CURRENT RESEARCHERS
Pooja Verma
Pooja Verma has an M.A. in clinical psychology and an M.Phil. in social medicine and community health from the University of Delhi and from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, respectively. Her previous research was on mental and social issues in HIV, depression, and in autism. She has worked clinically with several hospitals, schools, and non-governmental organisations and her interests lie in the analysis of health-services as systems; health-inequalities; health-psychology; and interdisciplinary approaches to health and well-being. Her work at the Tuke Institute is in the nature and clinical effectiveness of patient-participation in health-services.
Michaela Otis
Michaela is a postgraduate student in health-psychology in London, with particular interest in chronic illness treatment, recovery and management. She also works as a therapist at an NHS Forensic Mental Health rehabilitation unit, where she has been involved with research into treatment-effectiveness across national services. She is developing a career in research with a particular perspective in critical health-psychology. Her research-interests include illness-perceptions and emotional/ communications’ regulation, from the perspective of personal experience of chronic illness, with a view to determining health-services’ effectiveness and informing policy-development. Michaela was attracted by the ethos of Tuke Institute and the robust work in creating assessment tools for health-effectiveness in patient care, as she views it as an important step towards ensuring health-services are provided according to the biopsychosocial needs of the very people they are designed to help.
FORMER RESEARCHERS
Anna Westin
Anna Westin left the Tuke Institute in 2013 to continue her academic studies as a doctoral student in Bioethics and Philosophy at St. Mary’s University College, London, with a focus on ethical discourse surrounding just responsibility in human dignity and addictions. In 2011 she completed a Magister degree in Practical Philosophy at Gothenburg University in Sweden and finished an MA in Bioethics and Medical Law during her work here. Having studied in Sweden and Canada, Anna now lives in London, England where she is an active member of her student community at St. Mary’s. While studying in Canada, Anna co-led an interdisciplinary forum on forced treatment of patients with Anorexia Nervosa at the Memorial University teaching hospital in St. John’s, Newfoundland. When she is not studying, Anna enjoys travelling, spending time outdoors and participating in music-related activities. Anna is currently involved in bioethical discourse and ethics and has previously co-authored an article on current trends in psychological practices in Newfoundland, Canada in the Canadian psychological journal, Psychopsis. Her work for the Tuke Institute focused on translational research and communications relevant to ethics and policy, specifically the ethics of rights and responsibilities in HIV, in which she did invaluable work on a politically difficult topic.
Michael Caley
Michael Caley graduated with a First-Class Honours Degree in Psychology from the University of Essex, and currently works as an Assistant Psychologist for City Psychology Group and for a management consultancy. With experience as a Research Assistant, Michael has led and been involved with a number of research projects in association with PhD students and academics, and intends to work towards gaining a doctorate himself in future. He is particularly interested in Mental Health in the Corporate World and Stress and Anxiety Management, and has experience with a People and Organisational Development Department. He has also worked as part of a small team helping to homeschool a severely autistic child, having contributed to an agreed programme of intervention using an integration of techniques, and has volunteered for an overnight crisis listening service at Essex University.
Michael has written a first-class dissertation on the mechanisms behind Cognitive Bias Modification, and has written a number of articles for online publication on a variety of health and psychology related topics (including social comparison in the workplace and stigma associated with psychological treatment). He has also gained experience in running statistics on mental health service use and in conducting literature reviews, and has a particular interest in Internet marketing.
Karen Foster
Karen holds an MSc in health-psychology and her career to date has consisted of non-clinical Health Management roles across a range of medical disciplines. Her experience covers both the public and private sectors and she has worked in Australia as well as the United Kingdom.
Karen’s specific areas of academic interest are eating behaviours and the implications for health and health services. In addition to this, she has always been interested in patient welfare and health outcomes. A career in the health sector highlighted a number of inadequacies in health care service position – including the lack of patient empowerment.
This strong overlap between areas of personal interest and the objectives of the Tuke Institute is what attracted Karen to the role. She is keen to gain experience of working in an established, well respected research context and to enhance her understanding of how to implement initiatives aimed at changing aspects of the current health care paradigm. Ultimately her objective is to work in a research or policy related research setting where there is the opportunity to make a difference.
Wenze Tang
Wenze Tang is currently an M.P.H. candidate in health policy at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He has a B.A. in international relations from China Foreign Affairs University. Wenze is especially interested in sexuality studies and human rights related health issues, such as HIV/AIDS and health care quality and equity at systemic level. He has assisted professors in their researches on foodborne disease and HIV/AIDS issues in China. Wenze worked at World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as a part-time consultant before joining the field of public health.
George Panaghi
Steffi Winter
