Holly is a PhD student in the Department of Psychological Medicine at King's College London, which she joined in 2025. She holds a BSc in Physiotherapy from the University of Southampton (2024) and an MRes in Clinical and Health Research from the University of Southampton (2025), funded by the South Central Insight Program (NIHR). She is a Chartered Physiotherapist and HCPC-registered.

During her MRes, she worked clinically in the musculoskeletal sector as a physiotherapist, gaining practical experience in patient management alongside her research into farmers' experiences with low back pain. This work informed her current doctoral research, which focuses on developing public health advice on farm attractions.

Research interests

• Public health interventions and communication
• Rural and Agricultural Health

Research groups

Holly is a member of the NIHR Health Protection Research Focus Award in Outbreak Related Behaviour (ORB), a formal partnership between King’s College London, the University of East Anglia, and the UK Health Security Agency.

Key publications

Whitcomb, H., Roberts, L. C., & Ryan, C. (2025). “Go and get it checked”: Exploring the decision to attend the emergency department for low back pain. Musculoskeletal Science and Practice, 77, 103325. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msksp.2025.103325