Jennifer Professorial Research Fellow within CPEC at LSE. She is also Professor of Health and Social Care Economics, and Deputy Director of PSSRU at the University of Kent and leads two CPEC Research Programmes: the Unit Costs programme, which generates the annual Unit Costs of Health and Social Care volumes; and the Services for Children and Young People programme. Professor Beecham also spent 13 years at the Centre for the Economics of Mental Health at the Institute of Psychiatry, London (now King's Health Economics).

Professor Beecham's research over the last 30 years has generally taken an economic perspective. As well as a wealth of experience in estimating and analysing unit costs, her research includes evaluations of services for adults with needs related to old age, mental health problems, intellectual disabilities and a range of conditions that cross ‘traditional' health and social care boundaries, such as eating disorders and disability. Over the last 15 years, Professor Beecham has also worked on economic studies of psychiatric, education, health care, and social care services for children and young people.