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Our members

The Centre brings together some of Brunel’s most active and inventive social and health science researchers to improve understanding of social processes underpinning health and wellbeing. 

Leader(s)

Professor Danae Manika Professor Danae Manika
Email Professor Danae Manika Deputy Dean - Academic Affairs (Interim) CBASS / Professor - Marketing and Business Education
Danae Manika (PhD, University of Texas at Austin) is Professor of Marketing at Brunel Business School and Deputy Dean of the College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences. Previously, Danae was Associate Head of Brunel Business School. Before joining Brunel University London, she was Professor of Marketing at Newcastle University Business School, where she led its London Campus as Academic Group Head and held the Deputy Director of Research role at Newcastle University Business School. Danae in the past has also held academic positions at Queen Mary University of London, Durham University and the University of Texas at Austin; and is currently Visiting Professor at Newcastle University and Queen Mary University of London. Prior to her academic career, Danae worked as an Account Planning Intern in advertising agencies such as Latinworks in Austin, TX, and DDB in New York. She obtained a Ph.D and a M.A. in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. Honours in Marketing from University of Stirling. Danae’s recent research has been published in journals such as: Journal of Service Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research, Psychology and Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Journal of Business Research, European Management Review, and International Business Review, amongst others. Using an interdisciplinary approach, Danae’s research focuses on effective message construction for behaviour change within the contexts of health, well-being and the environment. She is involved in various consultancies (e.g., Harrow Council, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council, RECOUP, Global Action Plan, Texas Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition), and her research has been supported by £414,000+ of funding (e.g., CRUK, EPSRC/Innovate UK, NERC/NCAS, RED, and Arrow/ERDF). Danae is Section Editor for the Journal of Business Ethics (section: Marketing Ethics; FT50 journal), and Associate Editor (AE) for Business and Society and the Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, while in the past she was AE for the Journal of Marketing Management (2017-21). She is also currently on the Editorial Review Boards of:Technological Forecasting & Social Change, and Journal of Marketing Management; with guest editor experience across multiple top journals. Danae also has experience as: funding reviewer for Cancer Research UK (2015-19); and track chair for the Academy of Marketing Science World Marketing Congress Conference in 2023, the Transformative Consumer Research Conference in 2021, and the European Social Marketing Association Conference in 2016. Using an interdisciplinary approach, blending the lines between marketing, advertising and psychology her research aims to answer a fundamental marketing research question: How to diminish the knowledge-behaviour gap? Particularly, her research focuses on effective message construction for behaviour change. It takes an information processing approach, which identifies, classifies and examines cognitive (e.g., knowledge, confidence, trust, values) and affective (e.g., pride, fear, disgust) factors that influence individuals’/consumers’/employees’ decisions and choices after exposure to campaigns/messages/interventions, and translate knowledge acquisition to behaviour change/formation. Her research is theory-based but practically applicable research, and often uses health (e.g., weight control, alcohol consumption, vaccination), well-being and environmental (e.g. energy saving, recycling) social issues as the venue for understanding the knowledge-behaviour gap, with direct implications for persuasive communication and behavioural interventions that motivate health and environmental action. The campaigns/messages/interventions often examined involve digital components (e.g., websites, social media, mobile applications, online tracking tools) and technology adoption behaviours (e.g., adoption and usage of technology-based solutions). Other projects with information technology and effective message construction focus include: social media service failure apologies, online petitions, and online political engagement. Side projects include innovative research methodologies, female-disparaging adverts, and consumer animosity, amongst others. Danae’s recent research has been published in journals such as Journal of Service Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research, Psychology and Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Journal of Business Research, European Management Review, International Business Review, Information Technology and People, Studies in Higher Education, Journal of Marketing Management, Computers in Human Behavior, International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Health Communication, Journal of Marketing Communications, Health Marketing Quarterly, and Multivariate Behavioral Research, amongst others. She often engages in research projects that require collaborations with other disciplines such as medicine, engineering and geography; and her research has been supported by £364,000+ of funding (e.g., CRUK, EPSRC/Innovate UK, RED, and Arrow/ERDF). She also strongly believes in the interplay and interdependence of academia, government, business and society and hence she is often involved in various consultancies (e.g., Harrow Council, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council, RECOUP, Global Action Plan, Texas Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition), in line with her research (i.e., effective message construction for behaviour change). Danae is Section Editor for the Journal of Business Ethics (section: Marketing Ethics; FT50 journal), and Associate Editor (AE) for Business and Society and the Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, while in the past she was AE for the Journal of Marketing Management (2017-21). She is also currently on the Editorial Review Boards of: Technological Forecasting & Social Change, and Journal of Marketing Management; with guest editor experience across multiple top journals. Danae also has experience as: funding reviewer for Cancer Research UK (2015-19); and track chair for the Academy of Marketing Science World Marketing Congress Conference in 2023, the Transformative Consumer Research Conference in 2021, and the European Social Marketing Association Conference in 2016. Knowledge-Behaviour Gap Effective Message Construction for Behaviour Change Information Processing & Persuasive Communication Health Communication (Employee) Pro-environmental Behaviour Technology Adoption for Behaviour Change Consumer Psychology Social Marketing Advertising
Professor Holly Nelson-Becker Professor Holly Nelson-Becker
Email Professor Holly Nelson-Becker Honorary Professor - Health Sciences
Holly Nelson-Becker, PhD, LCSW, ACSW, Diplomate in Clinical Social Work, holds the rank of Professor and Division Lead in the Social Work Division, Department of Clinical Sciences at Brunel University London. She is also a Visiting Scholar with Loyola University Chicago. She earned her PhD at the University of Chicago and the Master's in Social Work at Arizona State University. She is a recognized expert in social gerontology and a Hartford Faculty Scholar in Geriatric Social Work who has investigated the pathways to resilience and well-being in older adults. She has explored spirituality, end-of-life, and diverse cultural expressions related to social care. Her research areas focus on virtues, aging, spiritual and religious coping in older adults, and interprofessional practice in palliative care. She also holds expertise in loss/grief and has investigated quality of dying. Professor Nelson-Becker co-authored US national standards for spiritual care in palliative care and is past Chair of the Interest Group on Religion, Spirituality, and Aging for the Gerontological Society of America. She developed US gerontological social work competencies, served on the National Program Committee for the Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program in Geriatric Social Work, and continues to mentor PhD students in various aspects of gerontology and/or spirituality and clinical practice. She was awarded Fellowship in the Gerontological Society of America in 2013. The strengths perspective and positive psychological principles form the foundation for her research and teaching. She is author of the book, Spirituality, religion, and aging: Illuminations for therapeutic practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, published 2017. 488 pages. ISBN: 9781412981361. Keywords: ageing, gerontology, social work, social care, end of life, palliative care, spirituality and religion, resilience and coping, loss and grief, bereavement, dying well, successful ageing, interprofessional practice, gerontological social work education AWARDS Ralph & Eve Seelye Charitable Trust Award Fellowship, University of Auckland, NZ, 2019 Best module for the College of Health and Life Sciences, 2018 & Lecturer of the Year nomination, 2018 Fellow, Gerontological Society 2013 University of Kansas Statland Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship University of Kansas Chancellor Budig Award for Excellence in Teaching & Outstanding Faculty of the Year Gerontology; positive aging and resilience; end-of-life care; spirituality, religion and social work, loss and grief, death and dying, hospice and palliative care, friendships and social support in later life, spirituality and health, spirituality and dementia, virtues Click here to view Researchgate profile Current project: Interdisciplinary Palliative Care Training-Coleman Foundation
Dr Raha Pazoki Dr Raha Pazoki
