Mirela Zaneva

My DPhil work investigates the impact of socioeconomic inequalities and material deprivation on health in young people. My focus is on better understanding potential causal mechanisms through which deprivation may impact internalizing symptoms. Ultimately, I hope my research will help inform effective interventions and policies in the context of poverty alleviation and global mental health.

My research includes both theoretical and empirical streams (e.g. issues surrounding the measurement of socioeconomic status, evaluating anti-poverty interventions, assessing macro-level inequality as a risk factor, examining genetic influences on depression in the context of deprivation). I have a keen interest in new quantitative methods and often combine advanced statistical methods from a range of disciplines, such as social epidemiology, behavioral genetics, and economics with diverse cross-sectional and longitudinal datasets.

I am supervised by Professor Lucy Bowes and Professor Aaron Reeves.

Outside my direct area of research, I also engage with policy work, impact evaluation, and intervention analysis (specifically for randomized and pseudorandomized controlled trials). To this end, I have consulted for and worked alongside colleagues from the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Case for Her, and the Pleasure Project among others.

I am actively involved in meta-research and frequently take part in large open science collaborations such as the Non-Interventional, Reproducible, and Open Evidence Synthesis and the Framework for Open and Reproducible Research Training. As a Reproducible Research Oxford Fellow, I co-lead an interdisciplinary reading group focused on anti-colonial thinking and the promotion of diversity and equality in computational and quantitative fields.

I am the Graduate Development Scholar for Psychology at St Anne's College and as such provide tutorials and academic support for undergraduates reading for Experimental Psychology and Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics. I have previously provided tutorials for EP, PPL, and BMS students at Magdalen College and Harris Manchester College. I am further actively involved in outreach activities and have provided lectures, workshops, mentoring to secondary and undergraduate students through St Anne's Access Week, Super-Curricular Club Enrichment Series, UNIQ+, Target Oxbridge, IntoUniversity, Christ Church Horizons, Oxplore. Many of my access materials can be found on OSF. I am always happy to speak with colleagues about contributing to access and outreach activities.

At the Department of Experimental Psychology, I sit on the Graduate Joint Consultative Committee, the People and Culture Committee (Athena SWAN), and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Within the Medical Sciences Division, I am a trained peer supporter and available to talk to colleagues regaring any welfare matters.