School of Health Sciences and Social Work

Harriet Moonesinghe

Ms Harriet Moonesinghe

Research Student

SHSSW

Harriet.Moonesinghe@port.ac.uk

Profile

After I graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology in 2012 I joined the School of Health Sciences and Social Work at the University of Portsmouth as a PhD research student. My research interests are in health and allergy more generally however for the purpose of my PhD, for which I was awarded a studentship from The University of Portsmouth aided by sponsorship from The Fishmongers Company, I will focus on fish and shellfish allergy under the supervision of Prof Tara Dean, Dr Heather Mackenzie and Dr Carina Venter. My research project will adopt a mixed methods approach and aim to answer the following objectives:

  • To determine the prevalence and natural history of fish and shellfish allergy in different regions of the world.
  • To characterise fish allergic adults in the UK (across three allergy clinics: The David Hyde Asthma and Allergy Centre, Isle of Wight, Southampton and Royal Brompton) with regards to the types of fish involved and other co-existing allergies such as crustacean and molluscs, as well as the presence of atopic disease and their health-related quality of life.
  • To correlate fish intake in pregnancy, the timing of introduction of fish in the first 3 years of life, and frequency of fish consumption with the development of fish allergy and other allergic diseases in the first 10 years of life.