Email Dr Raha Pazoki Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences
Raha Pazok MD PhD FHEA is a medical doctor and an epidemiologist. She studied Epidemiology at the Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences (NIHES) and in the University of Amsterdam. She worked with various cohort and case control studies such as the Arrhythmia Genetics in the Netherlands (AGNES), the Rotterdam Study, the Airwave Health Monitoring Study and the UK Bio bank. In 2016, she joined the Department of Epidemiology and Bio-statistics at Imperial College London as a Research Associate. In 2020, she started a Teaching & Research academic position at Brunel University London. Dr Pazoki specializes in the field of health data research, with a primary focus on the epidemiology of cardiometabolic diseases. She holds a particular interest in exploring causal inference and precision medicine by leveraging genomics and extensive health data sets with sample sizes exceeding 500,000 individuals. Her expertise spans various domains, including precision medicine, global health, interventions, and the application of artificial intelligence for predicting health outcomes. She harbors a keen interest in identification of the relationship between circulating molecules and biomarkers, nutrition, lifestyle choices, genetic factors, and their collective contribution to the modulation of health risk factors and outcomes. She was the first to identify 517 novel genetic loci associated with liver enzymes and the first to show the causal effect of liver dysfunction on cardiovascular diseases. In addition, she is the first to show the effect of the alcohol consumption WDPCP gene in lipid metabolism, and liver cirrhosis. (Genetic) Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Diseases Big Data Genome-wide Association Studies Genetic risk scores Mendelian Randomization Machine Learning Dr Paozki is a founder and director of the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research Group hosting researchers and academics across Brunel university with direct or indirect research interest involving cardiometabolic aetiology, prevention, and health. We work in various areas to identify causes of cardiometabolic diseases (environmental, lifestyle, molecular, and clinical) and provide insight into how they interplay. We use the information for better prevention of cardiometabolic diseases in the community. If you are a MSc graduates (with upper second class degree or higher) in the relevant field to the above research area, please contact Dr Raha Pazoki (raha.pazoki@brunel.ac.uk). Postgraduate fees and funding | Brunel University London or Scholarships and Bursaries | Brunel University London and Other funding | Brunel University London
Professor Subhash Pokhrel Professor Subhash Pokhrel
Email Professor Subhash Pokhrel Professor - Public Health Economics
Subhash Pokhrel, PhD is a professor of health economics and the Lead, Health Economics Research Group (HERG). Most recently, he was the Head of Department of Health Sciences (2018-2023), an academic department comprising allied health professions, nursing, social work, health economics and public health. Prior to that, he was the Founding Divisional Lead of (now) the Division of Global Public Health (2016-18). From 2013-16, he developed and led a large-scale, multi-country (n11), multi-disciplinary research project, EQUIPT, providing European policymakers with the decision-support evidence and tools around tobacco control. In addition to the UK and EU, Subhash has research experience in several low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) including Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Brazil and Indonesia. Working together with the World Health Organisation, Subhash co-designed and is currently leading the implementation of the WHO-Brunel Framework Agreement to strengthen National Health Research Systems (NHRSs), particularly in LMICs. Subhash's research is focussed on two complementary themes: supporting 'health systems' to deliver efficient healthcare as well as strengthening 'health research systems' to support more research into healthcare. As such, his research has contributed to several public health policies. The two REF2021 impact case studies - Supporting tobacco control decision making for improved health and economic productivity and Informing policies and debates on breastfeeding promotion describe Subhash's approach to developing a programme of research and generate significant impact from them. His learning about how researchers can engage with and support goverments and wider stakeholders to make investment decisions in public health is underpinned by his and colleagues' earlier work around the suite of NICE Public Health ROI Tools. These ROI tools provided the basis for many public health investment decisions in England and were informed by the work on tobacco control led by Subhash. The ROI tools are practical, customisable models to help make real-world decisions in context of local, regional and national government decision-making. Economic arguments are needed to make the business case for public health investments. Subhash led the roll out of ROI work to several European nations through a €2 million multi-centre European Commission funded study, EQUIPT. He has been the coordinator of a large scale inter-disciplinary collaboration of national and international expertise. Subhash is the lead author of a book, ROI in Public Health Policy: Supporting Decision Making (Palgrave Macmillan). Subhash’s work in public health research has been as diverse as the discipline itself – from developing a household decision making pathway for child health care in low- and middle income countries (LMICs) to quantifying the economic impact of breastfeeding promotion in industrialised countries; from evaluating health insurance for its population health impact in LMICs to finding out what interventions could improve physical activity globally. His doctoral researchers have investigated whether integrated care models, particularly in a local area in England, are effective; what determines obesity in West Africa and particularly the role of physical activity and dietary habits to reduce obesity among adults in Ghana; and what the correlates of COVID-19 hospitalisations and long-COVID in Ghana were. His visiting student from Sri Lanka has investigated the economics of physical activity in LMICs. Such research evidence, particularly in LMICs, is key to developing and evaluating public health measures for their value for money. Subhash is intrigued not only by "health systems" questions (e.g. In LMICs and industrialised countries, what works to improve population health outcomes and at what cost?) but also by "health research systems" questions. Subhash worked with the WHO Euro to review the evidence on policies, interventions and tools for establishing and/or strengthening national health research systems and their effectiveness. In particular, Subhash and colleagues have investigated the extent of integration of research (particularly economic evaluations) into policymaking in Spain and what implications the Spanish experience could have globally for strenthening both systems. As a member of various external committees (NICE Technology Appraisal, NIHR PGfAHR and SPI-B), Subhash has contributed to decision making processes around funding of medical technologies, research in applied health, and behavioural measures to tackle public health emergencies. Google Profile Orcid Profile ResearchGate BURA Profile Methods: Health economics; Economic evaluations; Return on Investment (ROI) analysis; Systematic reviews; Econometric/statistical analyses; Observational studies using large datasets Topics: Cost-effectiveness of healthcare interventions; Understanding behaviour change; Smoking cessation and tobacco control; Breastfeeding promotion; Physical activity; Cross-context transferability of evidence; Global Health; development and strengthening of health research systems Countries: Europe (UK, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Hungary); Asia (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan); Africa (Burkina Faso, Ghana); Latin America (Brazil) Book: ROI in Public Health Policy: Supporting Decision Making (Palgrave Macmillan) MSc Public Health and Health Promotion (Brunel University London) MSc Genomic Medicine (Imperial College London): Ex-Module Lead for Economic Evaluation in Human Genomics Supervision: PhD in health economics PhD in public health and health promotion Subhash welcomes applications from prospective PhD students. Please email him a 4-page outline of your PhD project idea, describing: (i) the critical knowledge gaps; (ii) potential sources of data; and (iii) your approach to analysis. Your project is expected to answer one of the following two questions (please adapt them to your own specific needs): In LMICs and industrialised countries, what (policies, interventions and tools) works to improve population health outcomes and at what costs? In LMICs and industrialised countries, what (policies, interventions and tools) works to develop or strengthen national health research systems and at what costs? The following is a list of indicative topic areas for potential PhD students: Return on Investment modelling in public health Cross-context Transferability of economic evidence Understanding pathways from health behaviour change (e.g. stopping to smoke) to QALYs and cost-savings Return on investment from stakeholder engagement in research Return on investment from knowledge translation (i.e. filling the 'knowledge-to-action' gaps) Cost-effectiveness of initiatives targetted at strengthening national health research systems Potential candidates are encouraged to approach Subhash on Subhash.Pokhrel@brunel.ac.uk or 01895 268745. They are also encouraged to read more information about research at HERG. It is important to note that your email request may not be attended to if your potential PhD project does not address the above two questions or is not related to one of the above indicative topic areas. So, please do consider carefully the above scope before contacting Subhash.
