ERA Committee

Outgoing Chair of Emerging Researchers Into Ageing Group (ERA):

Dr Amy Prescott 

Dr. Amy Prescott is a Research Fellow at Brunel University of London, working on a funded Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) project that explores socially inclusive ageing across the life-course with 'new ageing populations'. With a strong background in qualitative research, her work focuses on understanding and representing the lived experiences of marginalised groups. Amy completed her PhD examining the health, wellbeing and leisure practices of British nuclear test veterans, shedding light on the long-term impacts of nuclear testing on veterans and their families. Her research interests span qualitative methods, lived experiences, and creative forms of representation, aiming to amplify the voices of those often overlooked in traditional academic discourse. Passionate about interdisciplinary and socially engaged research, Amy employs innovative methodologies to explore complex social issues, ensuring that research findings are not only academically rigorous but also meaningful to the communities involved. Her current work aligns with her broader commitment to addressing social inequalities and promoting diverse, inclusive narratives in ageing research. At Brunel, Amy continues to develop her expertise, working closely with stakeholders to inform policy and practice. Her work is driven by a belief in the power of research to create positive social change and meaningful impact.

Chair of Emerging Researchers Into Ageing Group (ERA):

Christopoh Heuser

Dr Christoph Heuser is a Research Fellow at the University of Southampton and the current Chair of ERA. Over the past six years, he has also worked as a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Gerontology and held various roles within ERA, before taking up his current postdoctoral position in the Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences at Southampton.

His methodological expertise includes ethnography, interviews, focus groups, reflexive thematic analysis, statistical analysis, and community-engaged research, with a particular interest in applying mixed-methods approaches to improve health and social care for older adults. His research interests span mental health in later life, temporality over the life course, healthcare access, growing old in sub-Saharan Africa and ageing across diverse social and cultural contexts.

Christoph is an Assessing Editor and former Book Review Editor for Ageing & Society, an Editorial Board Member of Educational Gerontology, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), and a peer reviewer for a range of journals.

Incoming Chair of Emerging Researchers Into Ageing Group (ERA):

Mengxing Joshi 

Dr Mengxing Joshi is an Associate Lecture in the School of Geography and Sustainable Development at the University of St Andrews.  Her work investigates the intersection of population ageing and immigration/ethnicity, focusing on the health and social (in)equalities experienced by older adults from ethnic minority/immigration communities. Her PhD research specifically examined the experiences of loneliness, social isolation and social capital of this older group. She is a mixed-method researcher, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. She holds master’s degrees in social work and international development. Additionally, she has around 5-year experience in the third sector in China, Australia and the UK working for a diverse range of communities. Committed to bridging the gap between academic research and real-world impact, Mengxing aims to empower disadvantaged communities through rigorous and innovative research that informs policy and practice.

As an Early Career Researcher Representative for the Journal of Global Ageing (JoGA), Mengxing is currently co-editing a special issue with Dr Junjie Huang and Professor Martin Hyde. This initiative offers a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive publishing experience for ERAs. If you’re seeking general support with academic publishing or would like to share your own publication experiences as an ERA, feel free to reach out to Mengxing for a conversation.

Secretary of Emerging Researchers Into Ageing Group (ERA):

Shunqi Zhang 

Dr Shunqi Zhang (she/her) holds an MSc in Social Research Methods and Statistics and a PhD in Social Statistics from the University of Manchester. She is currently a Research Fellow at the ESRC Centre for Population Change, University of Southampton, working on the project Intergenerational Flows of Support in Later Life.

Her research experience spans gerontology, education, sociology, and demography, with a particular focus on life course inequalities. Methodologically, she specialises in the application of advanced quantitative methods within social science contexts. She is particularly enthusiastic about applying causal inference techniques to generate robust causal evidence that enhances research findings and informs policy.

Her current work explores patterns of intergenerational support and the impact of the cost of living crisis on the dynamics, drawing on a range of secondary survey data within the UK context.

Mentor Coordinator for Emerging Researchers Into Ageing Group (ERA):

Ezinma Mbeledogu 

Mentoring Co-ordinator of Emerging Researchers Into Ageing Group (ERA):

Emilie McSwiggan

Emilie (she/they) is a Teaching Fellow and PhD researcher at the University of Edinburgh. Her PhD explores the relationship between social prescribing, community resources and deprivation, particularly for people in mid- to later life.

Emilie is from Guernsey in the Channel Islands, where she worked in policy development and politics, including as an elected representative from 2016-20. Her portfolio included health and social care, social welfare and disability policy. She has lived in Scotland since 2020, and is part of the online Master of Public Health (MPH) team at the University of Edinburgh.

Emilie’s research interests include poverty and public health; inequalities in ageing; refugee and asylum seeker experiences; disability justice; and peace, conflict and migration. She is a mostly-qualitative researcher, with a background in evidence synthesis, and a commitment to socially-engaged research and teaching.

