Dr William Sheppard

BSc (Hons), PhD

School of Medicine and Population Health

Research Associate in Evidence Synthesis.

Visiting Researcher (University of Leeds)

w.e.sheppard@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 220689

Regent Court (ScHARR)

Full contact details

Dr William Sheppard
School of Medicine and Population Health
Regent Court (ScHARR)
30 Regent Street
Sheffield
S1 4DA

Profile

I graduated from the University of Leeds in 2019 with a BSc in Psychology. I completed my dissertation under the supervision of Professor Richard Wilkie, investigating the effects of distraction on gaze and steering behaviour following periods of automated driving. Following graduation, I worked as a Research Assistant in the same lab, continuing my research into human-autonomous vehicle interaction, alongside projects exploring the use of Virtual Reality in dental training and the effects of visual blur on motor performance.

In 2020, I began my doctoral studies at the University of Leeds, supervised by Professor Wilkie and Doctor Rachel Coats. While external factors shifted the initial trajectory of the project, which originally aimed to investigate the impact of cataract surgery on motor function to help address regional inequalities in surgical provision, the research ultimately focused on measuring the impact of degraded vision and visual blur on driving and prehension using online methodologies.

I joined SCHARR’s Evidence Synthesis group for NIHR Sheffield (EnSygN Sheffield) in April 2025 and successfully defended my PhD thesis in October of the same year. In my current role, I have developed expertise across a diverse range of review methodologies, including systematic reviews, realist synthesis, “best fit” framework synthesis, and evidence briefings. My work spans topics such as medication management, mental health in schools, and maternal housing insecurity. I have continued my interest in the use of online testing to reduce health inequalities and am open to being contacted regarding future research collaboration in this area.

Qualifications: BSc (Hons) Psychology, PhD Psychological Sciences

Research interests: - Vision Science & Sensorimotor Performance: Investigating how degraded vision, visual blur, and monocular vision impair heading judgements from optic flow, prehension (reach-grasp-lift movements), and steering behaviour.
- Human-Vehicle & Human-Technology Interaction: Evaluating gaze behaviour, distraction, and takeover responses during automated driving, as well as the implementation of immersive technologies (VR) in surgical and healthcare training.
- Online Methodology & Digital Health: Developing and evaluating online testing measures for visual acuity and contrast sensitivity to increase research reach and reduce regional health inequalities.
- Evidence Synthesis & Meta-Research: Utilizing advanced synthesis methodologies (including systematic reviews, realist synthesis, and "best fit" frameworks) across public health topics, alongside exploratory meta-research on AI disclosure practices in systematic reviews.

Publications

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Journal articles

Sheppard WEA, Coats RO, Wilkie RM & Baraas RC (2025) Monocular blur impairs heading judgements from optic flow. i-Perception, 16(1). View this article in WRRO
Mathew RK & Mushtaq F (2021) Three principles for the progress of immersive technologies in healthcare training and education. BMJ Simulation and Technology Enhanced Learning, 7(5), 459-460. View this article in WRRO
Balkhoyor AM, Mir R, Mirghani I, Pike TW, Sheppard WEA, Biyani CS, Lodge JPA, Mon-Williams MA, Mushtaq F & Manogue M (2021) Exploring the Presence of Core Skills for Surgical Practice Through Simulation. Journal of Surgical Education, 78(3), 980-986.
Bastounis A, Lagojda L, Sheppard W, Daly G, Poku E & Booth A () Bibliometric, methodological and reporting characteristics of systematic reviews with explicit AI disclosure statements: an exploratory meta-research study. BMC Medical Research Methodology.
Sheppard W, Wilkie R, Baraas R, Campagnoli C & Coats R () One Eye on the Prize: The Impact of monocular vision on aiming responses. Scandinavian Journal of Optometry and Visual Science, 18(1).
Sheppard WEA, McCarrick D, Wilkie RM, Baraas RC & Coats RO () A Systematic Review of the Effects of Second-Eye Cataract Surgery on Motor Function. Frontiers in Aging, 3.
Sheppard WEA, Dickerson P, Baraas RC, Mon-Williams M, Barrett BT, Wilkie RM & Coats RO () Exploring the effects of degraded vision on sensorimotor performance. PLOS ONE, 16(11), e0258678-e0258678.
Mole C, Pekkanen J, Sheppard W, Louw T, Romano R, Merat N, Markkula G & Wilkie R () Predicting takeover response to silent automated vehicle failures. PLOS ONE, 15(11), e0242825-e0242825.

Conference proceedings

Sheppard WEA, Pekkanen J, Mole CD & Wilkie RM (2020) How Long Does It Take for Mobile Eye-Tracker Calibration to Drift?. PERCEPTION, Vol. 49(6) (pp 721-721)

Other

Hock E, Bastounis A, Jones K, Sheppard W, Clowes M, Harvey S, Booth A & Goyder E () Domestic combustion of solid fuel for heating in the UK, indoor air quality and health.

Preprints

Sheppard WEA, Campagnoli C, Wilkie RM, Baraas RC & Coats RO (2025) Visual blur disrupts the kinematic and temporal aspects of reach-grasp-lift movements, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Sheppard WEA, Coats RO, Wilkie R, Johansen TR, Campagnoli C & Baraas RC (2024) Evaluating Online Measures of Contrast Sensitivity and Visual Acuity, Center for Open Science.

Research group: Evidence Synthesis group for NIHR Sheffield (EnSygN Sheffield)

Teaching interests: I assist with the delivery of SMP486, Further Statistics for Health Science Researchers on ScHARR’s Masters in Public Health. I also contribute to ScHARR’s short courses, including delivering the risk of bias session on the Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis session.