Prof. Gillian Martin is Head of the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts. She came to academia as a mature student after a previous career in nursing in the UK, and has a doctorate in sociology from the University of Manchester. Prof. Martin has a particular interest in the Sociology of Health and Illness and Sociology of the Body, and expertise in qualitative methodology with experience in creative interviewing and child-centred data generation techniques. Her research interests are rooted in medical sociology, with particular focus on the lived experience of illness, and on the social context and social impact of genomic research, and donation to biobanks . She is an active member of the BBMRI-ERIC ELSI team - a pan-European research infrastructure consortium for Biobanking and Biomolecular Research, and a member of their task force on societal issues where she contributes expertise in social and ethical issues related to Biobanking.

Gillian is currently Chair of the Faculty of Arts Research Ethics Committee, a core member of the University's Office for Professional Development, and Rector's delegate on the SEA-Eu project Committee for Quality and Ethics. She also co-ordinates the taught Masters programme : MA Health, Medicine and Society.