In the early 1900s, suffragette Elsie Hooper helped shape our story, teaching the science of medicinal plants to pharmacy students. She became the first woman to receive both the Redwood Research Scholarship and the Pharmaceutical Society’s Burroughs Scholarship, before going on to open her own pharmacies in London where she supported and mentored female apprentices.
More than a century later, women remain central to our ambitions, advancing knowledge across science, humanities, technology, the arts and business.
Their research spans health, security, the environment, the arts and crime, generating new insight and real world impact. Through their teaching, they inspire the next generation to think boldly and achieve more.
Meet our researchers
Dr Alessia Tranchese
Dr Alessia Tranchese is a feminist media and linguistics researcher who investigates how language and digital platforms shape public understanding of male violence against women, using corpus analysis and AI‑driven methods to study online misogyny, pornography, and media representations of sexual violence.
Dr Amy Drahota
Dr Amy Drahota is an Associate Professor whose research focuses on improving health and social care for older people, with expertise in falls prevention, healthy ageing environments, and public involvement in research.
Professor Anastasia Callaghan
Professor Anastasia Callaghan is a biochemist and molecular biophysicist whose research focuses on RNA biology, post‑transcriptional gene regulation, and developing innovative tools to study RNA‑based molecular interactions.
Professor Angela Crack
Professor Angela Crack is a leading scholar of civil society whose research advances NGO accountability, language inclusion, and community‑driven development practices.
Dr Banafsheh Khosravi
Dr Banafsheh Khosravi is a Senior Lecturer in Operational Research whose work advances mathematical modelling, optimisation, and data‑driven solutions for complex challenges in transportation, logistics, and healthcare.
Dr Becky Canning
Dr Becky Canning is an astrophysicist and Deputy Director for Space whose research explores cosmology, large‑scale structure, and the nature of dark matter through major international survey collaborations.
Professor Becky Milne
Professor Becky Milne is a leading forensic psychologist whose research has transformed investigative interviewing worldwide, improving how police and justice professionals gather reliable information from witnesses, victims, and suspects.
Dr Carmen Falagan
Dr Carmen Falagan is an environmental microbiologist whose research explores how microorganisms in extreme environments can be used to reduce the environmental impact of mining and address challenges related to climate change.
I have delivered invited talks for women’s rights organisations, including the End Violence Against Women Coalition and Women’s Support Project.
My work is policy-oriented and has real-world impact. I provide school training on online misogyny and have collaborated with non-academic organisations, including DEMOS and Full Fact, to inform practical strategies for tackling male violence against women.
Dr Carolina Machuca Vargas
Dr Carolina Machuca Vargas is a dental public health researcher dedicated to reducing oral health inequalities through innovative, community‑focused interventions and cross‑sector collaboration.
Dr Charlotte Morris
Dr Charlotte Morris is a sociologist and gender studies scholar whose research explores gender, sexuality, inequality, and lived experiences in higher education, focusing on how care, intimacy, work, and pedagogies shape gendered academic and personal lives.
Dr Claire Bailey-Ross
Dr Claire Bailey‑Ross is a digital heritage researcher examining how people engage with and experience digital cultural heritage, shaping innovative and inclusive approaches to museum and heritage technologies.
Dr Clare Eglin
Dr Clare Eglin investigates how the human body responds to extreme environments—especially cold water—to improve safety, survival, and public health.
Professor Deborah Shaw
Professor Deborah Shaw is a film and screen studies researcher whose work explores transnational cinema, Latin American film, migration, and gender and sexuality in global screen media.
Dr Devran Gulel
Dr Devran Gulel is a research fellow whose work examines gender politics, human rights, and women’s inclusion in society, contributing to international projects that advance equality and challenge structural inequalities.
Dr Elisavet Andrikopoulou
Dr Elisavet Andrikopoulou is a health informatics researcher advancing digital health, AI‑driven healthcare solutions, and data‑driven approaches to support people with long‑term conditions, while championing research visibility and collaboration across Europe.
Dr Ella Haig
Dr Ella Haig is an artificial intelligence researcher specialising in intelligent, user‑adaptive systems, using data‑driven modelling and decision‑support techniques to better understand and respond to human behaviour.
Did you know?
