Research expertise:

Dr Julie Cowie is an experienced implementation scientist and is internationally recognised for her contributions to and influence on this field. In particular, this relates to: (i) High quality evidence to support health and wellbeing complex interventions (ii) Co-production and strong PPI in research (iii) Production of high-impact, relevant evidence syntheses on delivery and effectiveness of interventions.  After identifiying a need, Dr Cowie established the Practice, Research And Exchange In Implementation Science Scotland (PRAXIS) network in 2026, bringing together Implementation Science researchers across Scotland to share good practice, expertise and foster new collaborations. She is also a member of the European Implementation Collaborative, the International Center for Implementation, the UK Implementation Society, and has recently presented her work at the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) European Symposium on Evidence Syntheses and Implementation colloquium (May 2026).

Dr Cowie's research focuses on health and wellbeing interventions, incorporating co-design and participatory methods to involve stateholders. As well as her implementation science expertise, Dr Cowie draws on methods such as realist evaluation and exploration of behaviour change techniques to further explore the role of contextual and mechanistic factors in observed outcomes of interventions implemented. 

Much of the focus of Dr Cowie's work centres around underserved populations and community health. Recent work has been conducted in conjunction with men's groups and disadvantaged communities to explore how best such groups can live well, with good health and wellbeing.  

Current funded projects:

• NIHR Evidence Synthesis Scotland Initative (NESSIE) funded systematic review team member (Directly Incurred) (2023-2028)
• Co-I MS Society Grant to fund GCU MS Doctoral Training Centre (2024-2029)
• Co-I Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Charitable Trust grant for Evidence for Living Well with a Spinal Cord Injury in the Community (ELSCI) grant (2026-2028)

Evidence-informed teaching:

Bridging research and teaching is a strong component of Dr Cowie's academic practice. This is reflected in her commitment to delivering evidence-based teaching supporting students learn the skills they need to conduct rigorous independent research. Teaching Dr Cowie currently leads and contributes to includes:  

• Advanced Qualitative Research Module Lead, DBA programme, GCU.
• Advanced Qualitative Research Module Co-lead (75%), Masters of Research degree, GCU.
• Guest lecturer on MSc Dietetics course (Queen Margaret University, 2024 onwards)
• Masterclass on Implementation Science (Evidence Syntheses module, Masters of Research)