Dr Gabriella Spinelli Dr Gabriella Spinelli
Email Dr Gabriella Spinelli Reader - Innovation Management
Dr Spinelli researches and explores resilience as the outcome of the interplay between technology, health and wellbeing, and communities. With a background in Computer Science and Information Systems, she analyses, evaluates, and redesigns complex systems and products from technology platforms enabling civic participation and community development to medical products to improve care outcomes, patients’ experience, and sustainable healthcare. Through a socio-technical approach Dr Spinelli focuses on the development of innovative technology and products that are intuitive and effective by supporting people in representing, and processing information, to make decisions and execute tasks. She is an international expert in participatory design engineering methods that enable consensus creation early in the innovation cycle, leading to design interventions that are understood, supported by shared values and more likely to be adopted. She has delivered against large multidisciplinary projects funded by several UK and international research councils, adopting a people-centred ethos to ensure research integrity and inclusion. In 2016, together with late Professor Heinz Wolff, she funded Give and Take Care, a Community Interest Company that received in excess of £1M funds to rethink social care models in communities. Dr Spinelli teaches Human Factors, and she leads a collaborative design engineering programme, Design for Health and Wellbeing, with the NHS. This programme has generated more than 60 new clinical products that have attracted awards, grants and investments. Dr Spinelli has several responsibilities outside the University. She is a member of Home Office Scientific Advisory Council (HOSAC), a member of the EPSRC Peer Review College, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine ( FRSM) and of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA), and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Resiliance, Community development, Grassroots movements Complementary Currency Systems People-centred design and Codesign Design for Health and Wellbeing Care and Ageing in Place
Professor Michael Wayne Professor Michael Wayne Michael has been an academic most of his working life. In part this is because studying film at the North London Polytechnic in the mid-1980s was a revelation to him in so far as it simultaneously provided not just an education in film but a political framework with which to understand the world around him. That connection between the study of a medium as a medium through which to learn about the world, remains central to his work as a teacher and researcher. I am interested in popular film and alternative political film traditions (especially Third Cinema), media studies and film production. I main methodological tools for approaching film and media is through the rich and complex history of Marxism. I am especially interested in the cultural questions that Marxism helps us to pose and the links between culture, politics and education (in the broad sense of everyday learning and reflection). I have also made three feature length documentary films. Marxist cultural theory Cultural political economy Popular British and contemporary Hollywood film Alternative political filmmaking cultures and practices Media and political communications Professor Wayne is currently the Convenor of the MA in Media and Public Relations. He has taught film and media studies widely in his career and has also made a number of documentary feature films, He was for eleven years the Convenor of the MA in Documentary Practice at Brunel. He brings extensive experience of integrating theory and practical skills to his teaching.

Members

Professor Nana Anokye Professor Nana Anokye
Email Professor Nana Anokye Divisional Lead / Professor - Health Economics
Nana is the Director of Division of Global Public Health at the Department of Health Sciences within the College of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences. Nana's work on Economics of Physical Activity has been used by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to formulate three national public health guidelines on exercise referral schemes, and brief advice for adults in primary care. He has quantified how time and money prices influence behaviour change. Having won the Walduck Prize for Research Impact, Nana’s work further secured prestigious UK Department of Health funding to conduct the first ever English general population survey on the economics of physical activity. His interests in public health are wide-ranging. How primary care can improve health outcomes; whether financial incentives improve maternal and child health; and what the link between shopping vouchers and breastfeeding may be, are some of the public health questions Nana is keen to answer. As an ardent gym goer himself, his quest for knowledge led him to investigate whether physical activity was any more independent from sedentary behaviour. Nana is Chair of ISPAH LMIC Council and a member of the Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF) College of Experts. As Institute of Leadership and Management certified coach and mentor and a former broadcast journalist, Nana is passionate about communicating research and supporting research careers through podcasts – the Research Life, which he co-founded with colleagues. Nana has a PhD in Health Economics (Brunel), an MSc in Environmental Resources Management from Brandenburg University of Technology (Germany) and, a BA in Economics and Sociology from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana). Google Profile ResearchGate Orcid LinkedIn Nana’s research is an integral part of the Economics of Public Health work programme at HERG. His research interest covers addressing methodological challenges in understanding why (and how) people make decisions on behaviour change, with a view to informing the design of public health interventions and methods for assessing the value for money of such interventions. His work has involved collaborations with public health professionals, clinicians and health service researchers at Universities of Sydney, Sao Paolo, Exeter, Oxford, Sheffield, St. George’s, London, the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), and policy makers at National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and Department of Health. Google Profile ResearchGate Orcid LinkedIn Nana is the Module Lead (Dissertations) and Coordinator of Academic Development Workshops for Msc Public Health and Health Promotion. He teaches costing in economic evaluation for: MSc Genomic Medicine (Imperial College London): Economic Evaluation in Human Genomics; Short course in Economic Evaluation in Health Care, Brunel University London Nana has taught at all stages of education including the primary, secondary, undergraduate, postgraduate and professional (including public health practitioners, health economists, and clinicians) levels. He has taught in both UK and overseas (Africa).
Professor Nicola Ansell Professor Nicola Ansell
Email Professor Nicola Ansell Professor - Human Geography
Since I arrived at Brunel in 1999, my interests have focused on social and cultural change in the lives of young people in the Global South (particularly southern Africa). I have researched the impacts of AIDS on young people’s migration; how education sectors are adjusting to the needs of AIDS-affected young people; and the impacts of AIDS on young people’s current livelihoods and future food security. Recently, I have completed two research projects. The first examines the impacts of social cash transfers (for instance old age pensions and child grants) on generational relations in Malawi and Lesotho. The second investigates links between education and aspiration in remote rural areas of Lesotho, Laos and India. I have also authored a book on Children, youth and development (second edition published 2016) and launched an MA programme on Children, Youth and International Development. Social and cultural change in the lives of young people in the Global South (particularly in southern Africa); politics and impacts of global policy agendas (particularly in the areas of education, children’s rights and social protection); geographies of youth and childhood; scalar politics; participatory research. Teaching Responsibilities: Programme convenor: MA Children, Youth and International Development Module convenor: Understanding Childhood and Youth (PG) Researching Children, Childhood and Youth (PG) Applied Learning for Children, Youth and International Development (PG) Dissertation, Children, Youth and International Development (PG)
Dr Daniel Bailey Dr Daniel Bailey
Email Dr Daniel Bailey Senior Lecturer in Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences
Dr Daniel Bailey is a Senior Lecturer in Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences in the Division of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences, Department of Life Sciences. He is Co-Director of the Centre for Physical Activity in Health and Disease after previously establishing and leading the Sedentary Behaviour, Health and Disease Research Group. Dr Bailey's research investigates the relationship between sedentary behaviour and chronic health conditions, with a particular focus on non-communicable disease. This research includes the epidemiology of sedentary behaviour and associations with non-communicable disease risks, controlled laboratory studies examining the acute effects of breaking up prolonged sitting on cardiometabolic biomarkers, and the development and evaluation of interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour and increase physical activity in a range of population groups at risk of adverse health such as people with Type 2 diabetes, office workers, individuals with a spinal cord injury, and older adults with frailty. Dr Bailey has been awarded multiple research grants from funding bodies and industry partners to support his research and has published a large number of research articles in his field of research. He has delivered multiple conference presentations and invited talks across the UK and Europe and was Technical Advisor for the Qatar National Physical Activity Guidelines 2nd edition, 2021. Dr Bailey is Deputy Chair of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) Physical Activity for Health Division and is a member of the BASES conference planning group. Dr Bailey was also a member of the scientific global leadershop committee for the 8th International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) Congress. Dr Bailey has a wealth of experience teaching physical activity, sedentary behaviour and health topics at undergraduate and postgraduate level and uses innovative teaching approaches in his practice including research-informed teaching, bleneded and authentic learning, and flipped classrooms. Dr Bailey's research investigates the relationship between sedentary behaviour and chronic health conditions with examples being cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, sarcopenia and mental ill-health. His research has spanned from the epidemiological analyses of sedentary behaviour and chronic disease risk, laboratory-based studies examining the benefits of breaking up prolonged sitting time on markers of health to provide proof-of-concept, leading to the development and evaluation of interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour. Dr Bailey has established an interdisciplinary and multi-institutional network of collaborators to deliver this programme of research. His research has been conducted in a range of population groups and settings, including young people, workplaces, people with Type 2 diabetes, spinal cord injury, older adults with frailty and sarcopenia, cardiac rehabilitation patients and police officers. This has been facilitated with his external partners such as local councils, the NHS, police forces, health charities and community organisations. Dr Bailey’s research has shown that high amounts of daily sitting time are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, regardless of how much physical activity people engage in. He has also published a large number of studies showing that regularly breaking up sitting time with short, frequent bouts of light, moderate or high-intensity physical activity leads to improvements in a range of metabolic biomarkers including blood glucose, lipid levels and blood pressure. His first laboratory based study published in 2014 was the first to show postprandial glucose attenuation in response to breaking up sitting time with light-intensity walking in young healthy adults. This paper has received over 340 citations on google scholar as of February 2022. Dr Bailey has led successful research grant applications to various funding bodies to support his research, such as: MPS Society, Physical activity and sedentary behaviour in the enhancement of mental health and quality of life in Fabry disease, £84,007. Diabetes UK, A tailored intervention to reduce sitting behaviour in people with Type 2 Diabetes: A randomised-controlled feasibility study, £137,510. Abbeyfield Research Foundation, Reducing sarcopenia and maintaining independent living in frail older adults via reductions in sitting time: The Frail-LESS (LEss Sitting and Sarcopenia in Frail older adults) intervention, £73,247. Heart Research UK, The benefits of breaking up prolonged sedentary time on cardiovascular disease risk markers in people with spinal cord injury, £86,434. He has also supervised a number of PhD students to completion in addition to supervising current PhD students studying in fields related to physical activity, sedentary behaviour and long-term health conditions.
