The renowned clinical epidemiologist and methodologist takes over from July 2023, following in the footsteps of Professor Sheena Asthana who has seen the institute through its first three years and now leads the University of Plymouth's Centre for Health Technology .
Professor Nasser says:
“The cross-faculty nature of PIHR provides a unique opportunity for the University to bring together experts from various disciplines to tackle the complex challenges we face in social and healthcare. I am extremely excited to lead PIHR and to build upon the excellent work that has been accomplished thus far.”
As a Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Oral Health research at the University, Professor Mona Nasser has developed frameworks around advances and evaluating research priority setting exercises. She also focuses on the challenges on conducting systematic reviews that include diverse study design (clinical, animal and in-vitro), especially in respect to how these can be applied to space medicine.
By facilitating collaboration with the humanities, artists, robotics engineers and cybersecurity experts, Professor Nasser’s work identifies new technological and training solutions to make dental practices more welcoming for individuals with different level of intellectual or physical abilities. This includes co-leading the Privacy-preserving Robotics in DEntistry (PRiDE) project and working with patients and dentists to reveal signs and triggers of stress and anxiety in the clinic (AngST ) project.
Professor Nasser has around 100 peer-reviewed publications – mostly research articles in journals including well-known journals like Lancet and BMJ – and has contributed to research grants over £3 million.
Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Plymouth, Professor Archie Clements , says:
“We are delighted to appoint Professor Nasser to this critical research leadership role – her cross-disciplinary approach to research, her excellent team building skills and her vision for building impactful health and care research with our partners in the NHS make her an ideal choice to lead PIHR.”
About the Plymouth Institute of Health and Care Research
As one of the University of Plymouth’s three strategic research institutes, PIHR leads on adventurous, world-leading research from discovering the causes of disease, through to evaluating novel ways of delivering care to the most vulnerable people in society.
The institute’s main research themes are Brain and mind , plus Future ready health and care .
Recent and ongoing projects led by PIHR researchers include, the TULAY project , around co-designing community and physical rehabilitation in the Philippines and the ICONIC project looks to improve digital inclusion in rural and coastal communities. Recent key findings from projects involving PIHR researchers include the identification of a potential link between oral bacteria and brain abscesses and the potential efficacy of using 24/7 digital support to reduce anxiety in autistic adults .
PIHR also works with the University’s Marine and Sustainable Earth Institutes, together with the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business on many multi-disciplinary projects.
