Jessica is a qualitative researcher whose work explores the ethics of school-based mental health interventions. She has studied topics ranging from the use of EdTech for suicide prediction to the role of nature-based programmes in secondary schools, and her work is grounded in an interdisciplinary approach that bridges psychology, education, policy, and bioethics.
Her research employs diverse qualitative methods, including interviews, Deliberative Policy Workshops, grounded theory, and co-production with young people, teachers, and policy professionals. She is committed to working with communities at both local and national levels, fostering collaborative relationships that ensure research findings are relevant, inclusive, and capable of informing meaningful change.
In DSPI, Jessica lectures on the Qualitative Methods module of the MSc in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation (EBSIPE). Her teaching practice is shaped by a strong commitment to inclusive pedagogy and a desire to diversify teaching at Oxford. She has also contributed to widening participation schemes at the University, including the UNIQ+ programme and Balliol Frontiers.
Before joining DSPI, Jessica was a postdoctoral researcher on an Agile Initiative Sprint at the University of Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry, where she collaborated with the Department for Education on a research–policy partnership and led the Agile-strand of the NeurOx Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG), a group that promotes young people’s participation in research and healthcare.
Jessica completed her DPhil in Psychiatry with the Neuroscience, Ethics, and Society group at Oxford, her MSc in Developmental Psychology at Maastricht University, and her BA in Psychology at Occidental College.
