Ria is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Health Psychologist specialising in the development and evaluation of complex interventions in public health and the environment.  At the University of Exeter, she is working within the Smartline Programme, which encompasses a range of projects focusing on improving digital literacy, health and wellbeing, the environment and social connectivity.  Within the Smartline ‘In Residency’ scheme, Ria works with organisations and businesses to design, implement and evaluate their products and services to address health and wellbeing challenges such as social isolation, digital competency and inclusion, and mental health issues.

Ria has worked across many different areas of applied health and environmental research using mixed methods approaches to inform policy and practice.  Prior to her present appointment, she was awarded a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship by Cancer Research UK to investigate tobacco and e-cigarette use among young adults.  Her previous work includes clinical and community trials research in bipolar disorder (Beating Bipolar and Bipolar Education Programme Cymru), smoking prevention in further education settings (the Filter FE Project), parenting support for teenagers (Building Blocks Study), out-of-hours primary care services, and harm reduction for injecting drug users.  Ria was also appointed Programme Manager for the design and implementation of the new undergraduate medical curriculum at Cardiff University (C21), and as a Research Analyst for the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), leading on research development and evaluation in Wales across the domains of food waste and healthy eating, organics markets, household waste and recycling, and sustainability.  She has a PhD from the Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences at Cardiff University, and a BSc in Applied Psychology at Cardiff University.