Meet the Team

Jess provides administrative support for various activities, events, and projects across the Research Culture team. She received her PhD in American Literature from the University of Leeds in 2023. At the University of Leeds, she has also taught in the School of English, the Language Centre, and on the Arts & Humanities Outreach team. Before coming to Leeds, she was based in Scotland and worked in the charity and heritage sectors.

Marjorie supports a range of activities aligned with the implementation of the Concordat and the University’s Research Culture Strategy. Marjorie moved from France after her PhD. She has worked at the University for over 10 years as a post-doctoral researcher before joining professional services at the end of 2019 where she supported academics to access translational research funds and training.

Cat leads the University’s strategy to achieve a collegiate, diverse, and ambitious research culture. She sits on several internal and external research committees, steering projects in open research, responsible metrics, and research EDI.
Cat came back to Leeds in 2011, and has held a range of teaching, research, and managerial roles in the School of Languages, Cultures & Societies. Cat is also an active researcher in language development. Her projects investigate the role of the home learning environment in children’s language and cognitive development, most recently during the pandemic.

Aisling’s work within the research culture team focuses on establishing an inclusive, equitable and diverse research environment at the University of Leeds. She is also Research Support Manager in the School of Earth and Environment, where she supports academics to develop funding proposals, alongside striving to improve the overall research culture within her School. Aisling gained her PhD from the University of Leeds in 2012 in climate and ice sheet modelling and has worked in both academic and professional support roles at the University since then. She has also worked with the American Geophysical Union as part of their Leadership Development and Governance committee.

Emily leads on operationalising the research culture strategy and action plan in collaboration with Cat, the research culture team, and other stakeholders across the University. This involves building relationships with researchers and research enablers across the University to better understand diverse research cultures and ensure wide-reaching impacts from the work led by the Research Culture team. Emily previously spent more than three years as Research and Impact Manager in the Consumer Data Research Centre in the Faculty of Environment, where she delivered award-winning impact within industry and public policy. Prior to that, she worked on research and impact in the School of Media and Communication, and before that, she held academic roles in literary and visual arts across a range of northern universities.

Shareefa is supporting Cat with the development, implementation and delivery of the University’s Research Culture Strategy. She has a PhD in Sociology and Social Policy from the University of Leeds and worked as a Research Project Manager at the School of Law on the Co-POWeR project. She has over 20 years of experience working as a project manager and change management consultant in Public, Private and academic environments in the UK and the Middle East and North Africa. She has received several grants from international organisations to manage women's socio-economic development engagement projects.

Tom’s role within the Research Culture team, funded by our recent Research England Enhancing Research Culture allocation, focuses on the creation and management of a portfolio of pulse and other survey projects aligned to Research Culture. Tom holds a First in Philosophy from the University of Aberdeen and an MA in Philosophy from the University of Sheffield. He has previously worked on survey projects assisting Athena SWAN applications and departmental schemes to improve the understanding and implementation of assessment and feedback arrangements.

Holly project manages our Enhancing Research Culture funding and related activities and events. She holds a First in Spanish and Portuguese from Newcastle University and an MA in Interpreting and Translation studies from Leeds. She has studied and worked in Spain and Latin America, and for the European Parliament as a Schuman trainee. Holly has a range of professional HE experience covering digital education, internationalisation and research and innovation. She achieved FHEA status in 2021, PRINCE2 Foundation in 2022 and Practitioner in 2023.

Soo supports our four Research Culture Strategic Plan objectives, coordinating the implementation and delivery of research culture activities, and engaging with key project stakeholders. She has an M.A in Gender Studies from the University of Leeds and prior to joining the team, held professional service positions with the Knowledge Equity Network (KEN) and within UoL Libraries. Soo also has over 20 years’ experience in the health and social care third sector in a variety of roles including strategic leadership, strategic and internal communications, freelance social research and community development.

Emma and her RDC team, work with all those involved in research to create an open, inclusive culture enabling our colleagues to thrive. She chairs the Researcher Development Steering Group, overseeing our work on the Concordat and sits on several internal committees.
Emma gained her PhD at Leeds, worked in industry and held several research grants before switching to researcher development. She is a national reviewer for the HR Excellence in Research Award and a member of Researchers 14, the N8 PDRA group and the UKRI Alternative Uses Group.