My research is centred very broadly around the psychological side of migration.

Using a variety of methodologies, the majority of my research focuses on ways to improve relationships between people of different backgrounds, and on improving health and well-being of ethnic and religious minority groups, particularly refugees. I like to explore these topics from a multidisciplinary and policy-focused perspective, for example by investigating how refugee resettlement policies can optimise integration and well-being of refugees. I am also investigating possibilities of using digital mental health interventions to improve refugee well-being. I have conducted research with a variety of majority and minority groups in the UK, the Netherlands, Canada, and Chile.

In 2006 I was awarded a BSc in Psychology, and in 2008 I obtained a Research MSc, both with first class honours from the University of Groningen, in the Netherlands. I then became a researcher at Royal Holloway University of London, where I worked with Dr Hanna Zagefka on an ESRC-funded project looking into acculturation attitudes of majority members.

In 2009, I received a Graduate Teaching Award (GTA) to do my PhD in Psychology at the University of Sussex under supervision of Professor Rupert Brown. My thesis entitled “Causes and consequences of public and private acculturation preferences: Views of minority and majority group members in three countries” was awarded with the Outstanding Dissertation Award of the International Academy for Intercultural Research in 2013. From 2012 until 2013 I was a Post-doctoral Teaching Associate at Royal Holloway University of London, where I taught a variety of modules in psychology and statistics.

From 2013 until 2018, I worked as a Research Fellow at the University of Sussex on an ESRC-funded interdisciplinary research project on refugee resettlement with Dr Michael Collyer (Geography), Prof Rupert Brown (Psychology), and Dr Linda Morrice (Education).

I joined the University of Brighton as a Lecturer in Psychology in February 2018. In May 2018, I won a Rising Stars Award to conduct scoping research to explore possibilities of using digital mental health interventions to improve well-being of refugees in the UK.

I love it when students are actively engaged in the subject, and I try to achieve this by making the sessions interactive, by stimulating critical and creative thinking, and by continually making links with contemporary real world examples. I strongly believe that teaching is a two-way process, and open communication in the classroom is essential for the learning process of both students and lecturers. I always try to improve my teaching by taking student feedback into account, and by updating my knowledge by doing research, going to conferences, and by having an ongoing dialogue with policy makers and civil society.

I am interested in supervising doctoral students on a variety of topics that focus on the psychological side of migration. For example, I welcome proposal from students who want to find out investigate how we can improve health and well-being of ethnic and religious minority groups, or how we can improve relationships between people of different backgrounds.