Samar Shahid
- sshahid at bournemouth dot ac dot uk
- Post Doctoral Researcher
Biography
Dr Samar Shahid is an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow in the Faculty of Business & Law at the Bournemouth University Business School. She holds a Master of Bioethics from Harvard Medical School and a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies from Bournemouth University. Samar’s interdisciplinary research background across bioethics, health, and education has provided valuable contributions influencing health discourses in both the US and UK.
Her doctoral research—a collaborative project match-funded by BU and the charity Stormbreak CIO—was the first of its kind to explore the embodied experiences of primary school teachers in the implementation of a movement-based mental health intervention. This work has had a direct impact on national discourse, informing the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) report Mental Health Through Movement and subsequently influencing UK government policy on children's wellbeing.
Samar’s current ESRC-funded project utilises longitudinal qualitative data (2018–present) to tackle post-pandemic challenges in whole-school wellbeing approaches... Her work focuses on understanding the role of teachers and how they are implicated in the development of pedagogies for mental health promotion, providing vital insights for policymakers aiming to improve the psychosocial and ethical landscape of UK education.
moreReports
- All-Party Parliamentary Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood, Shahid, S. et al., 2019. Mental Health Through Movement. London: Royal Public Affairs. Available from: https://fhcappg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/mentalhealththroughmovement_301019.pdf.
Theses
- Shahid, S., 2024. Teachers’ embodiment of mental health and movement: Competing narratives in the implementation of a whole-school mental health promotion intervention in UK primary schools. PhD Thesis. Bournemouth University, Faculty of Science and Technology.
Posters
- Shahid, S., 2018. Creating Accessible Educational Tools for Institutional Review Boards. In: Master of Bioethics Capstone Symposium.
Profile of Teaching UG
- Recruiting, Selecting and Retaining Talent
Grants
- ESRC PDF (Economic and Social Research Council, 01 Oct 2025). Awarded
- PhD Studentship: Doctor of Philosophy - Science & Technology (Bournemouth University in collaboration with Stormbreak, 17 Sep 2018). Awarded
- Fully Funded APF Fellowship - Health Education (United States Agency for International Development, 22 Jun 2018). Awarded
Journal Reviewing/Refereeing
- Auto/Biography Review, Anonymous peer review, 01 Aug 2022
Conference Presentations
- Auto/Biography Study Group Seminar, “Sport still causes me a lot of anxiety”: One primary school teacher’s story of embodied trauma and childhood sport, 03 Mar 2022, Online
- BSA Auto/Biography Study Group Christmas Conference: Auto/Biography and Community, Exploring a community of primary school teachers' stories of mental health and movement in the delivery of a mental health and movement intervention, 04 Dec 2020, Online
- Bournemouth University 11th Annual Postgraduate Research Conference, Mental health and movement intervention in whole-school primary education: impact of teachers' perceptions, 04 Dec 2019, Bournemouth University
Qualifications
- PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies (Bournemouth University, 2024)
- MBE in Bioethics (Harvard Medical School, USA, 2018)
- BS in Biology (University at Albany, USA, 2013)
Memberships
- South West Doctoral Training Partnership, Fellow (2025-), https://www.swdtp.ac.uk/our-fellows/
- The British Academy Early Career Researcher Network, Member (2024-), https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/early-career-researcher-network/
- British Sociological Association Auto/Biography Group, Member (2020-), https://www.britsoc.co.uk/groups/study-groups/autobiography-study-group/
Networks
- Narrative, Culture and Community Research Centre at Bournemouth University
- Sport and Physical Activity Centre (SPARC) at Bournemouth University