![Dr Heather May Morgan Dr Heather May Morgan](/img/200x200/staffpages/uploads/mmd807/IMG_9889.jpg)
LLB (Hons), CertHE, MRes, FHEA, PhD, FRSA
Dean for Enterprise & Innovation, Senior Lecturer
- About
-
- Email Address
- h.morgan@abdn.ac.uk
- Telephone Number
- +44 (0)1224 437860
- Office Address
- School/Department
- Senior Vice Principals
- School/Department
- School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition
Biography
I am Dean for Enterprise and Innovation and Senior Lecturer in Applied Health Sciences.
I work closely with the Vice-Principal Regional Engagement, Heads of Schools and a network of School Enterprise & Innovation Champions to promote an enterprise culture at the University of Aberdeen. The purpose is to increase engagement with businesses and other organisations, for commercial and societal impact, and to enhance new business creation (both through student start-up activities, and spin-out activity); engagement with the regional innovation ecosystem is a critical aspect of the role - in support of wider regional economic development.
I am a multidisciplinary social scientist whose formal training spans law, French language, forensic medicine, philosophy, gender studies, social research, sociology, criminology and health services research. I specialise in digital health and qualitative research and have over fifteen years of postgraduate experience in University research and teaching. I am a multiple prize-winning public engagement with research expert. I have individually or jointly secured research funding totalling more than £1.6m. I am lead author/co-author of over thirty peer-reviewed papers and two edited collections. I review for multiple high impact journals/publishers and have assessed grant applications for several international governments as well as major UK funders.
I collaborate with numerous commercial, not for profit and other sector partners. I facilitate knowledge exchange projects and have been involved in various start-up and spin out activities. I am leading in the scale up of work-based learning for all students in line with our 2040 strategy. I have external experience in the independent monitoring of prisons (Scottish Government, 2010-2013). I am co-creator of Aberdeen’s original, free-to-play, location-based, augmented reality game for iOS devices: [m]apping. I am co-founder of The FGM Education Project.
pronouns: she/her/hers
Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation Symposium 2024
Hosted by the Interdisciplinary Institute, we invite staff and students to join the Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation Symposium on Wednesday 4 September. The event will provide an exciting opportunity to highlight the latest developments in interdisciplinary research and innovation taking case studies from across the University of Aberdeen. To submit an abstract (deadline 16 August) or register to attend visit our event page.
Qualifications
- LLB (Hons) Law with Options in French Language and Forensic Medicine2005 - University of Aberdeen
- CertHE Gender Studies and Philosophy2006 - University of Aberdeen
- MRes Social Research2007 - University of Aberdeen
- FHEA Fellow of the Higher Education Academy2011 - Advance HE/HEA
- FRSA Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts2018 - Royal Society of Arts
- PhD Sociology2013 - University of Aberdeen
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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Dean for Enterprise and Innovation
Employability and Skills Champion I sit on the University Education Committee's Employment and Entrepreneurship Committee as a representative for the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition.
