Profile
Abby Hunter
My CV
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Education:
University of Sheffield – BSc Psychology (2003); University of Nottingham – MSc Health Psychology (2006); Nottingham Trent University – PhD Psychology (2011)
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Qualifications:
Also a qualified Health Psychologist
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Work History:
I have had various research jobs at Nottingham Trent University, Wolverhampton University and The University of Derby
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Current Job:
Research Fellow
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About Me:
I am a Health Psychologist
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I live in Nottingham with my husband and our identical twin boys who are nearly 4 years old. I love music and comedy and love going to festivals. I have been to Glastonbury festival nearly every year of my life. I was 5 months old when I first went. Our twin boys have been too. I am also very active and love badminton, squash and bouldering.
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My work involves understanding how smoking has an affect on our health, and finding the most effective ways to help people quit smoking in order for them to improve their health and reduce their risk of developing a smoking related illness such as lung cancer.
I am particularly interested in how effective and safe electronic cigarettes are for helping people quit smoking, and a project I am about to start will explore the use of electronic cigarettes in pregnant smokers.
I am also interested in how we can help people in poorer countries quit smoking. In poorer countries the number of people who smoke is increasing, and their access to treatment and support to help them quit is limited.
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My Typical Day:
Writing papers for publication, writing funding applications, designing research studies, interviewing research participants, attending meetings
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A lot of my research involves interviewing participants about a particular topic. These interviews are a chance for people to ‘tell their story’ and share their opinions about things. They can last between 30 minutes and one hour. Sometimes these interviews are on the telephone, and sometimes they are in person, so my day can sometimes involve a lot of travel to meet with participants.
It also takes a lot of time to analyse the data from these interviews. I would then write up our results for publication in a scientific journal, so a lot of my day is spent writing.
My time is also spent writing grant applications in order to get funding to conduct the research. Without getting the funding, it is very difficult/impossible to do the research.
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What I'd do with the prize money:
I would like to donate the money to a charity that brings practical science experiments to schools in rural Uganda, to give more children access to science
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
active, thoughtful, motivated
What did you want to be after you left school?
A physiotherapist!
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Nope not really
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Foo Fighters! And Florence and the Machine
What's your favourite food?
I love thai food
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
To have more free time to spend with my family; to have more money to be able to travel; to secure a permanent position
Tell us a joke.
What's the result of smoking too much? Answer: Coffin
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