Prof. Gillian Martin is a member of the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts. She came to academia as a mature student after a previous career in nursing in the UK, and has a doctorate in Sociology from the University of Manchester. Prof. Martin has a particular interest in the Sociology of Health and Illness and Sociology of the Body, and expertise in qualitative methodology with experience in creative interviewing and child-centred data generation techniques. Her research interests are rooted in medical sociology, with particular focus on the lived experience of illness, and on the social context and social impact of genomic research, and donation to biobanks . She is an active member of the BBMRI-ERIC ELSI team - a pan-European research infrastructure consortium for Biobanking and Biomolecular Research, and a member of their task force on societal issues where she contributes expertise in social and ethical issues related to Biobanking.
Gillian is currently a member of the Research Ethics Committee at the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Biobanking, a member of the University's Office for Professional Academic Development (OPAD) advisory Committee, and also co-facilitates the UM Foundation for University Teaching and Learning programme. She also sits on the Faculty of Arts Doctoral Committee.
sociology of health and illness
sociology of the body
social implications of biobanking and genomic research