Professor Felicity Gavins Professor Felicity Gavins
Email Professor Felicity Gavins Professor - Pharmacology
Felicity read Pharmacology at the University of Sunderland, where she also embarked on an industrial placement year at Bayer Pharmaceuticals in Slough. After completing her BSc (Hons), she moved to London to study for a Ph.D. in Pharmacology at Queen Mary University London, supported by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). Felicity was then awarded a BHF Junior Research Fellowship to undertake further research both in the UK and the USA. In 2007 Felicity joined Imperial College London to take up a Lectureship position in the Centre for Integrative Mammalian Physiology and Pharmacology (CIMPP). This was shortly followed by a senior lectureship and the appointment to Deputy Head of The Centre of Neurodegeneration & Neuroinflammation. In 2013 she accepted an academic position in the USA at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport (LSUHSC-S) and was appointed Director of The Small Animal Imaging Facility. Felicity is a Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society and of the Royal Society of Biology. She joined Brunel University London in August 2019 as Professor of Pharmacology and Royal Society Wolfson Fellow, and is the Director of The Centre for Inflammation Research and Translational Medicine (CIRTM). Throughout her academic career, Felicity has worked with and served on numerous national and international research councils, medical charities and learned societies. She has published widely in her field and received a number of awards and honours for her work. She has received funding for her research from a range of funders including: the Royal Society and the Wolfson Foundation (RSWF), the British Heart Foundation (BHF), the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH/NHLBI). Felicity continues to be actively involved in public and patient organizations which has been immensely instructive for her research. She is also dedicated to promoting mentoring and collaborative research, along with facilitating mentoring of post-doctoral fellows/early-career investigators. Inflammation Thrombosis (arterial and venous) Resolution of inflammation Immune mediated responses in normal and pathological conditions Neutrophil-Platelet interactions Ischaemia reperfusion injury (I/RI) Healthy ageing Formyl Peptide Receptors (FPRs) Annexin A1 Biology Sickle Cell Disease Inflammation in Cancer Pre-clinical imaging Drug discovery and resolution biologics Novel drug delivery systems e.g Nanocarriers The principle focus of my research is elucidate and understand the complex roles played by immune cells in vascular inflammation and thrombosis. The aim of my research it to design tailored next generation therapeutics for inflammatory pathologies that temper inflammation and enhance resolution. Within the continuum of an inflammatory response, the objective of my research is to study the role of the microvasculature as a dynamic-interface between circulating blood cells and immune cells (such as neutrophils and platelets) and tissue. My lab focuses on how circulating cells communicate, adhere and migrate across the endothelium and the pathways by which these circulating and resident cells can render systemic inflammatory responses and alter local inflammatory and thrombotic states. By targeting the pathophysiology of endogenous pro-resolving pathways such as the Annexin A1-Formyl Peptide Receptor (AnxA1-FPR) pathway, we hope to identify novel and innovative anti-inflammatory therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerbrovascular diseas The research in my laboratory crosses the boundaries between Integrative physiology and pharmacology and uses multidisciplinary approaches to advance understanding of the vascular physiology and pathophysiology of inflammatory and related disorders, at the molecular, cellular, tissue and whole organism levels. To achieve this goal, we use a technological toolbox compromising of various experimental in-silico, in-vitro and in-vivo systems and advanced imaging modalities (including confocal intravital microscopy, magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]; positron emission tomography [PET], and in-vivo imaging systems [IVIS]), coupled with multi-omics approaches to dissect the contribution of neutrophils and platelets in inflammation, thrombosis and vascular dysfunction. Development of research students and post-doctoral fellows/early career researchers. Dedicated to promoting mentoring and ensuring equality and diversity. Teaching Responsibilities: BB3091 Final Year Project (Block lead) BB5604 MSc Dissertation Research Project BB3802 Problem Solving and Data Analysis BB3801 Scientific Communication BB2802 Primary literature interrogation & synthesis BB2803 Data Evaluation and Reporting BB2555 Work Placement BB1700 Tutoring BB2700 Tutoring BB3700 Tutoring
Dr Misia Gervis Dr Misia Gervis Misia gained a degree in Psychology in London, and then went on to study in America to gain her masters in Sport Psychology. She completed her PhD at Brunel which examined the issue of emotional abuse in children’s sport. Misia has been a member of the College for many years and was commended on her teaching ability by receiving the Vice Chancellors Teaching Excellence Award 2003. Misia has been an active sports psychologist for many years; she was a founder member of the British Olympic Association Psychology Advisory Group. She has worked with many international athletes and coaches from a variety of sports in her capacity as sports psychologist. This has included working with National Governing Bodies and attending World Championships in a number of sports. She was also an international gymnastics coach and has represented her country on numerous occasions in this capacity, including World and European Championships. Misia was appointed by The Football Association in July 2002 as a psychology consultant with specific remit to develop sports psychology through coach education. Currently, several courses are running as part of the FA learning programme, she has also taught on the prestigious Pro Licence. Misia was the sport psychologist to the women’s senior national team football and accompanied them to the World Cup in 2007 and the European championship 2009 where they were runners up in the final. More recently she has developed bespoke sport psychology programmes within the men’s professional game as well as being immersed in a pro club working with players, coaches and managers. She is also currently providing psychological support for a number of international athletes in a variety of sports. Misia has been involved in coach education for many years, and has been instrumental in developing undergraduate and postgraduate courses in coaching and sport psychology at Brunel University London. Misia mainly teaches on the postgraduate programme focusing on the applied aspects of sport psychology and athlete welfare. . Misia primarily teaches on the postgraduate programme, specifically delivering on the BPS accredited programme. She is also supervising a number of stage II trainee sport psychologists as they prepare to become accredited practitioners. Misia is committed to enhancing the coaching process and the coaching experience for athletes. Currently she is researching into the emotional abuse of elite child athletes by their coaches, and through this work takes an active role in the Child protection in Sport Unit as a member of their Research and Evidence Advisory Group. She is currently working within BASES to prepare the expert statement on safeguarding in sport. Examples of media coverage www.telegraph.co.uk/.../World-Cup-2010-Fabio-Capellos-new-thinking-could-finally-shrink-Englands-inhibitions.html www.telegraph.co.uk/.../World-Cup-2010-Gordon-Banks-admits-to-Wayne-Rooney-fears.html www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/.../Mum-the-football-hooligan.html www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/.../article2138937.ece www.news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/english/3241024.stm Current areas of interest: Issues relating to child athlete welfare within sport, explicitly exploring emotional abuse and mental toughness. Understanding eating disorders and disordered eating in elite athletes Implementation of positive psychological principles to enhance emotional resilience in young athletes, in particular in football Development of a Psychological Treatment Plan for long-term injured players
Professor Vassil Girginov Professor Vassil Girginov
Email Professor Vassil Girginov Professor - Sport Sciences
Dr Vassil Girginov is Professor in Sport Management/Development. Previously he has worked as advisor to the Chairman of the Bulgarian Sports Union, on the Sofia bids for the Winter Olympic Games and in higher education institutions in Bulgaria and Canada. He has been researching the sports development legacy of the 2012 London Olympic Games and the relationship between the culture of national sports governing bodies and participation in sport. Vassil is the editor of the two volume collection on the London 2012 Games published by Routledge, and is also an Executive Editor of the 2012 Routledge Special Olympic Journals Issue that involves some 40 journals from a range of academic disciplines. Vassil’s current research projects include: ‘Creation and transfer of knowledge within the Sochi Organizing Committee of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games’ (supported by the Russian International Olympic University), and ‘UK National Governing Bodies of sport leveraging of the London Olympics for capacity building’. His research interests, publications and industry experience are in the field of Olympic movement, sport development, comparative management and policy analysis. His most recent books include Sport Management Cultures (Routledge, 2011), The Olympics: A Critical Reader (Routledge, 2010), Management of Sports Development, (Elsevier, 2008), The Olympic Games Explained (Routledge, 2005, the book has been translated in 5 languages) and Handbook of the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games (Vol. 1 & 2 - 2012-3). Dr Girginov is Visiting Professor at the Russian International Olympic University, the University of Johannesburg and the KU Leuven. Professor Girginov is the President of the European Association for Sport Management. Over the past several years I have developed a focused research and knowledge transfer programme that uses the Olympic Games as a vehicle for studying a range of social phenomena. In particular, I have pursued two interrelated research strands concerned with culture and sport management, and management of sports development. The former line of research is fundamental for understanding everything we do in sport business including leadership, organisational behaviour, marketing and communications. The latter research concerns the relationship between visions of sports development, personal and organisational change, and delivery of programmes in various contexts including the Olympics. My main research areas include policy analysis and governance, management of sports development, and the relationship between culture and management. I teach level one 'Introduction to the Social Sciences of Sport', level three 'Management of Sport Development' and the joint sport-business honors synoptic assessment across level one, two and three.
