Dr Jennifer Leigh

I am not a typical academic. After an undergraduate degree and late-aborted PhD in science I qualified as a yoga teacher, somatic movement educator, and therapist. I worked for ten years as an artist/in private practice before simultaneously re-training as a science teacher and completing a PhD in education. Since joining Higher Education I have worked across psychology, education, sociology, and science.

I believe systemic discrimination has to be considered inclusively and intersectionally. My therapeutic training underpins my research. I am passionate about using creative and embodied methods to connect authentically. I developed Embodied Inquiry which has been applied across many disciplines and been extended into PanEthnography. It is a powerful tool facilitating emotional connection, rapport, and meaningful participation, co-creation, and co-production.

I pioneered Embodied Inquiry in scientific research. I led research for the International WISC (Women in Supramolecular Chemistry) network which was recognised with the 2023 German Chemical Society Hildegard Hamm-Brücher Award for Equal Opportunities in Chemistry. WISC published in Angewandte Chemie and Chem and shared research-based fictional accounts of intersectional marginalisation (available in our open access book). These ‘true’ but not ‘real’ stories allowed audiences to connect emotionally without the blame or pity often evoked by real-life case studies or ‘success stories’. People told me they felt less isolated as it was like hearing their own story, or that they had never realised the emotional impact of marginalisation before. Comment pieces on topics that came up time and again in our research; ‘Pregnancy in the lab’, ‘Planning a family’, and ‘Listening to fathers in STEM’ reached over 3 million people.

Gender is not the only barrier in science or academia. I aim to amplify the visibility and achievements of Black women and scientists in the Global South, working with Empowering Female Minds in STEM and colleagues across sub-Saharan Africa.

My work on ableism in academia was featured in Nature. My research with NADSN and recommendations around accessible labs based on lived experiences of disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent scientists has contributed to new laboratory building design, an All-Party Parliamentary Committee, and policy from the Royal Society of Chemistry.