My research interests broadly fit into the areas of Health Psychology, Psychobiology and Applied Mental Health research. My PhD focused on the effects of individual differences (i.e., Type D personality) on stress reactivity and associated health outcomes and my post-doc work involved the development of interventions for somatic symptom disorders.

More recently the focus of my research has involved the exploration of factors underpinning the development of mental health issues in students, particularly with regards to previous trauma and sleep health. I am also interested in the bidirectional relationship between poor sleep and mental health disorders as well as the use of creative and compassionate interventions for improving psychological well-being.

I graduated from Northumbria University with a BSc (hons) Psychology in 2010 and a MSc Health Psychology in 2013. I completed my PhD in 2018, also at Northumbria University, under the supervision of Dr Michael Smith and Prof. Mark Wetherell.

After completing my PhD, I worked as a Senior Research Assistant on the Healthy Sleep Project for one year under the supervision of Prof. Jason Ellis. Following this, I worked as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the University of York with Prof Christina Van der Feltz-Cornelis in the Mental Health and Addictions Research Group on several projects in applied mental health and somatic symptom disorders.

I was appointed as Lecturer in Psychology at Teesside University in January 2020 and then returned to Northumbria University as an Assistant Professor in Psychology in 2022.