Dr Tarryn Godfrey Dr Tarryn Godfrey
Email Dr Tarryn Godfrey Lecturer in Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences
Third Sector Sports Organisations (TSSOs); organisational capacity; organisational viability/sustainability; capacity building Sports management and development; sports psychology Tarryn is the Module Lead for the following units: SP1609 - Sport Development Issues and Policy SP2707 - Delivery of Sports Development SP3814 - Sports Development Synoptic Assessment Tarryn contributes to the following units: SP2702: Physical Activity, Health and Well-being in the Lifecourse SP2555: Work PlacementSP3700/3800: Major Project Tarryn is a personal tutor to Level 4 students in 2020/21.
Dr Yohai Hakak Dr Yohai Hakak
Email Dr Yohai Hakak Senior Lecturer in Social Work
Dr Yohai Hakak joined Brunel in September 2014. Dr. Hakak's practice experience is in mental health social work. His areas of research interests are migration, embodiment, parenting, risk-perception, youth, religion, gender and mental health and the connection of these areas with social work. Dr Hakak published in these areas numerous articles. His last manuscript titled Haredi Masculinities between the Yeshiva, the Army, Work and Politics: The Sage, the Warrior and the Entrepreneur was an ethnographic study of Jewish Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) young men in Israel. It was published by Brill in 2016. The outcomes of Yohai’s academic work included also several award-winning documentary films. Yohai is interested in supervising students in the following areas and in relation to social work: Migration Embodiment Religious minorities Masculine identities Mental health Risk and its perception Mixed couples Yohai's current areas of research interest are: Embodiment in Academic and Professional Practice | Brunel University London The migration of professionals Mixed families Religious minorities Mental health State power
Dr Laura Hills Dr Laura Hills
Email Dr Laura Hills Divisional Lead / Reader in SHES
Laura is the Division Lead for Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences. My research has always focus on sporting inequalities with particular attention to gender and, more recently, social disadvantage. I have conducted a number of evaluations with charities exploring how to engage girls and women in sport and understanding how sporting opportunities can best lead to positive outcomes for young people. I have an ongoing project with the Football Association exploring mixed gender football policy and recently completed a project evaluating Street League's sport and employability programme. Sport and social change Sporting inequalities - especially gender Mediated sport Engaging young people from diverse backgrounds in sport Qualitative research Sociology of sport Laura is currently leading two modules that she developed based on socio-cultural understandings of sport. Young people, Sport and Identity The module aims to: Provide an understanding of sociological theories of identity and how they can be used to help understand young people’s sporting experiences. The module explores the relationship between identity and inequality, links identity in sport and physical education to broader social contexts; and, consider the relevance of the politics of difference and identity to different sporting and (physical) educational contexts. In this module, students conduct an analysis of the representation of young people and sport in film. Media, Sport and Society This module aims to: Increase students’ understanding of contemporary social theories and their application to sport; Develop students ability to critically analyse social and cultural discourses and practices; Enhance students’ appreciation of different theoretical perspectives; to consider and evaluate possibilities for social change. Part of this module is taught with the Brunel University London Media Production Centre. In the first part of the module students’ explore sociological issues and theories and use them to conduct semiotic and discourse analyse of a sports film. In the second part of the module students create a video based on a contemporary controversial issue in sport. This includes access to industry standard equipment and training in camera work and editing using Final Cut Pro.
Dr Rebecca Hings Dr Rebecca Hings
Email Dr Rebecca Hings Lecturer in Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences
Dr Rebecca Hings is a Lecturer in Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences (Psychology) in the Division of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences, Department of Life Sciences at Brunel University London. Beckie is an active member of the Welfare, Health and Wellbeing theme in the Institute of Environment, Health and Societies. Beckie joined the university shortly after defending her PhD thesis at the University of Portsmouth in November 2018. Beckie's doctoral research focused on examining how and why sports medicine and science practitioners manage their emotions when interacting with clients as part of their professional practice. During her PhD, Beckie joined the University of Birmingham as a Research Planning Officer and contributed to the development of REF Impact Case Studies in medicine, clinical sciences, and life and environmental sciences. Beckie is a member of the international Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology Development and Training research group that focuses on advancing the practice of future and existing professionals through evidence-based education and training. Beckie is a member of the Welfare, Health and Wellbeing research theme in the Insitute of Environment, Health and Societies at Brunel University London. Using a psychosocial approach, her research aims to advance knowledge in three complementary areas: (1) employee emotions, (2) stress and wellbeing, and (3) professional formation. Emotional labour Mental health and wellbeing at work Professions Professional development and continuing education Beckie is Module Lead for the following units: SP2706 Research and Learning Skills II SP2812 Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences Synoptic Assessment SP5535 Social Processes in Exercise and Sport Beckie contributes to the following units: SP3713 Employability and Professional Development SP3700 Major Project SP2713 Work-Based Learning SP2555 Work Placements SP5530 MSc Dissertation Beckie is a Personal Tutor to Level 2 students.
