Our Research Supervisors

  • Multicultural group working together around a table - students studying together

Our research students are supported by a multidisciplinary team of academics from across the University. Supervisory teams are diverse in knowledge and expertise, and provide the research students with all the guidance they need to meet their goals

Prof Abigail Powell, Director of Research

Prof Abigail Powell

Director of Research

Abigail is Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Lincoln (UK), where she holds positions in the Eleanor Glanville Centre and as Consultancy Lead in the College of Social Science.

Abigail’s research is underpinned by her passion for social justice and equality. Abigail is an expert in the gender division of labour (in the home and workplace), with a particular focus on gender in male dominated occupations; youth studies; financial wellbeing and complex evaluation and impact measurement.

Abigail has published widely in sociology, social policy, management and industrial relations journals, as well as translating research findings for a range of audiences, including academics, policy-makers and the public. Abigail has attracted research income over AUD$5million working with, and delivering research for government, not-for-profits and industry, including for example National Australia Bank (NAB), Macquarie Group Foundation, Homelessness NSW, the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission, Good Shepherd Microfinance, the Paul Ramsay Foundation and yourtown. Abigail has strong leadership and relationship management skills and is an experienced project manager and mentor. Abigail is a mixed method researcher with expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methods and analysis.

Abigail is also an Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Social Impact (CSI) UNSW Sydney and has previously held positions at UNSW Sydney and Loughborough University. Academic profile

Pronouns: She/Her

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Prof Belinda Colston, Head and founding director

Prof Belinda Colston

Head and founding director

01522 835437

Belinda is Founding Director of the Eleanor Glanville Centre and Professor of Analytical Chemistry and Cultural Heritage at the University of Lincoln (UK). She specialises in the development and evaluation of EDI strategies and interventions, and their impact across the sector. Belinda has been the strategic lead for gender equality at the University since 2012, assessing best practice, and developing a range of sector-leading initiatives for the support and sustained career development of female academics in STEMM disciplines. 

Belinda is an established research leader, PhD programme director, facilitator of large multi-centre and multi-disciplinary collaborative research projects, and an experienced team builder. She is the Director of the EPSRC ASPIRE programme, which aims to deliver a web-based platform for building effective EDI strategies towards inclusive environments, and measuring the success (impact) of inclusion initiatives in terms of changing attitudes and behaviours. Academic profile

Pronouns: She/Her

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Prof Stephen McKay, Distinguished Professor in Social Research

Prof Stephen McKay

Distinguished Professor in Social Research

01522 886629

Steve McKay is a Distinguished Professor in Social Research in the School of Social & Political Sciences. He joined the University in April 2013. Between 2007 and 2013 he was Professor in Social Research at the University of Birmingham, where he was also Director of the ESRC Doctoral Training Centre from 2010. He specialises in social research; inequality; family policy; quantitative methods; social security and pensions. 

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Prof Anne Chick, Professor of Design, College of Arts

Prof Anne Chick

Professor of Design, College of Arts

Anne joined the University as Professor of Design in 2011. She is considered an early key international contributor to graphic and packaging design research and practice in the field of designing for sustainability, and is particularly interested in inclusive design. 

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Prof Graham Law, Professor in Medical Statistics, College of Social Science

Prof Graham Law

Professor in Medical Statistics, College of Social Science

Graham has published extensively in the causes of disease and poor health. As Chair of the College of Social Science EDI Committee, he has a broad interest in diversity and inclusion, particularly in the health arena. Academic profile

Dr Julie Bayley, Director of Research Impact Development

Dr Julie Bayley

Director of Research Impact Development

01522 835437

Dr Julie Bayley is an  impact specialist and Chartered Health Psychologist. Julie has been an applied researcher in behaviour change interventions since 2003 and now combines academic research, impact management and training to develop impact literacy across research environment. Julie is champion of the Association of Research Managers and Administrators (ARMA) Impact Special Interest Group, leads ARMA impact training and sits on the ARMA Professional Development Committee. In 2015 she won the inaugural ARMA Impact award in recognition of her national reputation for building impact capacity. Julie is currently commissioned as Emerald Publishing Impact Literacy Advisor to support their ‘Real World Impact’ programme and works particularly with National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to strengthen impact governance and impact of public and patient involvement. 

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Dr Ros Kane, Associate Professor, School of Health & Social Care

Dr Ros Kane

Associate Professor, School of Health & Social Care

Ros is an Associate Professor in the College of Social Science. She is Director of Research in the School of Health and Social Care where she leads the Mental Health, Health and Social Care Research Group (MH2aSC).  Ros is also a visiting Professor at the University of Suratthani in Thailand.

With a background in nursing, Ros later graduated from University College London (UCL) with a BSc (Hons) in Anthropology and Geography and from The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) with an MSc in Medical Demography. Ros worked for ten years in the Centre for Sexual and Reproductive Health Research at LSHTM where she completed her PhD in 2005. She has a strong interest in quality improvement as well as service and policy evaluation, particularly in relation to public health. She is the lead for the NIHR/ Health Education England funded Clinical Academic Careers Research Internship training for health professionals across the Midlands and East. Academic profile

Prof Anna Tarrant, Professor, School of Social and Political Sciences

Prof Anna Tarrant

Professor, School of Social and Political Sciences

01522 88 6170

Anna is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, with research interests broadly focused on men’s care responsibilities and support needs, particularly in low-income families. This work has been funded by a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship (2014–2018) and the Leeds Social Sciences Institute Impact Acceleration Account (2016–2017). The Future Leaders Fellowship project, 'Following Young Fathers Further' (FYFF) will extend existing longitudinal evidence concerning the parenting trajectories and support needs of young men (aged 25 and under) and implement and evaluate a novel social intervention that aims to promote father-inclusive and gender-equal parenting. Establishing a new collaboration between national UK charities (including NSPCC, Coram Family Childcare and YMCA Lincolnshire) and international academic partners in Sweden, FYFF represents the most significant investment in research and support for young parents in several years. 

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Dr Michael Toze, Senior Lecturer in Public Health and the Social Determinants of Health, Lincoln Medical School

Dr Michael Toze

Senior Lecturer in Public Health and the Social Determinants of Health, Lincoln Medical School

Michael has been at Lincoln since 2014, first as a PhD student, now as a Senior Lecturer in the Lincoln Medical School. He is a Trans man, with extensive experience of volunteering and researching with LGBTQI+ communities. Michael lives with his partner Matt, and their cat, Oscar. 

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Dr Simon Obendorf, Senior Lecturer, School of Social & Political Sciences

Dr Simon Obendorf

Senior Lecturer, School of Social & Political Sciences

01522 88 6268

Simon's research explores the ways in which processes of global change and exchange impact upon experiences of sex, gender, sexuality and the body. His work in critical international relations traces how the politics of embodiment and everyday life serve as windows to a broader understanding of international politics and contemporary flows of globalization.

Much of Simon’s research draws upon materials from East and Southeast Asia. His recent work has explored how the bodies of female flight attendants on a major Asian airline become inscribed with state and transnational understandings of gender, femininity and both national and regional identity. Elsewhere his work has explored the quest for lesbian, gay, queer, bisexual and transgender rights in East and Southeast Asia and the ways in which queer bodies have become enmeshed in, and subject to, broader discourses of security, nationalism, citizenship and postcolonial development. Simon’s expertise has been sought by NGO and activist groups in East and Southeast Asia and informed submissions to major international human rights bodies. Academic profile

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