Dr Wendy Martin
Senior Lecturer

Summary

I am a Senior Lecturer in the Division of Health Sciences at Brunel University London. I am a sociologist and qualitative researcher with a focus on health, ageing, care and the use of creative methods. My background has included clinical nursing, research fellow and lecturer roles, and I have worked in several universities in the UK. I completed a BSc in Sociology and Anthropology at Oxford Brookes University (1997); and an MA in Sociological Research in Health Care (1999) and a PhD in Sociology (2008) both from the University of Warwick.

The focus of my teaching is on the MSc Public Health and Health Promotion and includes leading and contributing to study blocks on health promotion, health and society, research ethics and qualitative / digital research methods. I was previously the programme leader for 4 years.  I have extensive experience in curriculum development and I am a Recognised Programme Developer at Brunel University London. I am also the Research Ethics Officer.

My research focuses on ageing, embodiment, the digital and everyday life and the use of visual and creative methods in ageing research. I was Principal Investigator for the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) research project Photographing Everyday Life: Ageing, Lived Experiences, Time and Space. I am currently Co-Investigator for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) international partnership Ageing, Communication, Technologies (ACT): experiencing a digital world in later life (led by Prof Kimberley Sawchuk, Concordia University, Canada) and Collaborator for the 5 year SSHRC Insight Grant Digital Culture and Quantified Aging (with Profs Barb Marshal and Stephen Katz, Trent University, Canada).

I am Co-Convenor of the British Sociological Association (BSA) Ageing, Body and Society study group and Co-Editor of the Routledge Handbook of Cultural Gerontology that was published in 2015 (both with Prof Julia Twigg, University of Kent).  I am a member of the Editorial Board of the Sociological Research Online journal, of the Associate Board of the Sociology Journal and of the Executive Board for the Research Committee RC11 Sociology of Ageing of the International Sociological Association.

Qualifications:

PhD (2008) Department of Sociology, University of Warwick. ESRC funded. Thesis ‘Embodying ‘active’ ageing: health, bodies and emotions in later life’.

MA (with distinction) in Sociological Research in Health Care. University of Warwick (1999). ESRC funded.

BSc (First Class Honours) Sociology and Anthropology. Oxford Brookes University (1997)

Registered General Nurse. St. Mary’s Hospital, London (1986)

Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice. University of Reading (2011)

Responsibility

Committee Responsibilities:

Elected Member of Senate

College Research Ethics Committee

University Academic Appeals Committee 

Administration Responsibilities:

Research Lead for Division of Health Sciences

Research Ethics Officer for Division of Health Sciences

Postgraduate Research Lead for Division of Health Sciences

Digital Education Champion

Teaching Interests:

Health Promotion; Social Context of Health Promotion and Public Health; Qualitative Research Methods; Digital Methods; Sociology of Health and Illness; Social Context of Ageing; Sociology of the Body and Emotions