Professor Kate Hoskins Professor Kate Hoskins
Email Professor Kate Hoskins Professor of Education
Kate is a Professor in Education with a focus on policy. Her research interests rest on the intersections between education and social policy, identity and inequalities in relation to early years, further and higher education. Her recent funded project with Professor Alice Bradbury examined the role of nursery schools in reducing the impact of socio-economic disadvantage in the early years sector. The findings confirm these settings are working in a hostile policy context and yet to the families they support, they are a frontline service, compensating for growing gaps in social welfare in the UK. She has published on inequalities in ECEC, with a focus on the role of policy in exacerbating these. Kate's most recent research on social mobility with Professor Bernard Barker examines the role of the family in intra and inter-generational social movement. They take a unique genealogical approach to researching social mobility, using a university chemistry department as a case study to explore participants’ motives for pursuing a STEM undergraduate degree and the influences that have shaped them. Kate has recently completed a British Academy funded research project with Professor Marie-Pierre Moreau and Dr Ellen McHugh to examine the precarious transitions undertaken by doctoral researchers negotiating the shift to an academic post. Education policy, early years, social mobility, identities, inequalities and social justice. My expertise lies in three areas of research: a) comparative social and education policy, b) equalities and c) social justice. I am particularly interested in the intersection of these areas in early years settings, further and higher education. In a number of projects with Early Years practitioners I have explored their constructions and perceptions of their professional identities with a focus on their education pathways and training experiences. Projects funded by the Froebel Trust have involved life history interviews with Early Years Teachers. This work has provided policy recommendations for the early years sector with a focus on improving social justice and addressing equality issues for women working with young children who are a marginalized group. I have a long-standing interest (theoretically and empirically) with critical, comparative social and education policy analysis that started when I was a member of the ‘Policy enactments in the secondary school’ (RES-062-23-1484) ESRC project (Ball and Maguire) for four years. This policy study compared the teaching and enactment of mathematics, science and English as well as behaviour and personalisation in four secondary schools, analysing the difference in enactments in each school. We spent a great deal of time working from the data to construct a theoretically robust account of policy enactment, which I have subsequently exported to my own projects on social mobility and early years. My scholarship on social mobility policy has culminated in analysis of school-based policies in England aimed at improving intragenerational progression. My work has provided methodological innovation through advancing a genealogical, qualitative approach to examine individual, group and family employment trajectories, and making sense of these in terms of stratified occupations over time and across generations. My publications in this area combine and connect arguments for social mobility within a critical comparative policy analysis frame that recognises the differences between local, regional and national labour markets. I convene and teach a year 3 BA Education module 'Growing up in 21st Century Britain' and a year 1 study block 'Education and Society'. I supervise BA and MA Education students on a range of topics related to education studies. I teach on the EdDoc programme and contribute sessions on, for example, policy analysis and policy report writing. I supervise PhD students on topics including education policy analysis, identities, inequalities and higher education.
Dr Emily Hunt Dr Emily Hunt
Email Dr Emily Hunt Lecturer in Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences
Emily Hunt joined Brunel University London in January 2019 as a Lecturer in Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences (Psychology). Emily completed her PhD at Loughborough University, completing in July 2021. The focus of Emily's PhD was narrative behaviour change and well-being, specifically exploring the power of stories as a means to promote physical activity for people with arthritis. Most recently, Emily's research has focused on utilising digital storytelling as a means to explore experiences of living with multiple long-term conditions and chronic disease. Emily is a member of the Centre for Physical Activity in Health and Disease, the Centre for Health and Wellbeing across the Lifecourse and contributes to the Health Behaviour Change Research Group. Emily's research interests are grounded in understanding experiences of sport, exercise and physical activity for people living with chronic health conditions, such as multiple long-term conditions, arthritis, diabetes and chronic pain. To explore these topics, Emily utilises qualitative and narrative research methods (semi-structured interviewing, focus groups, life story interviews, narrative interviews, digital storytelling) and various forms of qualitative and narrative analysis. Physical activity, health and wellbeing Health and Exercise Psychology Chronic disease and/or multiple long-term conditions (e.g. arthritis, diabetes, chronic pain) Digital storytelling Qualitative and narrative methods Emily contributes to teaching on the following modules and study blocks: SP1602/SP1610 Introduction to Physical Activity, Health and Wellbeing (Module Leader) SP1706 Introduction to Research Methods and Data Analysis SP2603 Physical Activity, Health and Wellbeing in the Lifecourse SP3602-SP3706 Applied Sport and Exercise Pscyhology SP3600 Final Year Project (Dissertation supervision) SP5508 Research Methods and Data Analysis SP5530 Dissertation (MSc) SP5601 Physical Activity and Health
Dr Ayana Horton Dr Ayana Horton
Email Dr Ayana Horton Lecturer in Occupational Therapy
Ayana Horton earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Wayne State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in occupational therapy from Western Michigan University, both universities are the USA. Her current position is as a lecturer of occupational therapy. She is also the coordinator of the Occupational Therapy Department’s program for study abroad. Prior to accepting the lecturing post, Ayana worked as an occupational therapist working with clients who have physical/neurological disabilities in community, acute, in-patient, and outpatient rehabilitation settings.Qualifications: Master of Business Administration Currently a PhD. student at University of Manchester School of Business Teaching Responsibilities: Currently teaching on HH1113, HH1115, HH2109, HH3164
Professor Meredith Jones Professor Meredith Jones
Email Professor Meredith Jones Professor / Director of Research Institute - (ICS)
Professor Jones is Director of the pan-university Institute for Communities and Society. Meredith is a transdisciplinary scholar who works at the intersections of feminist theories of the body with media, gender, and cultural studies. She is particularly interested in popular culture, visuality, and embodiment, and has published widely in these areas. Her latest edited volume, Performing the Penis: Phalluses in 21st Century Cultures (with Evelyn Callahan) comprehensively introduces the emerging discipline of Penis Studies. She is currently working on a monograph about vulvas and on a yearbook about genital transformations in media and culture. Beautyscapes: Mapping Cosmetic Surgery Tourism (written with Ruth Holliday and David Bell) won the 2020 Foundation for Sociology of Health and Illness Prize. This book is based on extensive fieldwork carried out in Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Tunisia, Spain, and Czech Republic. It also comprises digital research into cosmetic surgery websites and cosmetic surgery communities on social media. Skintight: An Anatomy of Cosmetic Surgery, Meredith's first monograph, is a widely-cited foundational text in studies of makeover culture, cosmetic surgery and feminist theories of the body. Her other books include a major collection of feminist writing about cosmetic surgery that she co-edited with philosopher Cressida Heyes, Cosmetic Surgery: A Feminist Primer. She often speaks publicly about social media, popular culture and feminism, and is an expert on the socio-cultural aspects of the Kardashians. She hosted a scholarly Kimposium! in 2015 and Kimposium! The Sequel was held in September 2021. Meredith is active in the creative industries and founded the Trunk series of books with artist and designer Suzanne Boccalatte, which includes curated collections of artworks and essays about Hair and Blood. Currently she is collaborating with Taylor & Francis Group to deliver a series of projects around new and innovative modes of publishing. The goal is to develop more digitally relevant, flexible, inclusive and faster ways of publishing for academics as well as community, industry, and NGO groups. Qualifications PhD in Cultural Studies, University of Western Sydney, 2006 BA Hons. in Women's Studies, 1st Class, University of Sydney, 1998 Meredith's work is in the broad fields of Feminist Theory, Cultural Studies, Gender Studies, and Cultural Sociology. She has researched and written about cosmetic surgery and other body modifications for more than two decades. Her book Skintight: An Anatomy of Cosmetic Surgery is a key text in feminist thinking about makeover culture, bodies, and media. In Sun, Sea, Sand and Silicone, an international ESRC funded research project that explored the phenomenon of Cosmetic Surgery Tourism, Meredith and a team of academics from Australia and the UK followed people from the UK, Australia and China who went to Thailand, Malaysia, Tunisia and South Korea seeking cosmetic surgery. The book based on this project, Beautyscapes: Mapping Cosmetic Surgery Tourism, won the 2020 Foundation for Sociology of Health and Illness Prize. Meredith is the editor of the Routledge series Gender, Bodies and Transformation. She welcomes proposals for the series. Animal/Human Studies, Body Modifications, especially Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery, Cultural Studies, Digital Studies, Embodiment, Fashion Theory, Feminist Theories of the Body, Gender Studies, Media Studies, Popular Culture, Trans Studies, Visual Studies
