• Sociology of dying and the aftermath (bereavement), palliative care and hospices.

• Social and political theories and conceptualisations of illness, dying, palliative care.

• Sociology of Covid-19 and the pandemic's legacy for those made vulnerable by it.

• Sociology of diagnosis, living-with (experiences of), and dying from cancer.

I am a sociologist of dying, palliative care, health and illness. I have expertise in a range of qualitative approaches including ethnography, discourse and narrative analysis, secondary analysis, mixed methods and international qualitative comparisons. My work is informed by and seeks to develop social and political theory.

My research has explored: the effects of Covid-19 on palliative care, including "pandemic delay"; assessments of complex palliative care needs in the transitions to and discharge from specialist palliative care; bereavement support, including Men's Sheds; and, community approaches to palliative care. I have had leading roles in projects that have explored health inequities and forms of mutual, social and community support for people with life-limiting conditions and for those who care for them. My PhD explored experiences of living with and beyond cancer and using Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) and self-health.

My Marie Curie Fellowship aims to promote research activities within Marie Curie's services with the goal of improving palliative and end of life care for people with life-limiting illnesses. This involves developing, facilitating and coordinating research projects with local, national and international academic and clinical partners.

Current research studies I co-lead:

• 'Improving patients, carers, and primary care healthcare professionals' experiences of discharge communication from specialist palliative care to community settings: a qualitative interview study', funded by NIHR RfPB and led by Dr Katherine Weetman, University of Birmingham.

• 'Dying-in-delay: Understanding the implications of pandemic delays for/at the end of life', funded by Australian Research Council, led by Prof Emma Kirby, UNSW.

• 'What social science and humanities research themes appear in data gathered from the JLA priority setting in palliative and end of life care?', funded by Marie Curie, led by Prof Erica Borgstrom (Open University).

• 'Improving communication of prognostic uncertainty in palliative and end of life care contexts: A realist review', funded by Marie Curie, led by Dr Simon Etkind, University of Cambridge.

• 'Re-contextualising failure in academic research culture: Exploring how non-success has been understood and identifying recommendations to improve wellbeing', funded by Enhancing Research Culture Fund (internal), led by Dr Nicky Thomas, University of Warwick.

Engagement and impact

As well as my academic publications my work has sought to engage policy makers, stakeholders and the public. I have written editorials and opinion pieces about the pandemic for clinical audiences and produced recommendations for clinical practice, policy makers, and a series of films for public audiences on the impact of Covid-19 on hospice palliative care. Beyond covid my research has led to the development of a 'tool kit' to support hospices thinking of starting their own Men's Shed group and co-authoring of a thought piece about the language of 'loved ones' in healthcare. I also co-authored a blog that was in the EAPC's top-10 in 2023 on the emotional impact of interpreting conversations in palliative care.

Teaching and supervision

I co-lead 'Transdisciplinary perspectives: local and global problems in health' module (MD3B6) on the Health and Medical Sciences BSc.

I am available to supervise medical, Masters and Doctoral (PhD) students.

Current doctoral students:

• Bethany Linder

• Pretty Manyimo

Completed doctoral students

• Markus Schichtel (Oxford)

I was awarded my PhD in Sociology in 2011 from the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK, and have held posts at the University of Queensland, Australia, and the University of Oxford, UK. In 2018 I was appointed as a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Warwick. I am also a Senior Visiting Fellow, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Design, and Architecture at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

I have successfully led or co-led several grants and Fellowships totalling over one-million pounds awarded by a range of bodies including UKRI Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR), Marie Curie (UK), and Australian Research Council.

I lead the 'Social Science in Health and Illness Network' in Warwick Applied Health and am the theme lead for 'life-limiting conditions and dying in the community' in the Academic Primary Care network. In 2021 I co-founded the Building a Research Hub for Palliative Care in Birmingham and the West Midlands (BRHUmB) with Prof Cara Bailey and am a member of Research in End of life, Advanced illness, Complex Health and social care (REACH) group.

I sit on Health Sociology Review's Editorial Advisory Board and am a full member of the British Sociological Association.