G&T Coordinator for Emerging Researchers Into Ageing Group (ERA):

Faith Howard 

Faith Howard (She/her) has a background in Adult Nursing and has recently completed her PhD in Health Sciences from the University of Surrey. 

Faith is a qualitative and mixed-methods researcher with an interest in implementation science. Faith’s work has focused on supporting those with severe frailty whose needs often fall between the services of independence and imminent dying, and how clinical tools may be best used to support what matters most to this group.  They are members of the Living and Dying Well research group at the University of Surrey, which focuses on the duality of older people living and dying well over a long lifespan and currently supports a number of small projects within the group. 

Social Media Officer for Emerging Researchers Into Ageing Group (ERA):

Edit Paulo

Edit Pauló (she/her) holds an MA in Sociology and an MSc in Business and Economics and is currently pursuing her PhD in Sociology at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest, Hungary. Her research focuses on ageing and digitalisation, with particular interest in the social media practices of older adults, using mixed methods including digital trace data and qualitative interviews.

Edit teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in sociology, social psychology, and research methods. She is the founding secretary of the Ageing Working Group of the Hungarian Sociological Association and a member of the events committee of the Socio-gerontechnology Network.

Publication Officer for Emerging Researchers Into Ageing Group (ERA):

Anamika Singh

Anamika Singh is a FARE Fellow and early-career researcher whose work focuses on population ageing, health inequalities, mental wellbeing, and access to social welfare among older adults. She is currently completing her PhD in Sociology at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India, with her doctoral thesis submitted and degree completion expected in October 2026.

Her doctoral research examines inequalities in ageing in urban India, with a particular focus on how economic, cultural, and social resources accumulated over the life course shape health and mental wellbeing in later life. Drawing on sociological theories of capital and a mixed-methods approach, her research combines quantitative analysis with qualitative inquiry to examine the social determinants of ageing and the lived experiences of older adults. Her work also explores barriers and facilitators in accessing and implementing government welfare schemes, highlighting the role of awareness, family and community support, institutional structures, and age-friendly environments in promoting inclusive ageing.

Anamika is particularly interested in connecting empirical research with policy and practice to address health and social inequalities in later life. Her research contributes to the growing literature on social gerontology in the Global South, particularly by providing city-level evidence from urban India and highlighting the importance of locally responsive approaches to healthy, equitable, and inclusive ageing.

Committee Volunteer of Emerging Researchers Into Ageing Group (ERA):

Sam Toolan 

Sam Toolan is a part-time PhD student (due to complete in 2026) researching ways in which migration and settlement shape mental health concerning racially minoritised older women in the UK. In addition, Sam is: Head of External Engagement at The Open University; a Member of the Open University Centre for Ageing and Biographical Studies; a Trustee of Soumik Datta Arts, a charity that promotes diversity in the creative and cultural sector; and a Mentor for Homerton College at Cambridge University.

Committee Volunteer of Emerging Researchers Into Ageing Group (ERA):

Dr Junjie Huang

Dr Junjie Huang is a Lecturer in Dementia Ageing and Design at the University of Stirling, also serves as a Senior Architect and Design Consultant at the Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) within university, where he contributes to a wide range of projects involving built environment audit, design consultancy, research, training, and knowledge exchange activities. Junjie's research, teaching, and practice largely focus on exploring human-environment relationships, with the goal to establish new understandings that inform future age and dementia friendly design research and practice at different levels. At BSG, Junjie also serves as the Publication Representative of the BSG Executive Committee, and a member of the BSG Scotland Executive Committee.

Committee Volunteer of Emerging Researchers Into Ageing Group (ERA):

Wendy Twist

Prior to coming into academia as a mature student, Wendy had a 35-year career raising investment for, and managing projects in environment, sustainability and community development in non-profit organisations including World Wide Fund for Nature, Oxfam, Forum for the Future and the International Business Leaders Forum. She holds an MA in social gerontology from the Institute of Gerontology at King’s College London and a Postgraduate Certificate from the School of Social Policy at the University of Birmingham. She is currently a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Technology Design and Environment at Oxford Brookes University.  Her research investigates the relationship between intergenerational, community-led housing and  healthy ageing. 

Committee Volunteer of Emerging Researchers Into Ageing Group (ERA):

Sena Odabas 

Sena Odabas holds both a BA and an MA in Social Work from Hacettepe University in Turkey. She is a PhD candidate at Newcastle University, where her research focuses on the experiences of older women who live alone, particularly in relation to social exclusion and precarity. Using a life-course perspective and qualitative methodology, her work investigates how these women’s experiences are shaped across different stages of their lives. She is especially interested in the cumulative disadvantages faced by women in later life, the influence of changing kinship and community ties, and how individuals navigate independence, vulnerability, and ageing in a socio-cultural context.