Professor Kavita Vedhara

(she/her)

BA, PhD FAcSS

Publication

• Date
• Type

Research

All areas of society from health and technology, the environment, through to the economy are shaped by the actions, thoughts and feelings of humans. The science at the heart of understanding these relationships is Psychology, and Health Psychology, my area of expertise, is concerned with how these relationships impact on health and well-being.

My research examines how risk of disease, the progression of illness and the effectiveness of treatments are influenced by these thoughts, feelings and behaviours. For example, my work has shown that negative moods such as stress and depression predict who will get infections such as COVID-19; how quickly illnesses such as HIV progress; and the effectiveness of treatments as varied as IVF and vaccines. My work has also examined what factors influence people’s willingness to engage in public health campaigns such as cancer screening, wearing of face masks; and how can we improve engagement with these.

The relationships between our psychology and health are powerful. They exist even after we take biological explanations for health into account. My research explores in which health contexts these relationships matter and how we can harness these powerful effects to improve the health and well-being of both individuals and the public.

Teaching

I supervise undergraduate and postgraduate research broadly concerned with how our psychology affects our mental well being and physical health. I have a particular interest in research focussing on infectious diseases (e.g., influenza, COVID-19) and chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes and cancer) and the development of pragmatic interventions to improve health outcomes.

I also teach a 3rd year module which introduces students to the concept of stress, its effects on the body and how that can affect our physical health across a range of diseases.

Biography

• Professor of Health Psychology, School of Psychology, Cardiff University (Present)
• Professor of Health Psychology, Centre for Academic Primary Care, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham (2012-23)
• Professor of Health Psychology, Institute for Work, Health & Organisations, University of Nottingham (2009-12)
• Senior Scientist, MRC Health Services Research Collaboration, University of Bristol(2004-09)
• Career Track Scientist, MRC Health Services Research Collaboration, University of Bristol (1999-04)
• Lecturer in Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Bristol, (1998-99)

Honours and awards

2021: Trustee Academy of Social Sciences

2020: Fellow US Academy of Behavioral Sciences

2015: Fellow Academy of Social Sciences

2013: Division 38 Distinguished International Affiliate of American Psychological Association

Committees and reviewing

• 2021 –: NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research
• 2020-21: UKRI-MRC/NIHR Multimorbidity Expert Review Panel
• 2016-20: Yorkshire Cancer Research Advisory Panel
•  2015-17: External REF reviewer for University of Swansea Department of Psychology
•  2010 : NIHR HTA College of Experts
• 2010-16: NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research

• 2010-13: MRC Population Health Scientist Fellowship Training and Career Development Panel