Professor Veena Kumari Professor Veena Kumari
Email Professor Veena Kumari Professor - Psychology
Professor Veena Kumari obtained a PhD in Psychology from Banaras Hindu University, India in 1993 prior to joining the Institute of Psychiatry, London for post-doctoral research. She became a Beit Memorial Research Fellow in 1999, a Wellcome Senior Fellow in Basic Biomedical Science in 2002, and a Full Professor in 2006 at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (formerly known as the Institute of Psychiatry), King’s College London, UK. She left King’s College London in 2016 to join the Sovereign Health Group (USA) as the Chief Scientific Officer and returned to the UK in 2018 to join Brunel University London as Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience (CCN). Her research interests include the neurobiological effects of pharmacological and psychological treatments in psychosis, neurobiology of violence in mental illness, psychobiology of addiction, and personality and brain functioning. Prof Kumari has over 250 publications in reputed psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience journals and received various national and international awards for her research including the Young Investigator Award from the National Alliance of Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, USA (1999), research fellowship from BEIT Memorial Foundation (1999-2002), the BAP (British Association of Psychopharmacology) Clinical Psychopharmacology Prize (2002), Wellcome Senior Fellowship in Basic Biomedical Science (2002-2009), the prestigious Humboldt Research Award (2014), and most recently a Bonn International Fellowship (2020). Professor Kumari has supervised a large number of post-graduate and doctoral students and served in editor or editorial board member roles for a number of psychology and psychiatry journals. Cognitive and affective deficits in schizophrenia and personality disorders Neurobiological effects and predictors of outcome following drug and psychological treatments Neurobiology of violence and addiction Sleep deprivation and mental health Neuroscience of mindfulness Cognitive psychopharmacology, particularly the effects of psychostimulants, antipsychotics, nicotine and anxiolytics Neurobiology of sex and sexual-orientation related differences Personality neuroscience MSc Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience (starting Oct 2018) Module Lead for PY5618 - Cognitive Psychopharmacology and Addiction Module Lead for PY5616 - Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience - Core Topics
Dr Sushmita Mohapatra Dr Sushmita Mohapatra
Email Dr Sushmita Mohapatra HP Lecturer - Occupational Therapy & Community Nursing
Dr Mohapatra is a specialist Occupational therapist with expertise in Stroke and Neuro rehabilitation. She is a Fellow in HEA; her Doctorate was funded by the LifeCycle-3 from University of Nottingham and focused on recovery and rehabilitation of survivors of severe disabilities after stroke, including decision making for rehabilitation care provision and carergiver's experience. Sushmita joined Brunel University in 2019 as a Lecturer in the College of Health and Life Sciences. Previous to Brunel, she was a Clinical lead Therapist at Kings College Hospital, London and a Specialist Advisor for Care Quality Commission. She has experience in leading multi disciplinary rehabilitation care pathways, working across a broad range of complex neurological conditions within hospital, community and out patient setting both in public and private sectors. Sushmita is passionate about improving health care through innovative research and her area of research interest include mixed methods participatory design, co-design, user-centered design fousing on incorporating service users’ perspective to develop innovative clinical practice solutions in stroke and neurological rehabilitation. Recovery and rehabilitation of severe disability Upper limb rehabilitation Improving service delivery Stroke and Neuro rehabilitation
Dr Arthur Money Dr Arthur Money Dr Arthur G. Money is a Reader in the Department of Computer Science at Brunel University London, where he also received his MSc in Distributed Information Systems with distinction in 2001 and PhD in Multimedia Computing in 2007. Prior to embarking on a fully funded EPSRC PhD scholarship in 2004, he worked for Oracle UK Ltd as an e-Business Technology Consultant. Dr Money’s research focuses on the user-centred design, development and evaluation of multimedia computing systems and the effective deployment of these systems with users who have complex needs spanning a range of domains including older adults, healthcare, education, and defence. Multimedia Computing, Human-Computer Interaction, 3D Mobile Virtual Reality, Video Summarisation, Assistive Technologies for Health Care, Serious Games, Inclusive Access in HCI, Human Factors, User-Centred Design, Emotion and Affective Computing, e-Government and e-Inclusion. Module leader: CS1004 Information Systems and Organisations, Teaching Contributor: CS1701, Supervisor: CS1701 Level 1 Group Project Project, Supervisor: CS3072 & CS3074 Department of Computer Science Projects
Dr Emma Norris Dr Emma Norris
Email Dr Emma Norris Senior Lecturer in Public Health
Dr Emma Norris is a Senior Lecturer in Public Health, within the Department of Health Sciences and Co-Chair of the Health Behaviour Change Research Group. She is Deputy Lead of the Division of Global Public Health and Lead of MSc Public Health and Behaviour Change (online). Dr Norris is a researcher in behaviour change and health psychology, exploring evidence synthesis of behaviour change interventions, as well as development and assessment of physical activity, smoking cessation and digital interventions. Before joining Brunel, Dr Norris was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Behaviour Change at University College London working on the Human Behaviour-Change Project: synthesising published literature on behaviour change using machine learning and Artificial Intelligence. Dr Norris' PhD tested Virtual Field Trips as physically active lesson interventions for primary-school children. Dr Norris is also an advocate for Open Science. She established and Chairs Brunel's Open Research Working Group and is Brunel's UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) Local Network Lead. She is also interested in designing behaviour change interventions to facilitate Open Science behaviours in researchers. Dr Norris is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). She is Co-Chair of the European Health Psychology Society’s Open Science Special Interest Group. Emma is an Associate Editor for Health Psychology & Behavioral Medicine and Cogent Psychology. Follow Dr Norris' research and updates on Twitter: @EJ_Norris Behaviour change, Health psychology, Intervention development, Physical Activity, Evidence synthesis, Ontologies, Open Science, Meta-Science Dr Norris’ research investigates the development and evaluation of behaviour change interventions using a range of theory and methods. Emma explores evidence synthesis for health interventions and behaviour change, using meta-analyses, systematic reviews and innovative methods such as ontologies. Emma is also interested in increasing uptake of Open Science behaviours in researchers.
Professor Meriel Norris Professor Meriel Norris As a qualified physiotherapist (since 1993) I have worked in the UK, India and Indonesia specialising in neurorehabilitation. I completed an MA in Medical Anthropology in 2002 and PhD in 2009. My PhD topic brought together the fields of stroke, rehabilitation and anthropology by exploring the experience and health seeking behaviour following stroke in Aceh, Indonesia. I joined Brunel Univeristy London in 2009. A substantial part of my current post is to deliver expert and clinically relevant research-led teaching predominantly post-graduate courses. I am currently the programme lead for the MSc Advanced Clinical Practice, MSc Advanced Professional Practice and MSc Integrated ACP Apprenticeship programmes. I also lead three post-graduate modules. I have a strong international research profile and currently supervise seven post-graduate researchers. I have specialised in applied qualitative research methods and process evaluation of trials as well as clinical education. I have published over 60 articles in peer reviewed journals and present at national and international conferences. I am currently co-investigator in three large international trials and have held grants totaling more than £1.8 million over the last 10 years. I also act as the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion lead within my division. My main research interests are in stroke and neurorehabilitation more generally including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinsons and Cerebral Palsy. This includes the subjective experience, rehabilitation, and cultural influences on the therapeutic relationship. Research is based both in the UK and internationally. Methodologically my speciality is social sciences within clinical and educational research. I have a specific interest in creative methods and co-creation. My main research area is the application of qualitative research methodologies within neurorehabilitation and education. This includes development of innovative interventions, evaluation within clinical trials and understand the experience of living with long term conditions from the perspective of all stake-holders. I am a core member of the Centre for Health and Wellbeing across the Lifecourse, delivering masterclasses and contributing to the research festivals and have developed significant national and international collaborations. I have co-edited invited special topics and since 2019 attracted six new PGRs, five of which are fully funded with two on the ESRC DTP. Teaching Responsibilities: MSc Pre-reg Physiotherapy Co Module Lead - Research Methods Teach – Rehabilitation II Supervisor Research Dissertations MSc Advanced Clinical Practice, Advanced Professional Practice and Apprenticeship route Programme lead Module Lead PH5604 Qualitative Research in Health and Social Care Module Lead PH5645 End Point Assessment Module Lead PH5666 Advanced Practice Portfolio Contribute to PH5615, PH5629, PH5631 CPPD co-ordinator Supervisor MSc Dissertations Personal tutor Tripartite co-ordinator Other Teaching Responsibilities: PGR tutor qualitative research
