Gemma Sharp (she/her)

About me:

I’m a Professor of Epidemiology in the School of Psychology, where I research and teach about women’s mental health, reproductive health, and early life influences on health and wellbeing.

I lead the Menarche, Menstruation, Menopause and Mental Health (4M) Consortium and teach a third year seminar module on women's reproductive mental health.

Qualifications:

• Environment Health and Sustainable Development (MSc module) - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) - University of Bristol
• PhD Reproductive Biology - University of Edinburgh
• MSc Reproduction and Development - University of Bristol
• BSc Biology - Cardiff University

Career:

My career is defined by interdisciplinary collaboration and my drive to conduct impactful research on pressing questions relevant to public health. Having trained as a PhD student in reproductive biology at the Centre for Reproductive Health (University of Edinburgh), I transitioned to molecular epidemiology at the start of my post-doctoral career when I joined the prestigious MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, at the University of Bristol in 2013. My independent career took off in 2015 when I was awarded a lectureship and began securing my own research funding. Around 2020, I shifted my focus to menstrual health, particularly the intersection with mental health. This necessitated a deeper understanding of human psychology and social influences on health, so to expand my perspective, I joined the Psychology Department at the University of Exeter in 2022.