Professor Claudia Maraston, of the University of Portsmouth, won the Royal Astronomical Society’s Eddington Medal for her work on the evolution of stars and galaxies.
Read more about Claudia's accomplishment here.
Professor Fay Couceiro
Professor Fay Couceiro investigates the sources, impacts, and solutions to environmental pollution—especially microplastics—working with industry and communities to develop innovative ways to protect ecosystems and human health.
Dr Fiona McCall
Dr Fiona McCall is an early modern historian whose research explores religious conflict, social memory, and the experiences of women, families, and clergy during and after the English Civil War.
Dr Gemma Milligan
Dr Gemma Milligan researches occupational physiology, exploring how physical demands, environments, age, and sex affect people’s ability to perform high‑risk jobs in sectors such as the military, maritime rescue, and offshore industries.
Dr Heather Massey
Dr Heather Massey researches how extreme environments - particularly cold water - affect human physiology, using her work to improve water safety, support health interventions, and enhance understanding of how people adapt to challenging conditions.
Dr Helen Ringrow
Dr Helen Ringrow is a discourse scholar whose research explores how language shapes gender, identity, inequality, and social justice across advertising, media, religion, and online communities.
Dr Isabelle Cockel
Dr Isabelle Cockel is a scholar of East Asian migration and gender whose research examines immigrant women’s identities, activism, and experiences across Taiwan and the wider region, with a focus on citizenship, inequality, and transnational belonging.
Dr Jenny Burbage
Dr Jenny Burbage researches breast biomechanics and women’s health, developing evidence‑based approaches to improve breast support, comfort, and performance for women in sport and physically demanding occupations.
Dr Jenny Walden
Dr Jenny Walden is an Associate Dean at the University of Portsmouth whose research explores critical interventions in art history, aesthetics, and the politics of memory within modern and contemporary visual culture.
I lead the University's Microplastics Research Group which aims to establish the impacts of microplastics on human health and the environment through rigorous scientific research.
We wish to engage and galvanise citizens, businesses and policy makers to action through knowledge exchange and creating innovative solutions.
As such, we have a number of ongoing microplastics projects ranging from air, water and soils, to fauna and humans.
Profressor Joanne Preston
Professor Joanne Preston is a marine biologist leading pioneering research in coastal habitat restoration, ecological connectivity, and the recovery of vital ecosystems such as oyster reefs, seagrass meadows, and saltmarshes.
Professor Joanna Wakefield-Scurr
Professor Joanna Wakefield‑Scurr leads internationally recognised research in breast biomechanics and women’s breast health, advancing scientific understanding and improving support, comfort, and performance for women in sport, work, and everyday life.
Dr Jodi Burkett
Dr Jodi Burkett is a cultural and social historian whose research explores how the end of empire shaped British identity, focusing on activism, race, anti‑racism, and student movements in late twentieth‑century Britain.
Dr Jovana Radulovic
Dr Jovana Radulovic is an engineering researcher exploring the behaviour of complex fluids, energy systems, and renewable technologies to advance sustainable thermodynamic solutions.
Professor Joy Watts
Professor Joy Watts is an environmental microbiologist researching microbial diversity and its role in breaking down complex pollutants, tackling antimicrobial resistance, and understanding microbial interactions across marine and aquaculture environments.
Dr Julia Brown
Dr Julia Brown researches the politics and sustainability of water governance, critically examining how participation, power, and policy shape equitable access to water and the long‑term success of development initiatives.
Professor June Purvis (Emeritus)
Professor June Purvis is an Emeritus Professor of Women’s and Gender History at the University of Portsmouth, renowned for her extensive scholarship on the British suffrage movement and acclaimed biographies of Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst.
Dr Karen Middleton
Dr Karen Middleton researches gender, inclusion, and social responsibility in advertising, examining how marketing shapes cultural norms and advocating for fairer, more equitable media practices.
My main research interests are in breast health issues such as breast pain and poor bra fit, functional breast support and the effect of breast support on performance during occupational activities.
Dr Lana Chikhungu
Dr Lana Chikhungu is a population health and development researcher whose work focuses on gender inequality, maternal and child health, and violence against women and girls across the Global South.
