Dr Mel Hughes

Dr Mel Hughes is Associate Professor in Social Work at Bournemouth University (BU). Mel champions lived experience expertise through her roles as Academic Lead for the PIER (Public Involvement in Education and Research) partnership and Deputy Director of the Research Centre for Seldom Heard Voices. Mel is committed to ensuring that those who are most affected by social, economic and health inequalities have a voice in shaping and informing research, education and practice.

She is editor and co-author of the textbooks: ‘A Guide to Statutory Social work interventions: the lived experience’ and ‘Social Exclusion in the UK: the lived experience’. Chapters are co-authored with people with first-hand experience of statutory interventions including having a child removed; and being detained under the Mental Health Act; and of social exclusion including being in prison and being a refugee. Mel is an editorial board member of the British Journal of Social Work and Advance HE National Teaching Fellow. She is unit lead for the BU 20 credit level 7 CPD unit on Public Involvement in Research which is a co-designed and delivered unit focusing on harnessing lived experience expertise in research and service improvement.