Award winner Effie Assan’s journey into research

The inspiration for my research was a product of personal circumstances and the drive to address real world challenges. In 2016 I was involved in a serious road traffic collision, and, in the following years of recovery, I retrained and undertook a Master's degree (psychology conversion) at the University of St. Andrews. 

Following my degree, I volunteered for Age Concern, which progressed into a permanent position, where my mission was to improve the health and wellbeing of older people. Working with staff and volunteers who were so committed to improving the lives of others, and seeing first-hand how practical psychological interventions improve lives, cemented my drive to help people. 

Covid-19

During this time, the Covid-19 pandemic happened, most of our services were closed and older people expressed notable shifts in psychological and cognitive wellbeing as a result. As a researcher, I consulted the literature and surprisingly found little - no research at the time had investigated the impact of pandemics on older people. 

It was then that I decided to combine my passion for research, and my mission to help people, and apply to do a PhD in psychology, to answer my own research question: What is the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on older people? 

As you can see from my story, my road to become a PhD level researcher was not a 'typical' one, therefore my advice to fellow and prospective students is to commit to pursuing what you are truly passionate about and never give up in the face of adversity.