Psychological interventions to support mental and sexual wellbeing; psychosocial consequences of brain injury; cognitive ageing; neuropsychology; self-management and peer support for long term conditions

BSc (Hons): First Class: Applied Psychology; Leeds Beckett University (2005).

MSc: Distinction: Cognitive Neuroscience; University of York (2006).

PhD: Psychology; University of Birmingham (2011) - investigating visual attention to social cues following parietal lobe damage caused by stroke,  supervised by Prof Jane Riddoch and the late Prof Glyn Humphreys.

Two years postdoc experience working in hospitals and community care settings, recruiting stroke patients into clinical research trials.

Two years postdoc at University on Warwick investigating associations between sleep and cognition in a national cohort of older adults.

Recent work has focussed on healthy cognitive ageing, sexual activity and cognitive function in older adults, and peer-supported self-management of long term conditions including acquired brain injury (ABI), cancer and Long COVID.

Area of Expertise:

Psychology; sexual wellbeing; psychological wellbeing; brain injury; neuropsychology; self-management; digital psychological interventions

My research background is in cognitive neuropsychology and neuroscience, with particular focus on the ‘ageing brain’. My PhD was on attention to social cues after parietal lobe damage caused by stroke. My postdoctoral research centred around ageing and cognitive decline, and the modifiable lifestyle factors that can be self-managed to help protect cognitive function and wellbeing in older age. During this time I led projects exploring biopsychosocial links between sexual activity and cognitive ageing and developed digital research-enriched learning and teaching materials on the stigma surrounding sexuality in ageing populations.

More recently my research has involved co-developing and testing peer-supported self-management interventions for long term conditions such as cancer, Long COVID and stroke. I am currently leading a series of projects involving patients, their partners, and healthcare professionals, to better support sexual wellbeing after acquired brain injuries (ABI).

I am passionate about research that underpins the provision of holistic, inclusive, and accessible healthcare to support rehabilitation and long-term recovery after acquired brain injury.