Dr Jana Rozehnalova

I currently work as a lecturer in Health and Social Care in the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing. My primary background is in psychology; I have a first degree in Counselling and Psychology and I have just submitted my doctoral thesis which is clinical-oriented. It focuses on the applications of positive psychology to obesity as a major global health concern. It is a novel approach which uses Oxytocin (OXTR) gene expression as a model system to validate a positive psychological intervention (PPI) for weight management.

I have three years of teaching and research experience in the UK HE sector and an additional four years of lecturing experience in a non-governmental sector from the Czech Republic. I specialise mainly in the area of mental health and I am particularly interested in understanding the effects of gene-environment interaction in this matter.

I have five years of experience in providing support for vulnerable people with disabilities and/or mental health issues which I gained from my previous voluntary work in various health and social care settings. I worked as an Assistant Carer in a senior house for four years taking care of elderly people. During the same time period, I also worked for two years as a Cognitive Development Assistant in Children.