Suzanne H. Gage is a British psychologist and epidemiologist who is interested in the nature of associations between lifestyle behaviours and

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

. She is a senior lecturer at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

and has a popular science podcast and accompanying book, ''Say Why to Drugs'', which explores substance use.

Education

Suzi Gage is from Missenden,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, where she completed

GCE Advanced Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

s in Maths, Biology, Music and English at

Dr Challoner's High School , established = 1962 , closed = , type = Academy Grammar School , religion = , president = , head_label = Headteacher , head = Alan Roe , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = , c ...

. She received her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in Psychology in 2004 and

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree in cognitive neuropsychology from

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

in 2005. Prior to her

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

, Gage concentrated on language, specifically the impact of early language learning on later ability. Her PhD used the

Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), also known as Children of the 90s and formerly the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood, is a cohort study of children born in the former county of Avon, England during 1 ...

to investigate associations between adolescent tobacco and cannabis use, which she completed at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

in 2014.

Career and research

After her PhD, Gage remained in Bristol as a postdoctoral researcher in

Marcus Munafo Marcus Robert Munafo, surname also written Munafò, (born 23 January 1972) is a British psychologist who has been a professor of biological psychology at the University of Bristol's School of Experimental Psychology since 2010. He became the ed ...

's Integrative Epidemiology Unit investigating causality in the associations between lifestyle behaviours and mental health outcomes. Here Gage taught a short course "Appraising Epidemiological Studies" and delivered lectures on Science Communication to MSc psychologists. Whilst at Bristol, she became a prominent voice in the public debate about recreational drug use. Gage joined the

as a

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

in 2017. She is a member of the Society for the Study of Addiction. She is Social Media Editor for the journal ''

Addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

.'' In 2019 Gage was promoted to senior lecturer.

Public engagement

Gage began writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' as a

student at the University of Bristol. Since, she has written for ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'', '' The Conversation'', ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' and ''

The Lancet Psychiatry ''The Lancet Psychiatry'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Elsevier . Abstracting and indexing The journal is abstracted and indexed in: * Science Citation Index Expanded *Scopus * Social Sciences Citation Index * Embase *M ...

''. In June 2011 she won the science engagement activity

I'm a Scientist, Get me out of here! I'm a Scientist, Get me out of here! is an online science enrichment activity that runs throughout term-time in the UK. School students interact with scientists in text-based live chats in themed 'Zones'. At the end of the event the school students ...

. Gage started blogging in 2011, and her blog "Sifting the Evidence", focused on research and ideas in epidemiology and public health. In 2013 she appeared in the Science Grrl calendar, and in 2014 she appeared in their video "She Blinded Me with Science". She is an advocate for creativity within the sciences, and has argued "science and the arts don’t exist in silos". Gage was a keynote speaker at the 2017 March for Science in Bristol. Gage's podcast, ''Say Why to Drugs'', explores the science around substance use. It is on Scoobius Pip's ''Distraction Pieces Network'', and the rapper has co-hosted many of the episodes. The podcast has over 750,000 listeners, and won Gage the 2016 AAAS Award for Public Engagement with Science Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science. She has also appeared in the

podcast series.

Awards and honours

* 2016 Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science (

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

) * 2015 Ockham Award - Best Podcast (The Skeptic Magazine) * 2015 Basic Science Network Travel Award ( Society for Research in Nicotine and Tobacco) * 2013 Media Fellowship with BBC Science (Competitive Fellowship,

British Science Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

) * 2013 Public Communication Award (British Association for Psychopharmacology) * 2012 UK Science Blog Prize (Good Thinking Society) * 2012 Convocation Award (

Alumni Network) * 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gage, Suzi Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British science writers British women psychologists Science bloggers 21st-century science writers British women podcasters British women epidemiologists Alumni of University College London People educated at Dr Challoner's High School British women bloggers