- External Memberships
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I am:
- Founder and administrator of the Digital Health mailing list <DIGITAL-HEALTH@JISCMAIL.AC.UK>
- Member of the Board: Open Data Institute, Aberdeen Node
- Member of the CERQual (DECIDE) Working Group
- Member of the Contact, Help, Advice and Information Network (CHAIN) ‘Telecare, telemedicine and teleconsulting’ group
- Member of the Contact, Help, Advice and Information Network (CHAIN) ‘Bio-technical and adaptive devices’ group
- Member of the Contact, Help, Advice and Information Network (CHAIN) ‘Use of social media’ group
- Member Digital Health and Care Institute
- Member of the EPSRC-funded BALANCE ‘Ways of Being in a Digital Age’/Digital Economies Network
- Member of Our Voice Citizens' Panel
- Member of the Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society
- Member of the Surveillance Studies Network
- Member of the UK Participatory Research Network (UKPRN)
- Reviewer for BMC Research Involvement and Engagement
- Reviewer for British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
- Reviewer for British Medical Journal Open
- Reviewer for Field Methods
- Reviewer for Health Sociology Review
- Reviewer for Healthcare Improvement Scotland
- Reviewer for International Journal of Drug Policy
- Reviewer for the Higher Education Academy
- Reviewer for Journal of Contemporary Poetics
- Reviewer for Philosophy and Technology
- Reviewer for SAGE Research Methods Cases
- Reviewer for Sociology
- Reviewer for Surveillance & Society
- Reviewer for Trials
- STEM Ambassador
Latest Publications
Protective and risk factors of mental health of working age adults with adventitious total bilateral blindness and low vision: a scoping review protocol
PloS ONE, vol. 19, no. 1, e0296659Contributions to Journals: ArticlesBarriers and facilitators of adherence to the use of ASICA, a digital app designed to support melanoma survivors: concise report of a qualitative study.
Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, vol. 48, no. 12, pp. 1358-1360Contributions to Journals: ArticlesEnhancing Resilience through reflective thinking and writing support for MSc Research Project students
HETL 2023Contributions to Conferences: PostersActive Assessment in Postgraduate applied health sciences: Embedding university practices that connect the "outside world"
14th University of Aberdeen Annual Academic Development Symposium 2023Contributions to Conferences: Posters- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/22046/1/AADS.pdf
Developing strategies to address disparities in retention communication during the consent discussion: development of a behavioural intervention
Trials, vol. 24, 296Contributions to Journals: Articles
Prizes and Awards
I was named 'Most Accessible Lecturer (Champion for Students with Disabilities)' in the Aberdeen University Student's Association and University of Aberdeen Awards for Excellence in 2019 and nominated 'Most Inspiring' in 2019 and 'Funniest Lecturer' in 2020.
I am active in public engagement with research and a four-time Principal’s Prizes for Public Engagement with Research winner (2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018).
I was selected as a participant of the prestigious Scottish Crucible leadership and development programme in 2015.
- Research
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Research Overview
I specialise in research into the use of (digital) technologies to generate, document, analyse and respond to information about human health biomarkers and behaviours, by individuals and organisations. I research how the addition or integration of such technologies into everyday living is viewed and experienced, the ways in which they impact on social life at a number of levels (e.g. personal, public, political, economic) and their implications, including unintended consequences.
I primarily use qualitative approaches to data collection and analysis, often involving ethnographic, narrative and case study methods, in a range of settings. I also lead and/or contribute to mixed methods studies and have: undertaken systematic reviews (mixed methods and critical interpretive syntheses); utilised and developed behaviour change taxonomies; co-designed and co-analysed two large scale surveys and a discrete choice experiment; and managed feasibility and intervention (randomised controlled trial) studies.
My pedagogical research explores authentic assessment, postgraduate training, career development and employability, especially focused on work-based learning, enterprise and innovation.
Research Areas
Anthropology
Education
Nutrition and Health
Philosophy
Sociology
Research Specialisms
- Higher Education
- Health and Social Care
- Higher Education Teaching
- Management and Organisation of Education
- Research Skills
Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
Current Research
My current substantive work explores people's uses, experiences and views of various health technologies within and independently of health and social care services (e.g. wristwatch ECGs, smartwatches for running; ambulance drones; AI in the NHS; GPS in elite football; apps for resistance training; nutrition tracking; medical education simulation; fertility tracking; sleep hygiene; athletes’ use of performance apps; apps/wearables for weight loss; video-delivery of exercise programmes in sheltered housing); electronic records in ambulances (ERA); post-intensive care rehabilitation: an evaluation of the scaling up of the InS:PIRE programme; RAACENO: the use of devices to inform prevention of childhood asthma attacks; and blockchain technology’s potential application for health services and research.
