Personal statement

I am a Teaching Associate within the Department of Social Work and Social Policy at the University of Strathclyde, delivering a range of content across the Social Policy, Social Work and Education and Social Sciences programmes and acting as Year 4 Undergraduate Social Policy coordinator. Much of my teaching relates to my research interests which broadly touch on issues of social justice and social policy, with a particular interest in health inequalities within the UK; a subject that I have a deep passion for. Reflecting my commitment to social justice, I am the Athena Swan coordinator for this department.

I hold a PhD in Social Policy awarded by the University of Strathclyde. My thesis examined socioeconomic inequalities, social gradients, and biological mechanisms underpinning and emanating from socioeconomic disadvantage. This study employed innovative and novel approaches to data sampling amongst marginalised groups which allowed me to report on the impact of socioeconomic disadvantage upon hormonal response to social defeat.  This work adopted an interdisciplinary perspective which I have continued to apply to my scholarship, regularly collaborating with colleagues from diverse academic disciplines. This has contributed to me undertaking research in a wide number of fields including public health, social policy, epidemiology, behavioural neuroendocrinology, and suicide prevention in later life.

Methodologically, I am a strong advocate for mixed method approaches, with growing experience in both quantitative and qualitative research. My fluency in Bulgarian, Russian and English allows me to collaborate with colleagues from nations that have rarely been reached by UK Higher Education.

In recent years I have developed a keen interest in Knowledge Exchange and the opportunities to distil knowledge – of all kinds – from the academic sphere into the policy, practice and legislative fields.  The opportunity to aid the learning and understanding of social care and social work practitioners regarding the risk indicators and prevention of suicide amongst older people has been particularly rewarding, for example.  This adds to my previous work examining social isolation and loneliness amongst older adults.  Moreover, I was proud to be a co-programme organiser for the Social Policy Association Conference, hosted within the University of Strathclyde in 2024.  In this role I oversaw the curation of the programme, creating a very full and vibrant conference which brought colleagues from global sites and diverse viewpoints together.