Nkumbu is a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at Northumbria whose research broadly explores the role of design in society. Her PhD examined the role and meaning of heritage for fashion designers, interrogating issues at the intersection of history, dress and identity. In addition to her knowledge of the fashion sector, Nkumbu draws on a wealth of experience gained from working as researcher on multidisciplinary, collaborative projects. These include Creative Fuse Northeast, a knowledge exchange focused initiative aimed at supporting the creative and cultural industry, and ThreadCount, a multi-stakeholder examination of awareness and action towards mitigating microfibre pollution in the fashion industry.