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The Journey into Research 

My journey as a professional researcher started when I realised the role of scientific research in understanding and tackling social inequalities. I have always been curious, constantly enjoying exploring new ideas and seeking answers. My driving force is the thrill of uncovering evidence that can spark real positive change, potentially impacting the lives of children and families in meaningful ways. My particular focus is on those from systematically underserved and marginalised communities.

I originally studied Children’s Welfare in Seoul, South Korea, before moving to the UK to do a Master's in Psychology of Education, followed by my PhD in Philosophy. My PhD thesis looked at the development of occupational aspirations in middle childhood and adolescence and their links with academic attainment. It was a longitudinal examination I conducted by applying advanced statistical methods to the UK’s nationally representative Millennium Cohort Study data.

I was drawn to my current research project because of its profound impact on enhancing the lives of people who experience state care. It gives me an opportunity to explore the structural and individual factors that can help children thrive despite adversity, which is what I am deeply passionate about researching.

The Research

I am currently investigating children and young people’s state care experience and its connection with mental health, and educational outcomes. I am exploring this using large-scale administrative data from the UK Department for Education. My research is part of the Medical Research Council-funded ReThink programme led by Professor Lisa Holmes and Professor Rachel Hiller.

Using administrative data from the care-experienced population allows me to powerfully and quantitatively demonstrate the patterns of care journeys that are navigated over time. Using statistical modelling, I provide new quantitative knowledge about diversity in children’s care journeys and how these journeys are associated with educational and mental health outcomes. This is key to building a nuanced understanding of children’s care experiences and their interplay with health and educational adaptation following exposure to adversity. This also informs effective policy and practice interventions at the population level to improve the care system in ways that can enhance educational and mental health outcomes.

As part of the reThink programme, I also collaborate with researchers who gather primary clinical and qualitative data from care-experienced young people. This includes the lived experiences of care-experienced young people. Capturing these multiple forms of data is crucial to understanding psychosocial mechanisms underlying mental health and contextualising quantitative evidence to offer rich accounts of their care journeys and life outcomes.

Due to the confidential nature of the data, I have to work alone in a highly secure environment. This is not an easy thing to do, especially as I love interacting with people! I try to collaborate with fellow researchers on the same and other projects as much as possible. I also spend plenty of time hanging out with lovely people and being outside in nature.

Achievements and the Future

Successfully completing my PhD, publishing my first peer-reviewed paper, and winning my first grant are definitely some of my biggest achievements so far. My PhD was a challenging but incredibly rewarding journey. I not only learnt a lot about academia, but it was also an opportunity that helped me become a more resilient person.

I was awarded by the Medical Research Council to co-lead the 2-part Early Career Researcher (ECR) symposium on interdisciplinary collaboration and policy, and social media engagement. This was a fantastic opportunity to connect with ECRs and young person advisors working under the UKRI’s Adolescence, Mental Health and Developing Mind programme. We shared valuable insights into principles and practical tips for effective interdisciplinary collaboration. We also garnered meaningful engagement with policy professionals and social media in the child and adolescent mental health research context. Particularly, our discussions and learnings from the first part of the symposium (on interdisciplinary collaboration) were beautifully captured by a visual artist, Raquel Durán. This helped us to build a lasting legacy for the event and extend its impact by sharing it with other researchers beyond the symposium (See Figure 1).

 Figure 1. A visual summary of discussions and principles, and practical tips for interdisciplinary collaboration by Raquel Duran.  

Interview by Shona Clements, Sussex Researcher School

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