Teaching
I teach behavioural medicine, communication skills and research skills to medical undergraduates, and students on the ScotGEM programme. I developed and led on taught postgraduate modules, taught and supervised research on the MSc Health Psychology programme [2009-2022]. I supervise MSc and Phd students.
My School Roles:
- MD4002 strand lead for Population and Behavioural Science
- Ethics Committee member; vice-convenor (population, people, education)
- Personal Tutor (BSc Hons, ScotGEM)
- Medical Assessment team member
- PGR Committee member - Population and Behavioural Sciences rep
- Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee member
Research areas
I am a behavioural scientist with research interests that include:
- eating behaviour, obesity
- healthcare communication
- wellbeing and health behaviours
My research aligns directly with interest in health behaviour interventions and the interface of the healthcare practitioner and patient, and follows an interdisciplinary approach, straddling psychological, behavioural and physiological domains. I conduct empirical research (lab, community-based, primary care) in human populations across the age span. I look at factors that create so-called obesogenic environments as well as individual characteristics. I combine my obesity expertise with interests in clinical communication, where I have developed a research program investigating healthcare communication within the context of patient overweight and obesity in primary care. I am interested in how health behaviours (e.g. consumption behaviour, sleep) contribute to stress and wellbeing.
I utilise a mixed methods research methodology and have expertise in quantitative and qualitative techniques including behavioural observation, measurement of appetite and ingestive behaviour, anthropometry, coding of clinical communication behaviour using behavioural coding software, textual analysis, development of semi-structures interviews and surveys, intervention development.
Selected publications
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Open access
Investigating discrepancies in perceptions regarding the provision of hospital Rest and Relaxation spaces in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: a qualitative study
Walker, K., Cunningham, K., Ferguson, J., Gibson Smith, K., Scanlan, G. M., Cecil, J. E., Gordon, L., Laidlaw, A., Pope, L. M., Johnston , P. & Aitken, G., Aug 2025, In: BMJ Open. 15, 8, p. 1-8 8 p., e096154.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Longitudinal and bidirectional relationships between sleep, emotional wellbeing and weight status in childhood and adolescence: growing up in Scotland cohort analysis
Gale, E. L., Cecil, J. E. & Williams, A. J., 14 Nov 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of Sleep Research. Early View, p. 1-10 10 p., e70239.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Pre-sleep screen time and screen time addiction as shared determinants of poor sleep and obesity in adolescents aged 11-14 years in Scotland
Gale, E. L., Williams, A. J. & Cecil, J. E., 7 May 2025, In: BMC Public and Global Health. 3, p. 1-17 17 p., 42.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Shared determinants of poor sleep, obesity and adiposity in adolescents aged 8–18-years: a systematic review
Gale, E. L., Cecil, J. E. & Williams, A. J., 2025, In: Journal of Sleep Research. Early View, 40 p., e70029.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
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Open access
Trajectory and trend of weight status, emotional wellbeing and sleep from infancy to childhood to adolescence in Scotland: an analysis of growing up in Scotland birth cohort 1
Gale, E. L., Cecil, J. E. & Williams, A. J., 20 Nov 2025, In: Pediatric Obesity. Early View, p. 1-12 12 p., e70049.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
'You just eyeball it’: parent and nursery staff perceptions and influences on child portion size: a reflexive thematic analysis
Quirke-McFarlane, S., Carstairs, S. A. & Cecil, J. E., Jun 2025, In: Nutrition and Health. 31, 2, p. 701-714 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
The power of animation: encouraging doctors to access support for psychological wellbeing
Tooman, T. R., Wakeling, J., Cunningham, K. B., Smith, K. G., Walker, K. A., Cecil, J. E. & Laidlaw, A., 1 Jun 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: BMC Psychology. 12, 12 p., 320.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
The relationship between multiple sleep dimensions and obesity in adolescents: a systematic review
Gale, E. L., Williams, A. J. & Cecil, J. E., Feb 2024, In: Sleep Medicine Reviews. 73, 11 p., 101875.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
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Open access
A qualitative study of young peoples’ thoughts and attitudes to follow a more plant-based diet
McInnes, C., Carstairs, S. A. & Cecil, J. E., 31 Aug 2023, In: Frontiers in Psychology. 14, 12 p., 1196142.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
A social norms and identity approach to increasing fruit and vegetable intake of undergraduate students in the United Kingdom
Fischera, W., van Beusekom, M., Higgs, S. & Cecil, J., 17 May 2022, In: Frontiers in Psychology. 13, 13 p., 838394.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review