Dr Grace Lucas

Overview

Grace is an Associate Professor and Deputy Dean of the School of Health and Medical Sciences, City, St George's, University of London. 

Grace has been a member of legacy City’s health school since 2017, where she was previously the Associate Dean for Education and Student Experience.

As an interdisciplinary academic, with a background in Medical Humanities and English literature, Grace’s work focuses on exploring the connections between embodiment, narrative, and mental health and wellbeing. She is the author of bestselling mental health memoir, Thin (Penguin, 2007)/ A Shape of My Own (Viking, 2006)

Qualifications

• Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice with Distinction, City, University of London, October 2020
• PhD English/Humanities (Medical Humanities), Birkbeck, University of London, UK, October 2017
• MSc Medical Humanities, King's College London, UK, 2010 - September 2011
• MA English (Cantab), University of Cambridge, UK, 1997 - October 2000

Employment

• Deputy Dean, City, University of London, United Kingdom, February 2024 - present
• Associate Dean Education and Student Experience, City, University of London, United Kingdom, November 2023 - February 2024
• Senior Lecturer, City, University of London, United Kingdom, August 2021 - present
• Director for Educational Enhancement and Innovation, City, University of London, United Kingdom, June 2021 - present
• Lecturer, City, University of London, United Kingdom, July 2019 - July 2021
• Research Fellow, City, University London, United Kingdom, October 2017 - July 2019

Title of thesis: What difference does co-designing and co-creating actions with young people make to the development and delivery of policy and actions to create an urban environment that enables healthier food choices?

October 2019

Summary of research

Overweight and obesity has serious consequences for children’s short-term and long-term physical and mental health. Being overweight or obese as a child increases the risk of lifelong health problems, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, specific types of cancer, musculoskeletal disorders and depressive symptoms.

Policies designed to promote the health of children and young people rarely utilise a child-centred approach that puts those with the lived experience at the forefront. As such, there is often a disconnect between what policies suggest is good for the health of young people, and what young people suggest they require for good health.

One proposed approach to improving the relevance of policies or actions is to co-create or co-design these policies or actions with young people. However, the co-creation of public health policy has not been well studied or described in the literature, particularly in regard to the co-creation of policies or actions with young people to enable healthier food choices.
The PhD will therefore aim to answer the question: “What difference does co-designing and co-creating actions with young people make to the development and delivery of policy and actions to create an urban environment that enables healthier food choices?”

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