Emma Bird

Dr Emma Bird is a Senior Lecturer in Public Health at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), affiliated with the HAS - Health and Social Sciences department. She holds a BSc in Psychology (University of Liverpool, 2008), MSc in Health Psychology (UWE Bristol, 2010), and DPhil in physical activity intervention development (2020). A Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), she has over 10 years of teaching experience in higher education, currently leading the MSc Public Health dissertation module and contributing to undergraduate/postgraduate programs. Previously, she led modules like Health Promotion and Principles of Evidence-Based Public Health.

Her research focuses on health and place, evaluation methodologies, and physical activity interventions. She leads two funded research projects: a UK Prevention Research Partnership initiative and a South Gloucestershire Council initiative. Emma collaborates with institutions like Public Health England, Sustrans UK, and the Nepal Injury Research Centre. She is also the UK Training Lead for the SafeTrip Nepal project under NIHR Global Health Research.

Publications include Research Methods for Public Health (Sage, 2019), co-authored chapters on evidence synthesis and mixed methods. Her work spans systematic reviews (e.g., antibiotic use in GCC countries), intervention feasibility studies (e.g., physical activity in schools), and policy evaluations (e.g., speed limits and urban health). She actively contributes to the South West Public Health Specialty Training Programme as an academic supervisor and leads UWE’s sponsorship scheme for public health workforce development.

Emma’s awards include her FHEA and recognition for her role in bridging academic-public health partnerships. She currently supervises two doctoral students and is involved in the Centre for Public Health and Wellbeing at UWE.