Dr Michael Smith completed his PhD in Psychobiology at the University of Western Australia in 2009, before undertaking postdoctoral work at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research and Curtin University in Perth Australia. Michael then joined the Department of Psychology at Northumbria University in 2010. He is currently the Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange for the Department of Psychology, Programme Leader of the MRes Psychology and Lead of the Psychobiology of Stress and Wellbeing Research Group. Michael leads undergraduate and postgraduate modules in Health Psychology, and contributes to research supervision of undergraduate, Masters and PhD students. He is also Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the Medical School at the University of Western Australia.

Michael’s current research programmes relate to the investigation of i) psychological functioning in Type 2 diabetes, ii) psychosocial predictors of sexual health, and iii) the interplay between personality, stress and physical health. More specifically, Michael is currently leading a programme of research (together with Professor Mark Wetherell) which is exploring the therapeutic benefits of expressive writing. His research employs both subjective (e.g. self-report) and objective (e.g. beat-to-beat cardiovascular reactivity and bioassay techniques) markers of health. 

Michael is actively involved in the activities of the British Psychological Society (BPS) and is currently a member of the BPS Research Board and the BPS Psychobiology Section Committee.