Professor Sarah Curtis CGeog

Biography

Research by Sarah Curtis elucidates the socio-geographical processes producing inequalities in physical and mental health over the lifecourse. The focus is on how these inequalities emerge from complex interactions among socio-demographic factors at the individual level and variation and change in wider social and physical environments at various geographical scales. Much of the research she has led and participated in has been interdisciplinary, spanning various fields in Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities, Medicine and Engineering. Sarah Curtis was recognized in 2022 for her scholarship in Geography when she received (from the American Association of Geographers) the Melinda Meade Distinguished Scholar Award for outstanding contributions to the advancement of health and medical geography research. Also, in 2014 she was elected as Fellow of the British Academy and in 2018 was elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Sarah is currently Professor Emerita at Durham University and Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh, having retired in March 2016 from her Professorial Position at Durham university. Her recent research activity includes research and research communication, including recent projects at Durham University, as part of the ESRC What Works for Wellbeing Programme, and in an ESRC funded project on Recession and Mental Health in Scotland, based at University of Edinburgh, and collaborating with Newcastle University. The latter project has been part of her active engagement with the Centre for Research on Environment, Society and Health (CRESH) at Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities. Recent activities as Fellow of the British Academy and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh include collaborations on topics including health inequalities, mental health, wellbeing and place, and changes in the governance of health services. Sarah has helped to arrange British Academy workshops, engaging large groups of participants from academic and non-academic institutions, and chaired groups of specialists to produce policy related Advice Papers published by the Royal Society of Edinburgh