Ms Lucy Kirkland

About me:

Lucy is a Graduate Research Assistant working with Dr Sarah Bailey (Associate Professor) in the DISCO Team on cancer diagnosis and pre-existing health conditions and coordinating public involvement in the research. Lucy recently completed a Master's in Psychology at the University of Exeter, which confirmed her desire to work in cancer research.

Before joining the DISCO Team, Lucy graduated from the University of Portsmouth with a BSc Honours degree in Social Work. During her studies, she worked as a Support Worker in adult mental health services and drug rehabilitation. After graduating, she worked as a Social Worker on the frontline of Children's Services for over seven years in Portsmouth, NW Surrey and Cornwall.

Lucy then worked in voluntary sector roles in Cambodia, Nepal and predominantly Sri Lanka, developing a safe house and community project for single mothers for a UK-registered charity. On returning to the UK, Lucy volunteered for Social Workers Without Borders in the Calais refugee camp, conducting Best Interests and Human Rights Assessments for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to support their legal application to enter the UK.

Interests:

• Cancer detection in primary care
• Evaluating and modelling the impact of new cancer detection strategies
• Risk markers and risk predictors of cancer
• Patient and public collaboration in research

Qualifications:

• BSc (Hons) Social Work (University of Portsmouth, 2008)
• MSc Psychology (University of Exeter, 2022)
• GMBPsS Graduate Member, British Psychological Society