Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee

Dr Sarah Bell is a Senior Lecturer in Health Geography at the European Centre for Environment and Human Health (ECEHH). Sarah’s research focuses on the intersections between disability, wellbeing, social inequality and the diverse and changing environments encountered through the life course. 

Sarah’s work is underpinned by a passion for qualitative methodological development, designing sensitive approaches that promote critical awareness of alternative ways of embodying, experiencing and interpreting diverse everyday geographies. These range from narrative and ‘geonarrative’ approaches to emplaced, in situ and mobile methods and arts-based approaches. 

Much of Sarah’s research examines experiences of mental health, wellbeing, disability and social inclusion in and with diverse forms of ‘nature’ - from parks, gardens, woodlands, coast and countryside to the weather and seasons. Sarah’s collaborative work – funded primarily by the ESRC and AHRC – challenges ableist discourses around the benefits of nature for wellbeing. It also seeks to promote a culture change, affirming the creativity, strength and expertise of disabled people rather than reducing disability to an 'access need'. 

Sarah's research has also highlighted the need to complement growing moves to ‘connect’ people with nature in the name of 'health' with efforts to cope with and adapt to experiences of environmental degradation, loss and uncertainty in the face of our rapidly changing global climate. Sarah is currently working on ‘Sensing Climate’; a five-year UKRI-funded project that aims to understand how the climate crisis – and prominent societal responses to it – is shaping the everyday lives and adaptive capacities of disabled people (www.sensing-climate.com).  

Vanessa is an administrator for the European Centre for Environment and Human Health helping to ensure day-to-day activities run smoothly and efficiently. She has recently been appointed as co-Centre Manager for the new UKRI funded Centre for Net Positive Health and Climate Solutions.

Professor Cornelia (Conny) Guell is Associate Professor (Reader) in Anthropology of Health and Environment at the European Centre for Environment and Human Health, which she led as Co-Director (Jan 2022 - July 2024). She is Deputy-Director of the UKRI-funded Centre for Net Positive Health and Climate Solutions, Co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Natural Environments and Health, and the Deputy-Director of Postgraduate Research at the Department for Public Health and Sports Science. 

Her research addresses key planetary health priorities to create healthy, sustainable and socially just environments in both Global South and Global North settings with a focus particularly on food systems for better nutrition and healthy infrastructure to support physically active lives. Conny leads highly interdisciplinary international research teams across the social sciences, humanities, health and environmental sciences in Small Island Developing States as well as European settings and the UK funded by most major UK funders. 

Conny also leads the ECEHH research theme Food Systems and Planetary Health. She is a member of the steering group of Exeter Food, member of the Food, Nutrition & Health research group, and co-investigator at the Centre for Cultures and Environment of Health. 

Conny designs and leads undergraduate and postgraduate modules and teaching on social contexts of health and the environment, global health, and qualitative research methods; she supervises Master's and PhD students, and welcomes inquiries for PhDs (self-funded or through studentships schemes such as the ESRC South West Doctoral Training Partnership) in her field of research. She is external examiner for the University of Cambridge, the University of the West Indies and the University of the South Pacific.

Dr Cealan Henry is a Lecturer in Nutrition in the Department of Public Health and Sports Sciences. Dr Henry joined the University in 2024 as a Postdoctoral Research Associate, where he managed an Innovate UK–funded trial investigating the anti-inflammatory effects of micro-vegetable consumption in older adults. He currently serves as the Early Career Researcher (ECR) Network Lead and the EDI representative for ECRs within the department. He is also a member of the BioActivEx research group, contributing to clinical trials exploring the effects of blueberry and elderberry supplementation on human health. Before his current role, Dr Henry completed a PhD in Nutritional Immunology at Ulster University, where he developed expertise in fish-derived n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and the gut microbiome. 

Dr. Luke Liddle is a Senior Lecturer in Human Physiology and Nutrition and the Admissions Tutor for Sport, Exercise, and Nutrition Sciences within the Department of Public Health and Sport Sciences. He earned his Ph.D. in 2019, focusing on the factors influencing the variability of nitric oxide metabolites in human biological fluids. During his doctoral studies, Dr. Liddle served as the lead lecturer for several modules, where he developed a passion for teaching. 

Following the completion of his Ph.D., Dr. Liddle secured his first lecturing position at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln. There, he began to refine his teaching skills and took on the role of module leader for three newly developed modules, creating content from the ground up. In 2021, Dr. Liddle joined his current institution as an Associate Lecturer and has rapidly advanced through the ranks, achieving the position of Senior Lecturer within just three and a half years. 

