I am a social psychologist, who studies families and young people. I have 2 broad research areas. These are: 

1) Migration and Minority Groups:  I am interested in the identity and migration experiences of families and young people and in how they engage with institutions in new settings. I am also interested in citizenship rights and activism in minority groups.  

2) Cultural Heritage and Wellbeing: I am interested in how the arts and creative practices can help foster wellbeing in people. This includes with teenagers and children with mental health difficulties, individuals living with trauma but also people experiencing loneliness. 

Methodological Approach: I work across disciplines  (including psychology, sociology and history) and use traditional mixed research methods as well as arts, visual and film-based methods (including documentary research).  I work with museum practitioners, artists, and policy groups.

Summary of Key Research Projects: My doctoral research: 'Parenting and Child Development in Multi-Ethnic Britain', was a  mixed method study that explored parenting and family life in second generation British South Asian families. At UCL, I have worked with Professors Carol Vincent & Sarah Neal on an ESRC project - 'Children’s and Adults’ Friendships across Social Class and Ethnic Difference'. We wrote a book about this work, published by Palgrave in 2018 called Friendship & Diversity: Class, Ethnicity & Social Relationships in the City.  I continue to work with Professor Sarah Crafter (The Open University) around Child Language Brokers i.e. recently arrived children and young people who interpret and translate for their families in a range of spaces and contexts. We completed an AHRC study 'Child Language Brokering: Spaces of Identity Belonging and Mediators of Cultural Knowledge' in 2018. I have also conducted a series of UCL Grand Challenge Funded Projects around Cultural Heritage and Wellbeing  (Between Spaces: Museums and Mental Wellbeing in Young People & FLOCK: The Art of Ceramics in fostering Wellbeing in Displaced Groups) with the  South London and Maudsley NHS Trust (SLaM).

In 2020, I will begin work on my new AHRC funded project titled: 'Partition of Identity: An exploration of Belonging in Bengalis in Pakistan, 1971- 2021'. This 2 year project will explore the lived experiences of Bengali migrants in Pakistan (arriving after 1971). It draws from social psychology, history and arts based methods. 

Impact: To hear more about my research work:  

Listen to BBC Radio 4 – Translating for mum and Dad: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0005mg0

Listen to BBC Radio 4- A Culture of Encounter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09dxz1b 

See: https://www.flockproject.co.uk/