The Glasgow School of Art

Gemma is a design researcher specialising in creative engagement, participatory design and visual methods within health and wellbeing contexts. Her work focuses on opening up the design process to include academic researchers from other disciplines, industry partners, health professionals, people living with health conditions, carers and members of the general public. Her projects have examined the self management of diabetes, new models of care, and the empowering potential of person-owned data.

Gemma has been a Co-Investigator on a number of funded research collaborations. A recent AHRC/MRC Global Public Health Partnership project aimed at developing a community resilience intervention to prevent and respond to road traffic accidents in Malawi. Prior to this she developed creative approaches to engaging citizens in providing real time insights to inform policy makers. As Co-Investigator on a CSO Catalyst Grant, Gemma used participatory design approaches to support the development of a social marketing intervention to encourage regular HIV testing. In collaboration with Stirling University, Gemma is working with local communities in Alloa to understand more about the real day to day impacts of energy use and fuel poverty on their lives, so as to support them to influence healthier, greener and fairer energy futures.

Her research interests lie in developing and applying participatory design approaches and visual methods within health and wellbeing contexts, and in using design to enable and integrate multidisciplinary research collaborations to design evidence-based and person-centred services and interventions.

Prior to commencing work at GSA in 2008, Gemma worked for a large science and technology consultancy undertaking human factors, innovation and market analysis for the defence sector and product design for commercial customers. Gemma graduated with a Masters degree in Product Design Engineering from GSA/Glasgow University (2004).

www.futurehealthandwellbeing.org