Profile

I hold a PhD in Applied Linguistics and I am currently working as a Research Assistant at the Department of Applied LinguisticsLink opens in a new window. My research primarily focuses on intra- and inter-team interactions in healthcare emergency contexts. I have a background in Theoretical Linguistics and my research interests include Interactional Sociolinguistics, health communication, and multimodality. Through my work in health linguistics, I also developed an interest in the impact agenda and the ways in which we can translate our findings to practice and feed them back to non-academic audiences.

Research experience

PhD research

‘GET the oxygen get an airway’: Doing leadership in medical emergencies

My PhD research explored leadership and teamwork processes in two healthcare emergency contexts, with a particular focus on the enactment of professional roles in the material space. Taking an Interactional Sociolinguistics approach, I zoomed in on the ways in which the available multimodal resources are holistically exploited by team members and impact on doing leadership (or not). Some of my research outputs are included in the Publications below. Throughout the PhD journey, I was supervised and supported by Prof. Jo Angouri. I passed my PhD viva examination with no corrections.

Other research

From 2017-2022, I worked as a part- and full-time Research Assistant to Prof. Jo Angouri in the department of Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick. Amongst the projects I was involved in, is the Teamwork in the Covid-19 Zone Link opens in a new windowproject (led by Prof. Jo Angouri & Dr Chris Turner). The project is ongoing and draws on simulated trauma emergencies and explores the ways level 3 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has impacted communication and the compensation strategies healthcare teams use to share information with each other to achieve good clinical results. Preliminary findings on the successful strategies we identified so far have been disseminated via a short animationLink opens in a new window and a posterLink opens in a new window.

Before that, I worked as a Research Assistant in a project looking at Gender and INequality in higher education (GaIN project, led by Dr Charoula Tzanakou & Professor Jo Angouri). The GaIN project involved review of institutional documents and interviews with academic staff members from various levels and disciplines and aimed at providing an understanding of the dominant discourses and ideologies that circulate in one HE setting. As part of my role, I recruited academic staff members and conducted interviews with them. I also contributed in the analysis and reporting of the data.

In 2013 I was involved in the Education of Immigrant and Repatriate Students project (Operational Program of Education and Lifelong Learning, NSRF 2007-2013) as a scientific collaborator in Action 1: Support of Reception Classes (Project Leader: Dr Despina Papadopoulou). My role involved the management, processing, and linguistic analysis of the research data. I also participated in conference presentations and contributed to the project deliverable 1.4.2Link opens in a new window [in Greek].

Editorial experience

From 2018 to 2020 I was the Editorial Assistant for The Routledge Handbook of Language, Gender, and SexualityLink opens in a new window, edited by Jo Angouri and Judith Baxter.

I have also reviewed papers/chapters anonymously for Journals (Sociology of Health and Illness; BMJ Simulation & Technology Enhanced Learning), Research Series (De-gendering Gendered Occupations: Analysing Communicative Practices in the Workplace. Routledge Research Series Gender, Language and Sexuality (2020), edited by Joanne McDowell), Handbooks (The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research Design, edited by Flick Uwe), and a book manuscript for Multilingual Matters.

Project officer experience

In 2018-2019 I was the project officer for the Migration, Identity, and Translation NetworkLink opens in a new window (MITN). Key responsibilities of my role included:

• Contributing to the day-to-day management of the Language, Translation and Migration ConferenceLink opens in a new window (University of Warwick, 24-26^th May 2018);
• Liaising with research clusters and the Monash/Warwick Postgraduate Representatives.
• Co-organising MITN activities, such as talks, events and competitions.

In 2018 I worked as a project support officer for the PLOTINA Summer School on how to be a peer reviewerLink opens in a new window (University of Warwick, 10-14^th September 2018). My key responsibilities were:

• Contributing to the day-to-day management of the summer school;
• Inviting plenary speakers and liaising with plenary speakers and participants;
• Organising the submission process and creating and maintaining the conference webpage.

The published guide on how to be a peer reviewer is available hereLink opens in a new window.

Educational background

MA in Theoretical LinguisticsLink opens in a new window (with Distinction), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

My earlier research sits at the interface of phonology and morphology. In my MA dissertation I examined the morphophonological constraints governing blend formations in Greek using Optimality Theory. My MA dissertation is entitled Investigation of the morphophonological characteristics of blends in Greek Link opens in a new window[in Greek].

