Personal Statement
I am a Senior Lecturer and Programme Director for the campus-based MSc Psychology Conversion programme in the Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool.

I received a First class BSc(Hons) in Psychology and Health Sciences in 2006, an MSc in Research Methods and Statistics (with Distinction) in 2008, a PhD in Psychology in 2011, and a PGCert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education in 2015, all from the University of Liverpool. I joined the Department of Psychology as a Lecturer in 2011. I am a Fellow of Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) and a member of the British Society of Gerontology and the Gerontological Society of America.

My research interests focus on how people experience and adjust to significant and potentially stressful life events, with a special interest in bereavement and serious illness. Broadly, I am interested in how stressful life events, or transitions, can impact on our personal relationships, our identity or sense of self, and our health and wellbeing. My research uses qualitative and quantitative methods to examine how people navigate such life experiences and, in particular, the role of social support in the process of adjustment, coping and development of resilience following adversity. I am also very interested in the association between personal relationships and health, and the impact of social isolation and loneliness across the lifecourse.

I am happy to speak to or work with other academics, students, practitioners, and/or members of the public on matters within my expertise.

Research Overview
My research examines how people experience and adapt to significant life transitions and potentially stressful events, particularly bereavement and serious illness. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, I explore how loss and bereavement shape, and are shaped by, our personal relationships, identity, and health and wellbeing.

A central focus of my work is the role of social relationships, social support, and social connection in processes of adjustment and resilience. I am interested in how our relationships with others influence adaptation to adversity, as well as the broader associations between personal relationships, health, social isolation, and loneliness across the lifecourse.

A particular area of interest is bereavement that occurs outside expected life-course trajectories or under especially challenging circumstances, including parental death in childhood, early widowhood, and suicide bereavement.

I am very happy to discuss my research with potential collaborators, prospective PhD students, and journalists.