Professor Joanna Sofaer

Prof. Sofaer's current research sits at the intersection between culure, heritage and public health, including the role of cultural and community assets in supporting health and wellbeing. She works in partnership with community members including young people and adults, health professionals, the third sector, cultural organisations and local government to investigate how young people and adults can use heritage and culture for self-care to reduce future health challenges. She leads the Made in Millbrook Project and was PI for the UKRI-funded project Pathways to Health Through Cultures of Neighbourhoods. Prof Sofaer also investigates the role of heritage and the historic environment in wellbeing, the past as inspiration for contemporary creative practice, and creativity in prehistoric material culture. She was PI for Heritage and Wellbeing for NHS Staff (HerWellNHS) funded by Historic England in collaboration with Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, works with the National Trust on the Heritage Perception and Wellbeing project and led Places of Joy: Heritage After Lockdown. She was a member of the Connecting Culture research team (Arts Council England). She was Humanities in the European Research Area (HERA) Knowledge Exchange and Impact Fellow (2017-2023) and previously led the Marie Sklodowska-Curie (MSCA) project Women at the Edge of Empire and the HERA-Funded Project Creativity and Craft Production in Middle and Late Bronze Age Europe (CinBA). She has partnered on several transnational European projects including Journey to the Beginnings (Culture Europe) and two Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks. She was Co-I for the AHRC funded interdisciplinary PARNASSUS project.