Kate Reed

Professor Kate Reed is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, and former Director of the Sheffield Methods Institute. Her academic career spans over two decades with a focus on the sociology of health and illness, death and dying, reproductive health, gender, and qualitative research methods. She leads interdisciplinary projects addressing bereavement support and healthcare practices, particularly in neonatal/post-mortem contexts.

Education: Holds a BA, MA, and PhD in Sociology. Her research has driven policy changes in healthcare and bereavement services, notably through the ESRC-funded project ‘End of or Start of Life?’, which examined minimally invasive post-mortems for bereaved parents. This work earned the ESRC Outstanding Societal Impact Prize (2019) and resulted in the award-winning book Understanding Baby Loss (2023).

Teaching: Specializes in social theory, health sociology, research methods, and genetics. She emphasizes practical skills for employability and interdisciplinary collaboration, contributing significantly to PhD training programs.

Collaborations: Works with Hospice UK, NHS, DWP, and National Bereavement Service to translate research into tangible support systems. Her work bridges academia and practice, focusing on marginalized voices in healthcare and grief.

Awards: In addition to the ESRC prize, her book won the BSA Foundation for Sociology of Health and Illness Book Prize (2024). Her research on grief in workplaces and emotional labor in qualitative studies further underscores her impact on both theory and practice.