During my MA studies, I was also involved in research projects on the following topics: morphophonological characteristics of Greek clippings; phonetic and phonological properties of Greek glidesLink opens in a new window.

BA in Linguistics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Amongst the modules I successfully completed were: Phonetics and Phonology; Morphology and Lexicology; Sociolinguistics; Transformational Syntax; Semantics; Pragmatics; Balkan Languages; Psycholinguistics.

Funding

• Oct 2020: ESRC Evolving Impact Grant (Co-Investigator)
  • Project: Teamwork in the COVID-19 zoneLink opens in a new window
  • Funding Body: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRCLink opens in a new window), University of Warwicκ
  • Amount: 22k

• Oct 2016-Aug 2020: Collaborative PhD Studentship
  • Funding Body: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRCLink opens in a new window), University of Warwicκ
• Jan 2018: Overseas Institutional Visit Funding
  • To: School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, University of Wellington, New Zealand
  • Funding Body: Economic and Social Research Council (ESRCLink opens in a new window), University of Warwick

Publications

Angouri, J., Mesinioti, P., and Siassakos, D. (2022). Let’s talk about it: reframing communication in medical teams. Best Practice and Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 80, 75-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2022.01.005Link opens in a new window

Mesinioti, P., Angouri, J. & Turner, C. (2022). A language-first approach to health research; sociolinguistic ethnography in hospital settingsLink opens in a new window. In Flick, U. (ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research Design (pp. 798–818). https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781529770278.n49

Angouri, J., Mesinioti, P., Banatwalla, R., & Dimitriadis, G. (2022). Intersecting identities in health care researchLink opens in a new window. In Flick, U. (ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research Design (pp. 1015–1030). https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781529770278.n62

Mesinioti, P., Angouri, J., O’Brien, S., Bristowe, K., & Siassakos, D. (2020). ‘Get me the airway there’: Negotiating leadership in obstetric emergencies. Discourse & Communication, 14(2), 150–174. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481319890390Link opens in a new window

Mesinioti, P., Pouliou, K. & Souganidis, C. (2017). Morphosyntactic errors of students learning Greek as an L2 in Reception Classes [in Greek]. In the Proceedings of the ICGL12 (vol. 2), pp. 741–757. Available at: https://www.cemog.fu-berlin.de/en/icgl12/offprints/messinioti-pouliou-souganidis/index.htmlLink opens in a new window

Selected conference presentations

Mesinioti, P., & Angouri, J. (2022) Crossing into medical research: Health sociolinguistics unpacked. Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice (ALAPP) 2022, Jyväskylä, Finland, 15-17 September 2022.

Mesinioti, P., & Angouri, J. (2021) ‘Do you want me to take over?’ ; displaying epistemic primacy in medical emergencies. Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice (ALAPP) 2021, Columbus Ohio, 15-17 September 2021.

Mesinioti, P., Angouri, J., Siassakos, D., O'Brien, S. & T. Draycott. Role embodiment in the obstetric theatreLink opens in a new window. Part of the panel: What's beyond language? Multimodal resources at work. Sociolinguistics Symposium 22, Auckland, New Zealand, 27-30 June 2018.

Mesinioti, P., Angouri, J., Siassakos, D., O'Brien, S. & T. Draycott. ‘Okay blood pressure now’: doing leadership and managing directives in obstetric emergencies.Link opens in a new window VALS-ASLA 2018: A Video Turn in Linguistics? Methodologie – Analisi – Applications, Basel, Switzerland, 6-8 June 2018.

Tzanakou, Ch., Angouri, J. & P. Mesinioti. Gender discourses and ideology in higher education-from institutional documents to the lived experience and backLink opens in a new window. SHRE (Society for Research in Higher Education) Conference, Newport, UK, 6-8 December 2017.

Mesinioti, P., Angouri, J., Siassakos, D. & T. Draycott. Doing teamwork in obstetric emergenciesLink opens in a new window. iMean Conference 5, Bristol, UK, 6-8 April 2017.

Dr Polina Mesinioti

Personal email: P.Mesinioti@gmail.com 

LinkedIn profileLink opens in a new window

Research Assistant

Applied LinguisticsLink opens in a new window