Dr Lisa Sugiura
Dr Lisa Sugiura researches online harms, cybercrime, and digital gender‑based abuse, shedding light on how technology facilitates violence and inequality while informing policy and protective practices.
Professor Lorraine Hope
Professor Lorraine Hope is an applied cognitive psychologist whose research advances evidence‑based techniques for improving memory, investigative interviewing, and intelligence gathering in high‑stakes contexts.
Professor Marta Roldo
Professor Marta Roldo is a biomaterials scientist developing innovative drug‑delivery systems, antimicrobial technologies, and tissue‑engineering solutions to advance healthcare and regenerative medicine.
Dr Martina Navarro
Dr Martina Navarro researches human skilled performance through an ecological psychology lens, exploring how environments, stress, and movement design shape attention, decision‑making, and athletic development.
Dr Melanie Bassett
Dr Melanie Bassett is a historian whose research explores port‑town identities, dockyard communities, and the lived experience of empire, while leading major public‑engagement projects that connect global maritime heritage with contemporary communities.
Associate Professor Milena Metalkova-Markova
Associate Professor Milena Metalkova‑Markova researches architectural heritage and preservation, specialising in historic wooden townhouses and the intersections of art, architecture, and cultural memory across Europe and Japan.
Dr Mitch Lomax
Dr Mitch Lomax is a pulmonary exercise physiologist researching breathing limitations and respiratory muscle performance in sport, clinical settings, and extreme environments to enhance safety, wellbeing, and athletic performance.
I am a founder member of an International research collaboration, the CG Collective, exploring research-creation, post-qualitative method/ology and knowledge production at/in conference spaces. We have engaged in numerous workshops and have produced academic articles and our book Knowledge Production in Material Spaces: Disturbing Conferences and Composing Events.
Dr Nikki Fairchild
Dr Nikki Fairchild researches early childhood education and professional practice through feminist posthuman and postqualitative lenses, exploring how place, embodiment, and relational experiences shape care, learning, and educator identities.
Dr Patience Mutunami
Dr Patience Mutunami is a feminist researcher whose work examines how gender, culture, and development policies shape violence against women and girls—particularly harmful practices such as FGM, child marriage, and bride price—while advocating for intersectional, community‑driven change.
Dr Roja Hadianamrei
Dr Roja Hadianamrei is a nanomedicine researcher developing smart peptide‑ and lipid‑based nanoparticles and novel anticancer therapeutics to enable more targeted, effective drug and gene delivery for cancer treatment.
Dr Rosa Marvell
Dr Rosa Marvell is a sociologist researching intersectional inequalities in education and work, focusing on social class, gender, trans inclusion, and widening participation to advance social justice across post‑compulsory education and employment.
Sarah Atkins
Ms Sarah Atkins is a legal scholar whose research examines public international law, human rights and judicial review, drawing on her professional expertise in family law, child protection and asylum to explore how legal frameworks shape justice and protection.
Professor Sarah Charman
Professor Sarah Charman researches policing, criminal justice, and organisational culture, examining how police identities, practices, and reforms shape frontline experiences and the future of the profession.
Professor Sarah Turnbull
Professor Sarah Turnbull is a global marketing and advertising scholar whose research explores marketing communications, branding, and digital advertising, informed by decades of industry experience across international markets.
Dr Sukh Hamilton
Dr Sukh Hamilton researches gender, education, and social justice, focusing on the experiences of British Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi women, alongside pioneering work on bereavement, inclusion, and the voices of children and young people.
Dr Susana Sampaio-Dias
Dr Susana Sampaio‑Dias researches journalism, human rights, and press freedom, examining how journalists work, navigate risk, and experience gendered online harassment across global and Lusophone media contexts.
Dr Tamsin Bradley
Professor Tamsin Bradley researches gender, religion, and international development, examining how cultural and social structures shape women’s lives and inform interventions to address gender‑based violence and inequality.
Dr Xiang Song
Dr Xiang Song is an operations research specialist developing advanced optimisation and AI‑driven models to improve logistics, transportation, and complex cutting‑and‑packing problems across industry and supply chain systems.
Did you know?
The University of Portsmouth holds a Silver Award from Athena Swan.
This recognises our work to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for women in research and across the University.