My pedagogical research considers authentic assessment in both University and work-based learning, assessment and feedback processes, postgraduate student support and mentoring and the development of graduate attributes through work-based placements at postgraduate level.
My previous work looked at: European Fans in Training (EuroFIT): working with professional football clubs to help men become more active and less sedentary; self-management of long-term health conditions (including using health self-monitoring technologies); surveillance interventions for healthy behaviours in pregnancy (particularly around smoking, including the use of home indoor air quality monitoring and financial incentives contingent on carbon monoxide exhalation monitoring); and gender/deviance in police CCTV operations.
Funding and Grants
Dates
Award holder(s)
Funding body
Title
Value
April-July 2023
Co-applicant (PI: Jess Wood, University of Aberdeen)
Public Engagement with Research Unit, University of Aberdeen
Wellbeing and Health practices of past to present in the Outer Hebrides, a community exploration
£1500.00
2022-23
Co-applicant (PI: Kirsty Kiezebrink, University of Aberdeen)
Learning and Teaching Enhancement Programme, University of Aberdeen
Learning Better Together
£2065.98
August-September 2022 (6 weeks)
Principal Investigator (PI)
School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen
Summer Teaching Development Project to explore graduate attributes in MSc Applied Health Sciences.
£1,500.00
2022
Co-applicant (PI: Dr Sarah Sivers, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen)
NHS Grampian R&D Endowments Research Grant
Towards Avoiding Conflict in Difficult Care Management Decisions: understanding the causes of local disputes in paediatrics in order to develop pathways to dispute resolution in NHS Grampian.
£12,000.00
2022
Co-applicant (Co-PI: Dr Silvia Casini, University of Aberdeen)
Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH) Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) Scholarship – Charlotte Lock
Reflecting on the Echo: A Postphenomenological Investigation into the Lived Experience of the Transthoracic Echocardiogram.
£20,658.00 per year x 3 years (not claimed due to student health-related withdrawal)
2022
Local Principal Investigator (collaborative award with University of Highlands and Islands, University of St. Andrews and North Uist Historical Society)
IDEAS fund (British Science Association/Wellcome Trust
Aire Air Sunnd (Attention to Wellbeing).
£3,000.00
2022
Co-applicant (PI: Corina Weir, University of Aberdeen)
Learning and Teaching Enhancement Programme, University of Aberdeen
Enhancing resilience through supporting reflective thinking and writing.
£2,105.00
2021
Co-applicant (PI: Jennie MacDiarmid, University of Aberdeen)
University of Aberdeen, Pump Prime Funding
Pathways to sustainable and healthy diets: Young people’s views about climate change and eating less meat.
£6,987.55
August-September 2021 (6 weeks)
Principal Investigator
School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen
Summer Teaching Development Project to explore assessment in work-based learning.
£1,500.00
2021-2022
Co-applicant (PI: Camilla Mørk-Røstvik, University of Aberdeen)
University of Aberdeen, Pump Prime Funding
Assistance for the Menstruation Research Network UK.
£7, 320.00
2020-2022
Co-applicant (PI: Elena Giannaccini, University of Aberdeen)
Brigstow Institute Ideas Exchange, University of Bristol
First Talk Introductions: Towards enabling closer mother-child interactions in utero .
£1,000.00
November 2019-December 2021
Co-applicant (PI: Marjorie Johnston, University of Aberdeen)
Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund, Fellowship Development Award
Engaging with the Children of the 1950s study: telling the story of Aberdeen.
£9,002.00
2019-2021 (extended 2022-)
Co-applicant (PI: David Fitzpatrick, University of Stirling)
Chief Scientist Office HIPS/19/28
Creating safe handover systems for the pre-hospital environment.
£269,963.00
2019-2020
Co-applicant (PI: Zoe Skea, University of Aberdeen)
NHS Grampian R&D Endowments Research Grant
Baby boxes and parental capabilities: developing a measure of social outcomes.
