Becky Mars
SASH Co-director and Senior Research Fellow Becky joined SASH as a Research Associate in 2012 after completing her PhD at Cardiff University. She is now one of the group’s Co-directors and currently holds a mid-career fellowship from the Medical Research Foundation. She is particularly interested in the longitudinal course and dynamics of self-harm thoughts and behaviours (SHTB) and has worked extensively with data from cohort studies including the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.
Her current research is using an intensive longitudinal method called Ecological Momentary Assessment to understand short term predictors and patterns of SHTB.
Other areas of interest include identifying causal risk and protective factors for SHTB; the distinction between non-suicidal and suicidal self-harm; understanding genetic influences; data linkage; and digital health.
Becky Mars’s profile
becky.mars@Bristol.ac.uk
X (formerly Twitter) @becky_mars
Duleeka (Dee) Knipe
Duleeka started in SASH as a Wellcome Trust PhD student in 2012. She completed her PhD in 2016 and was awarded a ESRC Global Health Challenges fellowship in 2017, followed by a University of Bristol Vice Chancellor’s fellowship in 2018. She is an epidemiologist with a strong desire to conduct research which has real life applications. She has a particular interest in investigating what contributes to suicide and self-harm risk in the global majority – this includes individuals living in low- and middle-income countries as well as individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds. Her work includes understanding how best to support individuals who are experiencing domestic abuse.
Duleeka’s research has attracted £2.1 million in funding from the Wellcome Trust, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the economic, social and medical research councils in the UK. Her work has been used by the World Health Organisation and the Ministry of Health in Sri Lanka. In recognition of her work in suicide prevention, she was awarded the prestigious International Association of Suicide Prevention Andrej Marusic Award (2017) and De Leo Fund award (2019).
Dee Knipe’s profile
dee.knipe@bristol.ac.uk
X (formerly Twitter) @dee-knipe
Lucy Biddle
SASH Co-director and Associate Professor
Lucy is one of the original members of the SASH group, having joined Bristol University as a PhD student in 1999. She is a social scientist with a background in medical sociology and qualitative research methods. Lucy has particular interest in young people’s mental health and their associated illness behaviours and help-seeking behaviours – both off and online. To this end, she has led several projects exploring the impact of the online world on suicidal behaviour and her work has influenced UK Government Online Harms papers and social media platform safety policies.
Other ongoing areas of interest include suicide postvention, suicide method selection and decision-making, and media portrayal of suicide. Lucy’s work is underpinned by stakeholder engagement and collaborations with industry and third sector organisations, including Samaritans.
Lucy Biddle’s profile
lucy.biddle@bristol.ac.uk
X (formerly Twitter) @lucyabiddle