Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation

Professor Koula Asimakopoulou is interim co-Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation.

She is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society (BPS) and a Registered Psychologist with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC). Koula holds a PhD in Health Psychology alongside specialist qualifications in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Motivational Interviewing. She currently serves as a Visiting Professor in Health Psychology at Hong Kong University and has co-founded the NHS’s first-ever health psychology service designed to help people combat their fear of the dentist at Guy’s Hospital. Koula is a scientist-practitioner, applying academic research in real-world settings.

Koula is a certified psychometric assessor, with research expertise in behaviour change, patient-centred care, communication, stress and chronic condition management. Her research has contributed directly to national and international guidelines on behaviour change in oral health. Before joining Brookes in 2023, she supported industry partners in delivering evidence-based behaviour change solutions across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), alongside collaborating with healthcare and education professionals nationally, across NHS and private settings to deliver evidence-based health care. She regularly supports industry with health policy and strategy in research and innovation.

Koula has published over 130 scientific research papers and regularly advises on behavioural science across national media, TV, and radio. She is the former Chair of the Bromley NHS Research Ethics Committee, serves as an examiner for UK and international psychology programmes, and is qualified to supervise Health Psychology trainees seeking Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration.

Professor Nigel Crook is interim co-Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation. 

Nigel is Professor of AI and Robotics at Oxford Brookes. He graduated from Lancaster University with a degree in Computing and Philosophy, and subsequently obtained a PhD in explainable intelligent machines at Oxford Brookes University.

Nigel has more than 40 years of experience as a lecturer and researcher in AI. He is author/co-author of 70 scientific publications which have attracted over 1600 citations. He recently published a popular science book entitled ‘Rise of the Moral Machines: Exploring Virtue Through a Robot’s Eyes’ and has made numerous appearances across local, national, and international media outlets (inc. BBC Breakfast, BBC World News, BBC Radio 4, CNBC). Nigel is Principal Fellow of the HEA and was the Founding Director of the Institute for Ethical AI and the Centre of AI, Culture and Society at Oxford Brookes University.

He is an expert reviewer and evaluator for the European Commission (FP5, FP7, FET Flagship projects and H2020-ICT), a member of the EPSRC Peer Review College and a member of recent UKRI Future Leader Fellowship Sift Panels. He has also served as a reviewer for 13 international AI journals, including top journals on machine learning and robotics and has been a member of the scientific programme committees for 46 international conferences (inc. IEEE).