Strudwick R1,18, Lockwood P1,19, Shiner N1,20, St John Matthews J1,21, Shelmerdine, S1,15-17, Lip G1,22-24, Kumar A1,24-26, Thackray Y1,27, Khine R1,28, Harrison J1,29, Skelton, E1.
References
Gambling T, Brown P, Hogg P (2003) Research in our practice-a requirement not an option: discussion paper, Radiography, 9, 71-76
- Malamateniou, C (2009) Radiography and research: A United Kingdom perspective, European Journal of Radiography 1:1, 2-6
- Oliveira M, Hogg P, Di Prospero L, Lacey S, El-Farra S, Johansen S (2024). Research activity among diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers: An international survey. J Med Imaging Radiat Sci. ;55(2):232-243.
- Knight KJ, Beasley M, McConnell J, O'Regan T, Alexander CM, Donovan T, Probs H, Reeve R, Sharma M, Knapp KM, McNair HA (2025). Research culture, barriers and facilitators within the radiography workforce in the UK - results of a national survey. Radiography (Lond). 31(4):102959.
- Knapp KM, Wright C, Clarke H, McAnulla SJ, Nightingale JM (2017). The academic radiography workforce: Age profile, succession planning and academic development. Radiography (Lond). 23 Suppl 1:S48-S52.
- Malamateniou C, Knapp KM, Pergola M, Woznitza N, Hardy M (2021). Artificial intelligence in radiography: Where are we now and what does the future hold? Radiography (Lond). 27 Suppl 1:S58-S62.
- College of Radiographers, FoRRM mentoring scheme, https://www.collegeofradiographers.ac.uk/research-grants-and-funding/research/formal-radiography-research-mentoring-(forrm) (accessed March 5th 2026)
- College of Radiographers research grants and funding: https://www.collegeofradiographers.ac.uk/research-grants-and-funding (accessed March 5th 2026)
- Imperial College London, NIHR Radiographer Incubator https://www.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/study/clinical-academic-training-office/radiographers-incubator/ (accessed March 5th 2026)
- NIHR PCAF and DCAF opportunities for AHPs: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/career-development/research-career-funding-programmes (accessed March 5th 2026)
- Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive and Computational Perspectives).
- West, M.A., Eckert, R., Steward, K. and Pasmore, B. (2014), Developing Collective Leadership for Healthcare, The King’s Fund, London
- CRRAG website at City St George’s webpages: https://researchcentres.citystgeorges.ac.uk/research-radiographer-group (accessed March 5th 2026)
- Stogiannos N, Gillan C, Precht H, Reis CSD, Kumar A, O'Regan T, Ellis V, Barnes A, Meades R, Pogose M, Greggio J, Scurr E, Kumar S, King G, Rosewarne D, Jones C, van Leeuwen KG, Hyde E, Beardmore C, Alliende JG, El-Farra S, Papathanasiou S, Beger J, Nash J, van Ooijen P, Zelenyanszki C, Koch B, Langmack KA, Tucker R, Goh V, Turmezei T, Lip G, Reyes-Aldasoro CC, Alonso E, Dean G, Hirani SP, Torre S, Akudjedu TN, Ohene-Botwe B, Khine R, O'Sullivan C, Kyratsis Y, McEntee M, Wheatstone P, Thackray Y, Cairns J, Jerome D, Scarsbrook A, Malamateniou C (2004). A multidisciplinary team and multiagency approach for AI implementation: A commentary for medical imaging and radiotherapy key stakeholders. J Med Imaging Radiat Sci. 55(4):101717.
- CRRAG group seminars: https://www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2024/december/crra3g-inaugural-research-seminar (accessed March 5th 2026)
- CRRA3G COVID-19 workforce recovery event: https://www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2022/06/covid-19-recovery-way-forward-radiography-practitioners (accessed March 5th 2026)
- CRRA3G group launch event: https://www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2025/september/city-st-georges-research-in-radiography-radiology-radiotherapy-group-launch accessed March 5th 2026 (accessed March 5th 2026)
- CRRA3G group awards: https://researchcentres.citystgeorges.ac.uk/research-radiographer-group/news (accessed March 5th 2026)
- The Times Higher Education rankings (2026) https://www.thetimes.com/uk-university-rankings/league-table?msockid=15abee6756fe688e185afb6457d96910 (accessed March 5th 2026)
- Nature (2025) Don’t downplay problems of bullying and harassment in academia https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03908-6 (accessed March 5th 2026)