Sanchika is CONNECT study researcher, and a PhD student within the Marginalised Communities programme at the Centre for Society & Mental Health. Her PhD is titled ‘Perspectives on Religion and Spirituality in coping with Mental health’ (PRiSM project) and is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). She is supervised by Professor Stephani Hatch and Dr Charlotte Woodhead.

Sanchika previously worked as a Research Assistant with the Integrating Mental and Physical health: Research, Training & Services (IMPARTS) programme, and led on initiating and coordinating the patient and public engagement side of the programme. Prior to this, she worked as a Research Assistant for the third phase of the South East London Community Health (SELCoH) study, whilst simultaneously completing her Masters. She has been a member of the Health Inequalities Research Network (HERON) since 2013 and cares about empowering marginalised communities. Before her research roles, she acquired over 4 years of work experience in psychiatric units, after completing her BSc in Psychology at UCL. This clinical and research experience, alongside her personal and contextual experience of living and working in South East London has inspired her focus on addressing health and social inequalities. She hopes shifts in knowledge production through participatory research approaches mean that racialised minority community members can have a direct say (and be listened to), in what matters most to them for better mental health.

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