Dr Annette Payne Dr Annette Payne Having gained a PhD in 1992 in Molecular Biology from the Royal Postgraduate Medical College, University of London I undertook two post doctorial positions; the first at the National Heart and Lung Institute, University of London researching the molecular biology of atherosclerosis, the second at The Institute of Ophthalmology, University of London researching the molecular genetics of retinal diseases, before joining Brunel University London Dept. of Bioscience in 2000. I have since transferred to the Department of Computer Science as my interest in computational biology grew. I have now additional research interests in technology and computer assisted learning, and the use of technology to monitor and manage medical conditions. I have over 100 peer reviewed publications many of them can be found on my Research Gate profile at These publications highly cited over 2000 times by other researchers (RG score of over 35 most months, and a ISI h-index of 31). I a Research Interest Score that is higher than 92% of researchers in my field. Disciplines Data Mining Human-computer Interaction Computing in Mathematics, Natural Science, Engineering and Medicine Bioinformatics Molecular Biology Systems Biology Skills and expertise Human Genetics Next Generation Sequencing Gene Expression Genomics Transcriptomics E-Learning Blended Learning TEL Synthetic Biology Bioinformatics and Computational Biology My research interests are divided into two areas: 1. Computational and systems biology, including machine learning, bioinformatics and medical informatics. 2. Technology assisted learning, including e-learning, blended learning, cross discipline use of technology in the arts and design. As well as supervising PhD students in my areas of interest I teach the following modules: Ethics and Governance Data and Information Management Group projects Dissertations
Ms Sarah Penny Ms Sarah Penny
Email Ms Sarah Penny Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing
Sarah Penny is a novelist and an expressive arts counsellor. Sarah has worked in recent years with community transition away from FGM ( female genital mutilation); xenophobic violence in South Africa, and building supervision and reflection practices into training for healthcare workers. Social justice in communities. Sarah is a member of the Arts in Health research cluster at Brunel. Sarah Penny teaches Creative Writing at both undergraduate and post-graduate level. She also runs psychology oriented modules at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Dr Panagiota Smyrni Dr Panagiota Smyrni
Email Dr Panagiota Smyrni Lecturer in Occupational Therapy
Teaching Responsibilities: Knowledge and skills (BSc OT) Research methods (BSc OT) Research proposal (BSc OT) Professional Practice (BSc OT) Children, young people and families (MSc OT) Functional assessment of challenging behaviours across the lifespan (MSc OT) Research supervisor for the BSc OT, MSc OT post-registration programmes PhD supervisor (College of Health and Life Sciences; College of Business, Arts and Social Science) 2 Completed Phd studies (2nd supervisor): o Quaid Rafa: Patients' and Nurses' Perspectives on Patients' Experience for Coronary Care Unit Stressors Using Mixed Method Approach (2012). o Al-Qurashi Heba: The Impact of performance measurements on quality improvements in healthcare (June 2013 – 2nd Supervisor in collaboration with 1st Supervisor Dr Abraham Althonayan – Brunel Business School). Current PhD study (1st supervisor in collaboration with Prof Costas Karageorghis - Sport,Health & Excercise Sciences - 2nd supervisor) o Lais Vidotto: Dusfunctional breathing: A diagnostic tool
Dr Georgia Spiliotopoulou Dr Georgia Spiliotopoulou
Email Dr Georgia Spiliotopoulou Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy
Prior to joining the Department of Clinical Sciences, Georgia worked in physical, learning disabilities and children’s settings both in Greece and in the UK. Her doctoral research explored the impact of cognitive skills on school-aged children’s reading ability. As part of her research, she pilot-tested assessment tools for children’s working memory and metamemory. She is interested in research focusing on provision of assistive devices and quality of life of people with long-term conditions, outcome measures and effectiveness of provision of occupational therapy services. Qualifications: PhD (Brunel) PGCert LTHE (Brunel) MSc in Neurorehabilitation (Brunel) BSc (OT) (TEI Athens) Assessment process and use of assistive devices and home adaptations to improve quality of life for adults with long-term conditions and older people. Enabling people with long-term conditions to self-assess for provision of assistive devices. Validity and reliability of assessment tools Assistive technology Quality of life of people with long-term conditions Effectiveness of provision of occupational therapy services Practice guidelines development Evidence-based practice using mostly quantitative approaches Development of assessment tools Evaluation of reliability and validity of assessment tools Teaching Responsibilities: Lecturer in Occupational Therapy for the BSc and MSc programmes: Research methods (BSc) Research proposal (BSc) Enabling health and well-being through occupations (BSc) Evidence-based Occupational Therapy (MScOT) Approaches to Research (MScOT) Preparation for Dissertation (MScOT) The Art of Professional Practice (MScOT)
Dr Michael Thomas Dr Michael Thomas
Email Dr Michael Thomas Associate Dean – Equality and Diversity / Senior Lecturer in Social work
I am a Senior Lecturer in Social Work. My research interests focus on sexualities, equalities and the interplay between public services and personal life. I am interested in subjective experiences of loneiness among older people and people in minority groups. I am also interested in professionalism and values in Social Work. My research interests focus on investigating the diversity of contemporary family life and the interplay between public policy and personal life, with a particular focus on Social Work. I am interested in the impact of ageing on LGB identities and in using narrative approaches to understanding identity and experience. I am module leader for the following modules on the MSc in Social Work: SW5635: The Dissertation, and SW5629: Social Justice: Theory, Policy and Practice. I was awarded 'Lecturer of the Year' and 'Best Small Module' across the College of Health and Life Sciences at the 2019 Student-Led Teaching Awards. Student Testimonials, 2019/20 Lecturer challenges students in a positive way and encourages discussion during the lessons. Lectures are engaging and interactive, group work and discussions are very helpful. The tutor engages us in an interesting way that makes us want to participate in every activity. The module is very interesting and I also like how it is linked to social work practice This module is brilliant...moreso because of the way it is delivered and the lecturers knowledge and engagement style. Student Testimonials, 2018/19 “Michael always comes down to student's level in his interaction with learners. He is approachable and very liberal in his interaction with students. All his lectures are delivered with real-life examples. His method of teaching has made me x-ray my life and see the application of social work to virtually everything that goes on in any human society.” “Dr Mike Thomas is an outstanding teacher! he has the ability to see the hidden skills students have and explore them, and make the student shine through them. He has helped me know my potential and how far I can go, regardless of where I come from.”
Professor Maria Tsouroufli Professor Maria Tsouroufli
Email Professor Maria Tsouroufli Professor in Education
I am Professor of Education at the College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences. Previously I worked as Reader in Women and Gender at the University of Wolverhampton. My research is concerned with social justice with a particular focus on gender inequalities in education and professions. I am a transnational feminist academic and my applied social research aims to advance theorizations of gender and gender equality in the Global South. My intersectional study of identities is underpinned by post-structuralist approaches and is centred around 4 themes with violence as a cross-cutting theme: educational policy inlcuding medical educational policy, decolonization of international partnerships; emotionality of difference and disembodiment of EDI discourses in HE; internationalization and academic migration; and critiques of white mainstream feminism. My research and teaching interests are in gender, intersectionality, identities and inequalities, particularly in relation to teacher, academic and medical professionals. My formation, research and employment has spanned health and medical sociology, organisation studies, education and gender and women's studies. My international and interdisciplinary research has been informed mainly by feminist post-structuralist approaches to education and medical education policy, power and resistance. I have led and have been involved in internally and externally funded research projects conducted in Britain, Europe and Australia employing a variety of methodologies (ethnography, narratology) and methods (quantitative/qualitative and mixed-method) on a wider range of equality and diversity issues. Social Justice with a focus on gender inequalities in education and professions: International and interdisciplinary perspectives, Gender-based violence in schools and on campus, Women in STEMM careers, Athena Swan, Widening Participation, Professional and Student Identities: Intersectional approaches, Narratology, Feminist Post-Structuralist Research Approaches EdD/PhD teaching and research supervision MA teaching, marking, and research supervision BA dissertation supervision and marking