Sophie Glover

Sophie was awarded a BSc Human Biology in 2021 at Queen’s University Belfast. Sophie worked within the SPACE (Supportive Environments for Physical and Social Activity, Healthy Ageing and Cognitive Health) project led by Prof Ruth Hunter within her degree to produce a dissertation on the associations between urban green and blue spaces and cognitive function including discussing mechanistic pathways.

Sophie is now undertaking a PhD which aims to assess the relationship between urban green and blue spaces, DNA methylation and risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia in older adults in Northern Ireland. This research aims to advance the novel research field and provide evidence of how our surrounding environment can impact  our underlying biology and contribute to future health outcomes.

Sophie in interested in community engagement, research translation and environmental policy. She was recently involved in a regeneration project within Belfast city centre called Make Belfast Playful, a collaboration between the Graduate School of Queen’s University Belfast, the NI Housing Executive, Belfast City Council and Playboard NI. This project aimed at planning a light-touch nature and play based regeneration for residential site.