10 July 2025

Please introduce yourself and your role? 

I am a Research Associate and PhD candidate working in the Department of Women & Children’s Health within School of Life Course and Population Sciences at King’s College London. My work focuses on health systems and service delivery, in particular regards to health inequalities in maternity care.  

In my PhD, I am investigating the impact of socio-cultural factors on reduced and delayed engagement with maternity services for marginalised women in south London, in an effort to better tailor services to local populations.  

My work role includes coordinating the eLIXIR Born in South London study, a dynamic data-linkage cohort; and as a qualitative researcher on the NoRePF project, which is investigating health and social care outcomes for women with irregular immigration status in the UK. 

What do you enjoy most about your role? 

I really enjoy the cross-disciplinary nature of my work. I have the opportunity to work across different types of projects and methodologies, teams and organisations, and local communities all of whom share a goal of improving health outcomes for south London and beyond.  

As a qualitative researcher, I particularly enjoy meeting people from our community and hearing their stories. On occasion, my working day will be chatting with a woman about her experience of maternity care whilst playing with her cute kid, and I absolutely love that.   

What inspired you to get into this work? 

I have a background in public health and I did a placement in health service research during my undergraduate degree working with diverse disadvantaged communities in Canada. Through these experiences, I began to see the gaps in care provision, data, and communication that left women and children underserved, and research as a tool to try bridging those gaps and bringing their voices to the fore.   

You presented at the KHP Primary Care Webinar on 9 July, what was your topic?  

I presented on the eLIXIR-Born in South London study which brings together routinely collected data from various sources such as antenatal care, primary care, health visiting, etc. to allow research into physical and mental health across the pregnancy and maternity continuum.  

This integrated dataset holds power in enabling longitudinal research that can inform clinical practice and guidelines, as well as investigating social determinants of health and inequalities in our south London community. 

What are the benefits of working in partnership? 

The different perspectives and experiences it brings to the table! The KHP partnership offers a great opportunity to be part of an integrated academic-health system that bridges the gap between research, education, and clinical care. It’s exciting to be at the forefront of novel research that can directly help patients within our community.   

What would be your one career top tip? 

Stay curious, stay connected, follow what you are passionate about, and don’t be afraid to change your career path from the one you had previously envisioned.   

Find out more about KHP's work with primary care.