My background is in Health Psychology, having worked in both research and clinical settings. After my first degree I worked at Sheffield University in the Child and Family Research Group completing a part-time masters in Health Psychology. Following this I joined the NHS in a research associate post. This involved running the First Episode Research Network (FERN), whilst completing a Doctorate in Health Psychology. My thesis involved the evaluation of a ‘Psych-Nutritional Intervention’ for young people with psychosis, as obesity and a poor diet are generally more prevalent than in the general population. Following this I trained NHS staff in motivational interviewing and designed and evaluated an intervention to reduce cannabis use.

I am a trained Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist and practiced within both primary and secondary mental health services. The role involved the development of new services and tools to support physical health issues such as obesity and diabetes. Since joining Coventry University and Public Health Warwickshire in early 2012 I have been involved in a range of public health projects, designing and evaluating new interventions using behavioural insights approaches and frameworks.

My research is focused on the design and evaluation of novel behaviour change interventions for public health, with a particular interest in Veteran's mental health and early stage dementia. I am keen to promote to role of health psychology in public health and seek to help bridge the gap between clinicalcommissioning and practice, with academia. With this in mind, I am particularly interested in exploring the development of novel ways to conduct and promote evaluation in large scale community and population based public health interventions.