Briefly, tell us about your background and career up to this point?
I grew up in West London. After briefly moving away to the University of Sheffield for my undergraduate degree in psychology, I came back to London and worked as a support worker in mental health crisis houses. I was then the acting manager of a 17-bed crisis house. I found this work really fulfilling, but I was always interested in research. This interest grew when I completed my MSc in Clinical Mental Health Sciences at University College London.
I hopped across the river to start a Research Assistant post in IoPPN, King’s College London. For the first time I used large-scale datasets to study mental health (described further here and here). In 2020 I started my PhD in the IoPPN, which was a LISS-DTP funded collaborative studentship with the charity Rethink Mental Illness. I completed my PhD research looking at mental health and multimorbidity for people who have previously experienced homelessness. I have just started a new postdoctoral role as a Teaching Fellow and Research Associate in Population Mental Health, split equally between the IoPPN and the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine.
What is a typical day like for you?
Right now it really varies, particularly as I hold two roles as a Teaching Fellow and Research Associate. On a teaching day, I will usually be working with my team and collaborators to develop training materials in population mental health. For example, at the moment I’m working on an exciting new public mental health module for the Public Health MSc (online). On a research day, I will be writing proposals, conducting statistical analyses on datasets, and writing up my findings for academic and non-academic audiences.
Do you have any current projects that you’d like to tell us about?
I have recently started my new role in the PHI-UK Population Mental Health consortium. The consortium brings together 10+ partnerships across universities, local government, voluntary organisations and people with lived experience, to understand what can be done to prevent the onset of mental health problems, using insights from large-scale linked data. The consortium focuses on three challenge areas: children and young people, suicide and self-harm prevention, and multiple long-term conditions. I’ll be working on the training and capacity building platform to develop interdisciplinary training programmes in population mental health. Watch this space!
What do you do with your time outside academia/work?
I love spending time with my partner, family, and friends. I enjoy travelling and going to the theatre – next year I’m excited to go to New York to fulfil my dream of watching a Broadway show. I relax by watching reality tv with crochet and my cat.
What is something positive that happened to you over the last year?
I presented findings from my research looking at health inequalities for people who have previously experienced homelessness (recently published open-access here) at the World Congress of Epidemiology in Cape Town, South Africa. This was the biggest conference I have ever attended and presented at. My presentation sparked conversations around the need to represent people who experience homelessness in epidemiological datasets globally. I came back to London feeling really energised after fantastic presentations and conversations with other researchers. Many thanks to the UK Data Service for supporting this!
What is your proudest accomplishment?
Earlier this year I was awarded my PhD after passing my viva with no corrections – there are no words to describe that feeling.
What is your favourite part of your role?
Being able to work with inspiring people to produce research about topics I’m passionate about.
Quick-fire round
Favourite season: Autumn
Favourite book: The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Coffee order: Flat white
The last photo on your phone: My cat Chloe (pretty much every photo in my phone – I had to get more storage…)