I am excited to say that I have just started working as a Senior Research Associate on the EPoCH study! I have recently completed my PhD at the University of Bristol which investigated the association between exposures in pregnancy (mainly prenatal alcohol use) and offspring mental health outcomes in late adolescence. I am lucky enough to have found a project which allows me to continue working within this area, and even better to be able to explore different exposures and outcomes of interest.
About me…
Before I started a PhD here in Bristol my background was predominately in mental health research. After completing my undergraduate degree in Psychology, I gained experience within the NHS as an Assistant Clinical Psychologist. This allowed me initially to conduct clinical research within mental health departments across Devon, and eventually led me to train as a mental health therapist. I became further interested in the causal nature of mental health problems and how we may be able to improve outcomes, which ultimately led me back into research. I then completed a MSc in Health Psychology at the University of Bath, and afterwards began working as a Research Associate within the Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group (TARG) at the University of Bristol. Having developed an interest in how different health behaviours can influence mental health outcomes, this led to the start of my PhD and a shift into learning and utilizing epidemiological methods to investigate the true causal effect.
Fast forward four years, and here I am in the EPoCH study with Gemma, ready to investigate multiple exposures during pregnancy (both maternal and paternal) on a wide range of offspring outcomes using various birth cohorts around the world. Get ready for updates from me here in the EPoCH blog over the next three years on the work we’re doing…
