Biography

Dr Dia Soilemezi is a Researcher Psychologist and a Qualitative Methodologist. She is a Senior Research Fellow in Department of Psychology and currently works part-time as a Senior Research Adviser at the NIHR-funded Research Design Service South Central (RDS SC), based at Research & Innovation Services. She has previously worked as a Research Fellow at the Department of Primary Care and Population Studies, University of Southampton.

Dia graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Crete (Greece), has an MSc in Health Psychology from Sussex University and a PhD in Psychology from the University of Portsmouth. Dia’s PhD project focused on the impact of the home environment in dementia care and was shortlisted for best research 2016 by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Before joining RDS SC in 2017, Dia worked as a Research Fellow in ageing-related projects, University of Portsmouth. Before embarking on research, Dia was employed in a variety of NHS clinical settings in Brighton and Portsmouth, supporting adults and the elderly with stroke, dementia and mental health problems.  She has also been a project worker implementing European integration projects, focusing on work-training and education for ex-drug addicts in Athens, Greece.

Research interests

My current research interests are: dementia; homecare; meaning of home; family carers; healthcare environments; ageing and later life; use of herbal medicine 

My main research interests lie within the field of dementia and particularly home care and support to family care of people with dementia. I am interested in the meaning of home and how it might change throughout the lifespan and especially in relation to health and care at home. I am using qualitative methods and I am particularly interested in using naturalistic methods, such as walking interviews.