The Ageing of British Gerontology

Miriam Bernard

Miriam Bernard is Professor of Social Gerontology in the School of Social Science and Public Policy at Keele University. She came to Keele as an undergraduate student in the 1970s completing a Combined Honours degree in English Literature and Geography and then, after a year away, returned to undertake her PhD (in Social/Human Geography). Mim began her career as Research Officer for the Beth Johnson Foundation where she worked for six years before being appointed at Keele in 1988 to help set up the first Gerontology programmes in the UK outside London. Mim has longstanding research interests in environmental and cultural gerontology and is the author/editor of 19 books/monographs and over 80 journal articles and book chapters. She has led the interdisciplinary ‘Ages and Stages’ projects since 2009 and currently directs the new Leverhulme-funded project (2015-17) on ‘The Ageing of British Gerontology’. Between 2008 and 2014, Mim served as President (Elect/Pres/Past) of the British Society of Gerontology.

Mo Ray

Mo Ray is Professor of Health and Social Care Integration at the University of Lincoln. She graduated from the Open University with a first degree in Education and Psychology and completed a Masters in Social Work at the University of London. After qualifying in 1990, Mo worked as a social worker, care manager and manager in specialist and community care teams. She taught for several years at the Open University and worked as an offsite practice educator and independent trainer and consultant in dementia care. Mo came to Keele as a part time PhD candidate (social gerontology). Subsequently Mo was awarded an ESRC research fellowship and has undertaken a number of research projects with older people. She has published on social work with older people and social relationships in later life. Mo has extensive experience in CPD and practice development which she has designed, developed and delivered nationally and internationally. She has been a Social Care Fellow at the National Institute for Care and Clinical Excellence and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Jackie Reynolds

Jackie Reynolds is the Research Associate for the Ageing of British Gerontology project. She has an undergraduate degree in Applied Social Studies from Staffordshire University and a PhD in Social Gerontology from Keele University. Her key research interests are in arts engagement, community, social capital and ageing. Her PhD research investigated the meanings that older people attach to their participation in group arts activities throughout their lives. Prior to moving to Keele, she was a Senior Researcher in the Faculty of Arts and Creative Technologies at Staffordshire University, specialising in inter-disciplinary research. Her role also included research development. In 2014, she was Principal Investigator on an Arts and Humanities Research Council Funded Cultural Value project, investigating the value of arts and culture in relation to empathy, compassion and understanding across geographical divides. She is also a qualified and experienced lecturer and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She has taught students from Level 3 through to Level 7, including supervision of MA students.