£10,427.00
2019
Co-applicant (PI: Amudha Poobalan, University of Aberdeen)
Learning and Teaching Enhancement Programme, University of Aberdeen
Enhancing postgraduate learning and experience: Evaluation of the SUCCESS PLUSprogramme (Socio-cUltural Coaching for Careers and Employability to Support Success:Pathways for LifeUnderpinning Success).
£1,957.55
14 September 2018
Personal award
Principal’s Prize, University of Aberdeen
Principal’s Prize for Public Engagement with Research 2018, Winner: Senior Category.
£400.00 + £400.00 for activity
2017-2021
Co-applicant (PI: Steve Turner, University of Aberdeen)
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) (Reference: 15/18/14)
Research study: Reducing asthma attacks in children using exhaled nitric oxide as a biomarker to inform treatment strategy – a randomised trial (RAACENO).
£1,467,090.00
2016-2018
Co-convenor (with Beverley Searle, University of Dundee)
Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society (SAGES)
Funds to establish ‘Pollinating Wellbeing’ Forum.
£5,440.00
02 August 2017
Personal award
Principal’s Prize, University of Aberdeen
Principal’s Prize for Public Engagement with Research 2017, Outstanding Achievement: Early Career Category.
£200.00
July 2017
Co-PI (with Ed Welch and Pete Stollery, University of Aberdeen, and Andrew Sage, Andrew Sage Arts and Entertainment)
Aberdeen Humanities Fund/Development Trust: Cities of Ghosts
For the [M]apping knowledge exchange and commercialisation project.
£740.00
June 2017
Lead applicant, group award
Marie Curie Alumni Association, Scotland Chapter
Funds to support HSRU public engagement activity in late 2017.
£198.80
May 2017
Lead applicant, group award
Public Engagement with Research Unit, University of Aberdeen – Enabling Award
Funds to support HSRU public engagement activity at May Festival 2017.
£424.60
May 2017
Co-PI (with Ed Welch and Pete Stollery, University of Aberdeen, and Andrew Sage, Andrew Sage Arts and Entertainment)
Sport Aberdeen/Aberdeen City Council using funds from The Heritage Lottery Fund
For the [M]apping knowledge exchange and commercialisation project. To work with Sport Aberdeen to co-create a version of our app for the March Stones initiative over summer 2017.
£1,800.00
May 2017
Principal Investigator
Institute for Medical Education, University of Aberdeen
Funded summer intern position. To support exploration of digital health medical education in the UK.
£1,500.00
February 2017
Personal award
Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen
Staff Development Budget. To attend and present at a conference.
£300.00
- Teaching
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Courses
- Medical Humanities Dissertation (ME44M2)
Teaching Responsibilities
I contribute to the training, supervision and assessment of BSc, MSc and PhD students across a range of disciplines’ programmes at the University of Aberdeen. I previously taught on University of Aberdeen undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Gender Studies, Sociology and Health Studies in the School of Social Science (2007-2012) and social aspects of health in the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition (since 2009), as well as on the interdisciplinary Sixth Century Course in Sustainable International Development (2011).
Non-course Teaching Responsibilities
I have also taught on courses for staff through the University of Aberdeen’s Centre for Academic Development and contribute teaching for Postgraduate Research students through the Graduate School's programme of workshops.