Dr Maedeh Mansoubi is the Entrepreneurial lead and founder of DigiTherapix: A Digital Health and Precision Remote Rehabilitation Solutions, lead of the Rehabilitation science module, Co-lead of Health Technologies Network@Exeter and Senior Research Fellow in Digital Health Innovation and Public Health at the Medical School. 

She holds a PhD in Physical Activity, Public Health, and Behavioural Medicine from Loughborough University. She has expertise in Digital Health Technology and Public Health. She is currently working in health innovation and the healthcare system by developing and clinically validating digital technology to promote health and well-being. 

Mae is developing an Innovative Digital Health and rehabilitation platform (DigiTherapix) to improve primary care and Remote healthcare systems using everyday devices. She has built unique expertise and capabilities in Digital Health Innovation by working with and learning from world-renowned scholars in this area. 

Her novel, innovative research projects bring together multidisciplinary research collaborations and have promising applications for healthcare. She is collaborating with an international industry partner to set up the system in the UK to realise her research ambition for digital rehabilitation, telehealth, and performance improvement. She has additional capabilities and skill sets in app development, artificial intelligence (AI), and a variety of extended reality systems, which she uses in her software and apps for digital rehabilitation. 

Mae is a steering group panel member within the University of Exeter's health technology network. She fosters collaboration among researchers, professionals, and stakeholders, creating a vibrant environment for innovation and cutting-edge advancements in Digital Health technology. 

Mae is Co-director of EDI in PHSS, EDI advisor at EPSRC Bionic+, and frequent guest lecturer at national and international Universities. She also teaches in international workshops and webinars and is a frequent keynote speaker at international conferences. 

Vicki is the Department Manager for Public Health and Sport Sciences, part of the University of Exeter Medical School. She supports the academic Head of Department in delivering the strategic and operational priorities of the department. 

Prior to this, Vicki was the Rapid Response Hub Manager, responding to the needs of the University community during the Covid-19 pandemic, running testing and vaccination clinics along with liaising with Public Health England to ensure continued compliance with Covid-19 mitigations. 

Vicki joined the University in 2010 in Estates as a Project Support Officer, then moving to Infrastructure Office for the University of Exeter Medical School in 2013 and has a breadth of University experience over the years. She has also completed the Aurora Womon in Leadership in Higher Education programme.  

Dr Aimee Murray is a Senior Lecturer of Microbiology in the European Centre for Environment and Human Health. She researches evolution of antimicrobial resistance in environmental contexts and applies this to risk assessment frameworks to engage with wastewater and pharmaceutical industries and environmental policy makers.  

Aimee earned her PhD at the University of Exeter in 2017 and started a NERC Industrial Innovation Fellowship January 2018. She started her lectureship mid 2021 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer January 2023. She currently holds a NERC New Investigator research grant and is co-I on several European and international grants.  

Aimee is an elected Ordinary member of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, representing One Health interests, and she has advised/consulted for multiple national and international agencies including UNEP, WHO, the AMR Industry Alliance, and the Environment Agency.  

My research interests are focused on the effects of anthropogenic stressors (mainly pesticides, antibiotics, and global warming) on freshwater aquatic ecosystems. However, my experience expands to the effects of acidification, pH, and nutrients on both freshwater and soil ecosystems.

One of my key values is that I want to be the person that I needed growing up, and I attempt to embody that in every-day life. I attend events, meetings, and protests to learn about and support people with different life experiences from me, and I engage in discussions to educate others on my lived experiences.

I am involved in a number of EDI projects outside of my research both in and out of the university:

• I am a part of the Inclusivity Matters! Committee, organising and hosting events on campus where invited speakers give talks and participate in panel discussions on EDI issues.
• I am producing a zine highlighting and celebrating trans and gender non-conforming people in STEM.
• I am providing statistical analysis for a voice therapy clinic providing gender affirming voice feminisation and masculinisation therapy.
• I am a part of the 1 Million Women in STEM campaign by Million STEM “A network amplifying the voices of women in STEM to provide visible role models to the next generation of girls.”
• I am a part of the Many Faces of Natural Sciences campaign by Manchester Metropolitan University (https://www.mmu.ac.uk/drupal_dev/many-faces/many-faces-of-natural-sciences/individual-profile/cara-patel).
• I am a part of PHSS EDI committee and the ECEHH Intersectionality and Inclusion group.

Dr Lisa Price, Lecturer in Physical activity and health 

Director of EDI at PHSS

Faculty policy for carers of a family member/partner/dependant task and finish group

Abby is an Associate Professor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health based within the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Research Collaboration (ChYMe), that sits within the Department of Public Health and Sports Sciences, in the Medical School. 

Abby's research focuses on the causes and consequences of child and adolescent mental health difficulties, and the role that schools play in preventing, identifying and managing mental health difficulties. 

