Jessica Pykett

Professor Jessica Pykett is a Professor of Social and Political Geography at the University of Birmingham's School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. Her work focuses on governance, neuroscience-influenced policy, urban wellbeing, and digital affective governance. She holds a PhD from the University of Bristol and has held roles at Aberystwyth University and The Open University.

Research interests include:

• Emotional politics and regulation
• Behavioral public policy
• Neuroscience and urban design
• Digital emotion sensing technologies

Recent publications explore neurotechnologies, sociodigital futures in education, and urban wellbeing. She leads the Centre for Urban Wellbeing and co-directs interdisciplinary projects like the ESRC Ethics and Expertise initiative. Key grants include a Leverhulme-funded study on 'Biology, Data Science and Precision Education'.

Awards: Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Advising and Grants: Supervised 13 doctoral students across themes like youth mental health, urban stress, and policy innovation. Collaborates with institutions like the Institute for Mental Health and the Home Office.

Labs/Teams: Co-Director, Centre for Urban Wellbeing; Deputy Research Lead, Human Geography; Member, Institute for Mental Health.