Researcher perspectives: Monika Jakiel-Rusin

Monika Jakiel-Rusin is a dietician working at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. Alongside her role at the hospital, she has been carrying out research funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

In July 2026 we spoke to Monika about her work so far and her hopes for a PhD researching type 1 diabetes in young people from underserved communities.

Research focus – helping children with type 1 diabetes get more physically active

My clinical work is in paediatric diabetes, and I am passionate about physical activity. I believe being active can make a huge difference.

For young people with type 1 diabetes, however, activity can be complicated. Alongside managing glucose levels and exercising safely, they may face fear, stigma and limited support at school.

My first research project looked at improving access to physical activity for children and young people with type 1 diabetes in schools. I completed a qualitative systematic review exploring teachers’ perceptions of how pupils are supported to be active.

Schools are important because children spend so much time there, but teachers often lack the training, policies and confidence to support pupils during physical activity. As a result, some young people miss out.

My proposed PhD project, Breaking Barriers, grew from that work. It focuses on young people with type 1 diabetes from ethnic minority and underserved communities and aims to understand the additional barriers they may face.

Much existing research on exercise and type 1 diabetes has been carried out with white populations. Current programmes and advice are useful but may not reflect all communities.

Combining a passion for research with a career in the NHS

I have always been interested in research, but my route into it has not been straightforward. After training as a dietitian in the UK in 2008, I returned to Poland for a master’s degree. My supervisor suggested I publish my work and consider a doctorate, but life took me back to NHS clinical practice.

After working in general hospitals, I joined Bristol Royal Hospital for Children in 2022, seeing an opportunity to get involved in research through the diabetes multidisciplinary team. Colleagues from that team, especially Professor Julian Hamilton-Shield, were able to give me step-by-step advice on how I could pursue my research interests.

My journey started with an NIHR Integrated Clinical Academic (ICA) internship. This was a programme aimed at providing a range of opportunities to undertake fully funded clinical research, research training and professional development, while maintaining clinical practice and salary. It gave me one day a week of protected research time for 12 months, plus funding for training, conferences and PPI work.

My internship was followed by a NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Bristol transition fellowship. This gave me another year of protected time, and a University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) small grant has helped me continue developing my PhD application since the end of my fellowship.

Community involvement – working with young people to build trust

Co-production has been central to my projects so far.

Early community engagement and involvement workshops helped guide my systematic review, including the review question and what to look for in the literature. Later workshops for Breaking Barriers helped us understand whether the project mattered to people with lived experience, what they thought about the design and methodology, and how to explain the study clearly.

Designing an intervention for young people means listening to them. We need to hear their voices and understand what they need. We need to work with young people, families and communities to co-produce a programme they will be happy with.

It is challenging work. It takes time to build trust, especially with young people from underserved communities who also have type 1 diabetes. But I feel ready to go into communities, attend events, visit sports centres and cafes, and talk to people properly.

Managing workflow

I have learned that research has its own rhythm: intense periods when you are working hard to meet a deadline, and times when you can step back, recharge and prepare. Having submitted my PhD application and completed my systematic review, I feel I can breathe a little before the next step.

The research journey – getting here took a lot of support

What has made the biggest difference is the people around me. My supervisors have guided me, while the UHBW research team has reviewed applications, given advice and kept me going. These achievements sit under my name, but I could not have done this alone. I have been lucky to meet people who have been kind, generous and willing to share their expertise.

Impact – influencing real-world change through research

For me, research is not just about producing papers or spending time at a computer. It is about improving healthcare and patient care in the real world. Alongside my academic work, I lead several service improvement initiatives aimed at reducing health inequalities and improving access to physical activity for children with type 1 diabetes.

In the long term, I hope to combine research with clinical practice. I do not want to move completely away from the clinical environment, because what matters to me is translating findings into practice. Being close to patients and services helps me see where evidence is needed.

A final thought for other early-career researchers

One reflection I would share with other early-career clinical researchers is the importance of planning community engagement and involvement properly from the beginning.

It should not be a tick-box exercise. If well planned, funding can be used more efficiently, and patients and families can genuinely shape the work.

When you are new to research, especially alongside clinical work, the practical side can be difficult: promoting workshops, contacting families, organising payments and making sure everything runs smoothly. More targeted support from people with experience would make a real difference when it comes to this aspect of a research project.