- Publications
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Page 3 of 4 Results 51 to 75 of 97
‘Is that it?’ Using ‘explorachoc’ to engage the public with clinical trials and health services research
Trials, vol. 18, no. Suppl 1, pp. P158Contributions to Journals: AbstractsDevelopment and piloting of a food-based intervention to increase vitamin E intake in pregnant women in a randomised controlled trial
Food Science and Nutrition, vol. 4, no. 6, pp. 848-851Contributions to Journals: ArticlesAn interview study of pregnant women who were provided with indoor air quality measurements of second hand smoke to help them quit smoking
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, vol. 16, 305Contributions to Journals: ArticlesBreast pumps as an incentive for breastfeeding: a mixed methods study of acceptability
Maternal and Child Nutrition, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 726-739Contributions to Journals: ArticlesWhy the NHS should prescribe wearable fitness trackers
The Conversation, vol. Health + MedicineContributions to Specialist Publications: ArticlesFinancial incentives to support smoking cessation in pregnant women – size matters
University of Aberdeen. 2 pagesBooks and Reports: Other ReportsCombining PPI with qualitative research to engage ‘harder-to-reach’ populations: service user groups as co-applicants on a platform study for a trial
Research Involvement and Engagement, vol. 2, pp. 1-26Contributions to Journals: Articles@selfhealthtech: Using self-administered health monitoring technologies to support the self-management of long-term conditions: what about behaviour change?: 2nd Behaviour Change Conference: Digital Health and Wellbeing.
Frontiers in public healthContributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/conf.FPUBH.2016.01.00045
Confessions of a Fitness Tracker: An auto-ethnographic research blog
Non-textual Forms: Web Publications and WebsitesThe only way is app - Using new health technologies to manage chronic conditions
Non-textual Forms: Digital or Visual Products[M]apping Aberdeen
Non-textual Forms: Digital or Visual Products‘Pushed’ self-tracking using digital technologies for chronic health condition management: a critical interpretive synthesis
Digital Health, vol. 2, pp. 1-41Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2055207616678498
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/7770/1/2055207616678498.full.pdf
Will fitness trackers damage our relationships with our doctors?
The Conversation, vol. Science + TechnologyContributions to Specialist Publications: ArticlesA ladder logic model to inform the design of incentive interventions for breastfeeding
Maternal and Child Nutrition, vol. 11, no. Supplement S2, pp. 65Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12238
Breast pumps as an incentive for breastfeeding: a mixed methods investigation
Maternal and Child Nutrition, vol. 11, no. Supplement S2, pp. 38Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12238
Perspectives on financial incentives to health service providers for increasing breastfeeding and smoking quit rates during pregnancy: a mixed methods study
Maternal and Child Nutrition, vol. 11, no. Supplement S2, pp. 113Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12238
Perspectives on financial incentives to health service providers for increasing breastfeeding and smoking quit rates during pregnancy: a mixed methods study
BMJ Open, vol. 5, no. 11, e008492Contributions to Journals: ArticlesTrends in acute medical paediatric admissions to Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital 2000-2013- Better safe than sorry?
Commissioned by GRAMPIAN UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS TRUST. University of AberdeenBooks and Reports: Commissioned ReportsBenefits of incentives for breastfeeding and smoking cessation in pregnancy (BIBS): a mixed methods study to inform trial design
Health Technology Assessment, vol. 19, no. 30, pp. 1-564Contributions to Journals: ArticlesIncentives for breastfeeding and for smoking cessation in pregnancy: An exploration of types and meanings
Social Science & Medicine, vol. 128, pp. 10-17Contributions to Journals: ArticlesIncentives to Promote Breastfeeding: A Systematic Review
Pediatrics, vol. 135, no. 3, pp. e687-702Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2014-2221
In what ways do gender stereotypes inform the thoughts and actions of CCTV control room operators? (PhD thesis).
Amazon/CreateSpace. 546 pagesBooks and Reports: Other ReportsThe push me, pull you of financial incentives and health inequalities: a mixed methods study investigating smoking cessation in pregnancy and breastfeeding
European Public Health Science Conference, pp. S37Contributions to Journals: Abstracts- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)62163-2
Unintended Consequences of Incentive Provision for Behaviour Change and Maintenance around Childbirth
PloS ONE, vol. 9, no. 10, e111322Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0111322
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/3800/3/Thomson2014.pdf
Involving patients in their care
Current Breast Cancer Reports, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 211-218Contributions to Journals: Articles