Humma Andleeb

Humma completed her BSc in Biochemistry and Neuroscience at Keele University where she discovered her passion for research whilst completing her dissertation research project looking at the role of calcium on potassium signalling in the cochlear fibrocytes of CD-1 mice. Her personal lived experience of mental ill health as a young person and interest in research led her to a traineeship with The McPin Foundation where she was able to use her lived experiences to inform the research she was involved in, eventually working as a senior mental health researcher with experience of working on a range of different projects including evaluating a national peer support programme for women experiencing multiple disadvantages, involving service users in the implementation of a virtual reality (VR) therapy for people with psychosis in the NHS and a priority setting partnership for children and young people’s mental health research.

Humma is particularly interested in the intersecting experiences and mental health of minoritised communities especially those with history of migration and trauma. She is passionate about culturally appropriate research and decolonising research practises to better serve people who are traditionally discriminated against in research. She advocates for representation in research and involving people with lived experience in order to improve the impact of research through experiential expertise.

This year, Humma is doing rotation projects across three themes; mechanism, intervention and population mental health with the aim of gaining experience in a range of areas to broaden her knowledge and understanding of inter-disciplinary mental health research.

In her spare time, you can find Humma tweeting @HummaAndleeb, reading books on lifestyle and race or baking sourdough (or all at the same time). She also enjoys blogging about anything and everything on various platforms as well as speaking at events on race, mental health and being a South Asian woman. Humma also enjoys going on long walks around South London’s parks whilst listening to podcasts and staring at trees and nature.