Nina Johansson is a final-year PhD student in public health at Uppsala University, Sweden. She has a bachelor’s in political science and a master’s in public health. Through the Taith Mobility Grant scheme, Nina visited DECIPHer for a two-week period.
What brought you to DECIPHer?
My first encounter with the work of DECIPHer was through Jeremy Segrott at the first official step of my PhD journey, as he was invited to be an external reviewer at my ‘project plan seminar’ in early 2022. It is standard practice in my department to seek external advice on your PhD project plan before embarking on the work. My doctoral work has focused on Healthier Wealthier Families, a preventive working model to ameliorate child poverty in Sweden. Given Dr Segrott’s extensive experience in process evaluations targeting family health, it has been a privilege to learn from his expertise and further improve my doctoral work.
What then brought me to Cardiff in my final year as a PhD student was the curiosity of learning more about the work of the whole DECIPHer team, as well as getting a new perspective on academia. I was also curious to see Wales, as I had never been before.
What was it like settling into your new environment?
I arrived in late April 2025, prepared for nippy weather but hoping for some spring sun. However, what welcomed me as I walked through Bute Park was a warm summer’s day. As equally warm was the welcome from my hosts, Jeremy Segrott and Hayley Reed. They generously took the time to show me around SPARK as well as around Cardiff. The DECIPHer team truly is a welcoming and inspiring group.
With my upcoming doctoral defence – the Swedish equivalent of a viva – this was a great opportunity for me to practice academic presentations and discussions.
What have you enjoyed?
I was especially happy to hear about the DECIPHer writing club. Thank you, Rabeea’h Aslam, for inviting me and for the interesting discussion on different writing strategies. In one of the writing clubs, I was asked to briefly present my experiences of Barbara W. Sarnecka’s book The Writing Workshop: Write More, Write Better, Be Happier in Academia, known locally in my research group as “the penguin book” as Sarnecka acknowledges that academia can sometimes feel like the cold Antarctic winter and encourages researchers to huddle together. Planned for my stay were two oral presentations, at the DECIPHer monthly forums and an online presentation for the Centre for Trials Research. With my upcoming doctoral defence – the Swedish equivalent of a viva – this was a great opportunity for me to practice academic presentations and discussions.
During my time in Cardiff, it was not just work but also some workouts! One day after work, I joined Jordan Van Godwin and the DECIPHer Running Club for a run. And, thanks to Angharad Rogers, I got to try out the Barry Island Parkrun. Discovering a city through accompanied running really is an amazing activity.
How has the visit affected your research?
Two short weeks, a change of scenery and local delicacies such as Welsh cake, Caerphilly cheese and rarebit can do wonders! I went back to Sweden with newfound inspiration and engagement to finalise my PhD. Thank you Taith and DECIPHer for this opportunity!
Read more about Nina’s work here: https://www.uu.se/en/contact-and-organisation/staff?query=N19-1840
To find out more about Taith, click here: https://www.taith.wales/.