Dr Gemma Mitchell

I am a qualitative researcher with interests in alcohol industry involvement in science and policy, conflicts of interest, alcohol licensing, and the sociology of risk and uncertainty.

I worked as a social worker with children and families for several years before completing my PhD in sociology in 2017. My experiences as a social worker had a profound impact on my way of thinking about the world, with my thesis exploring how experts make decisions about risk of harm to children.

My focus gradually shifted towards the broader, often hidden drivers of health and social inequalities, which was supported by my work at the University of York on the Transformative Research on the Alcohol industry, Policy and Science (TRAPS) research programme, led by Jim McCambridge.

In my current role, I am involved in ELEPHANT, an evaluation of later and extended premises hours for alcohol in the night time economy in Scotland, and am continuing my work on alcohol industry corporate activity, including in Africa. .

Commercial determinants of health; alcohol industry corporate activity; conflicts of interest; alcohol licensing; sociology of risk and uncertainty; qualitative research methods