Research Projects

My core research interest is in the formation and public negotiation of religious and non-religious moral convictions. I have two areas of expertise linked to this core interest. One is in the negotiation of the Islamic tradition in Western contexts, including debates about Islam and multiculturalism, secularism, liberalism and rationalism. The other is in religious and non-religious publics’ perceptions of science, and how these perceptions impact upon diversity and inclusion in STEMM disciplines and institutions, as well as in wider society.

I have a background in sociology and have worked on a wide range of social research projects, most associated with one or the other of these two specialisms. These include the following funded projects:

2020-2023: ‘Science and the Transmission of Islamic Knowledge in Britain’, funded by the Templeton Religion Trust/Issachar Fund as part of the Sociology of Science and Religion subgranting scheme (Primary Investigator, details here)

2019-2022: ‘The Nature of Islamophobia in Contemporary Britain’, funded by the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust (Primary Investigator)

2019-2024: ‘International Research Network for the Study of Science and Belief in Society’, field development subgranting scheme funded by the Templeton Religion Trust (Co-Primary Investigator, details here)

2018–2023: ‘Science and Religion: Exploring the Spectrum: A Global Perspective’, funded by the Templeton Religion Trust (Co-Investigator, details here)

2015–2018: ‘Evaluation of Christians in Science project: “Equipping and Supporting the Next Generation of Christians in Science” (Co-Primary Investigator)

2014-2015: ‘Public Faith and Financial Services Industry’, funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust (Co-Investigator)

2014-2015: ‘Understanding Successful Progression to Higher Education for the White Working Class and Minority Ethnic Groups’, tendered consultancy contract funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) (Associate Research Manager)

2013-2014: ‘Public Spirit’ knowledge exchange project on faith and public policy funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council impact award (proposal co-author and project researcher)

2013: ‘Research to Determine the Use and Impact of Access Agreements and Associated Spend on Widening Participation’, tendered consultancy contract funded by the Office for Fair Access and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Research Manager)

2013: ‘International Research on the Effectiveness of both Educational Systems and Specific Practice to Widen Participation in Six Countries’, tendered consultancy contract funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Research Manager)

2012-2013: ‘PhD Impact and Career Tracking Study’, tendered consultancy contract funded by Research Councils UK (Research Manager)

2012-2013: ‘Research into the Uses and Impact of HEFCE Funding for Widening Participation’, tendered consultancy contract funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Research Manager)

The image at the top of this page is of Masjid Umar in Leicester, where I conducted research between 2009 and 2011. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.