Abby is currently conducting a programme of research that aims to explore and ameliorate the impact of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in schools. She is carrying out a 5 year NIHR Advanced Fellowship, developing and conducting initial evaluation of a school-based intervention for young people with impairing traits related to ADHD. Abby is working with children, parents and schools to co-design a toolkit of evidence-based behavioural strategies with extensive patient and public involvement. She plans to extend this approach to developing evidence-based public health interventions to other mental health problems, such as strategies to help school staff manage young people who self-harm. 

Abby also collaborates on a variety of projects centering on child and adolescent mental health. ADHD and neurodevelopmental conditions, self-harm and suicide, and dimensional measures of mental health have been the main focus of her work thus far. She has expertise in a variety of research methods, including epidemiology (social and genetic), trials and intervention development and evaluation, as well as qualitative research and evidence synthesis. Abby completed her postdoctoral training with Dr Becky Mars at the University of Bristol, exploring biological mechanisms linking early adversity and adolescent self-harm, and exploring the genetic epidemiology of self-harm and suicide using big data. Her PhD explored the association between parental socioeconomic disadvantage and ADHD in children and young people. 

Prior to her research career, Abby has worked in learning disability support services, child and adolescent mental health services, and at a school for children with special educational needs. 

I joined the EDI committee as an ECR representative. I am dedicated and passionate about ensuring the department continue to provide a nurturing environment for all ECRs to thrive professionally and personally. Alongside my ECR lead role, my position on the EDI committee provides me with the opportunity to make ECR voices heard throughout all EDI policy.

Joined Nov 2023

EDI Roles: Early Career Research Network Lead for Public Health and Sports Sciences.

Luciana is a Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and registered nutritionist with the Association for Nutrition (UK), and her research is multi-disciplinary working with colleagues in Natural Sciences, Bioscience, Sport Science, and Psychology. Her overarching theme is how modifying diet and gut microbiome can promote health and prevent chronic disease; either by direct changes in diet composition or diet behaviour (perceptions, nutrition education, cooking skills, self-efficacy). 

Luciana joined Exeter in 2019 as a Lecturer in Nutrition. Before this, she was at The University of Queensland (Australia), where she completed her PhD in Nutrition and Dietetics. Her thesis discussed the development and evaluation of a diet and physical activity program for nurses. After that, her post-doctoral training looked at the effect of work patterns on energy balance, and physical and mental health. 

She is currently researching inulin (fermentable fibre) supplementation on different gut microbiome-mediated outcomes. These include improved health and performance in athletes, and reduced cardiovascular disease and inflammation to sustain healthy ageing. Her work has also included projects with industry, including fermented foods characterisation (Benetts Kombucha, Exeter) and phytochemical bioavailability in broccoli (QUEX PhD studentship and PepsiCo). 

Co-Director of EDI at PHSS, former ECR rep for PHSS.

I am a professor in psychology, with an applied and theoretical interest in understanding the cognitive and emotional processes that underpin skill acquisition and performance under pressure. I have published over 170 research articles on these topics; supervised 20 PhD students to completion; attracted funding from a variety of sources across UKRI, industry, charities; and work as an applied psychologist in elite sport. I joined Sport and Health Sciences in 2006, was promoted to chair in 2017 and was director of research (2018-2020) and head of department (2020-2022). I am currently head of department for Public Health and Sports Sciences, one of three departments in the Medical School. 

Kath is a Research Fellow at the University of Exeter, working within the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Group (ChYMe) and the Relational Health Group. Her research focuses on parent and child mental health and wellbeing, with a particular emphasis on supporting research-informed practice. 

She holds an NIHR Doctoral Fellowship exploring how parenting support and early years interventions can best meet the needs of families experiencing disadvantage and poor mental health. Her work is especially concerned with how programmes are designed, adapted, and delivered in real-world contexts, and how these factors influence outcomes for parents and children. 

Drawing on mixed-methods and grounded theory approaches, Kath is interested in the mechanisms that make interventions effective and inclusive. She has a strong track record in co-productive, applied research, collaborating closely with practitioners, families, and policymakers to ensure evidence is both relevant and actionable. 

Her expertise spans public health, child health, knowledge mobilisation, implementation science, and service design and evaluation. She has led and contributed to the development, delivery, and evaluation of group-based interventions, using creative and community-engaged approaches to reach families often excluded from services and research. 

Kath’s background includes working in third sector organisations alongside practitioners and policymakers in health and social care. She continues to collaborate with local and national partners to strengthen early years support through evidence-informed practice. 

Outside of work, Kath is a parent of two children and an active community parent peer supporter.