Nicola is an associate professor of mental health nursing in a joint role between Northumbria University and Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Foundation Trust. In her role, she supports the development of research capacity and capability for nursing in the NHS, teaches research methods to student nurses and delivers research focused on acute and crisis mental health. She is specifically interested in improving outcomes for those experiencing a mental health crisis through development of an evidence base to improve service designs and to develop supportive psychosocial care. She is also interested in research focused on the support needs of those who care for people during a mental health crisis including family, friends and carers and health and social care staff. She led an NIHR realist evidence synthesis that aimed to explain what works for whom in community mental health crisis services and is currently delivering NIHR funded research focused on improving suicide safety planning interventions.