Mrs Gail Sheppard

As the Faculty Director of Learning and Teaching, I have strategic oversight of curriculum design, development, delivery and assessment, ensuring that the learning and teaching provision of the Faculty is responsive and aligned to Canterbury Christ Church University’s Vision 2030, the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy, PSRB requirements, the Teaching Excellence Framework and the Office for Students standards. Within this role I also support colleagues in raising their profiles in the scholarship of learning and teaching.

I am an experienced Principal Lecturer in Public Health with Senior Fellowship of Advance HE. I hold a First Class BSc. (Hons) Sport Science with Marketing, a MSc. Exercise Science and a Master of Public Health degree awarded by the University of Manchester.

I was Course Director for the Public Health undergraduate courses in the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Social Care from 2014 to 2018, Academic Group Lead in the School of Allied and Public Health Professions from 2018 to 2021 and the Director of Enterprise, Engagement and Employability from 2021 to 2023. I currently line manage the Public Health team at Canterbury Christ Church University.

My specialist interest is the association between physical activity and health, specifically the role of physical activity in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Prior to joining Canterbury Christ Church University I worked as an exercise physiologist within the Cardiac Rehabilitation Team at Kent Community Health Care Trust, designing and implementing rehabilitation programmes for cardiac patients in both clinical and community settings. 

I began my career in higher education as a Sessional Lecturer, delivering sessions on cardiac rehabilitation at Canterbury Christ Church University in 2008. My permanent full time role as a Lecturer started in 2012; I achieved Senior Lecturer status in 2014 and Principal Lecturer in 2023.

Over the past decade, I have worked on developing the public health curriculum here at Canterbury Christ Church University which includes courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels and courses delivered collaboratively with external partners. I currently lead and teach on the Essentials of Global Epidemiology module on the MSc. Global Public Health course.

Seated rehabilitation for people with irreparable rotator cuff tears?. Researcher(s): Mr Chris Watts. Supervisor(s): Dr Gemma Wells, Mrs Gail Sheppard, Professor Eleni Hatzidimitriadou. [Postgraduate Research Project]

I am currently undertaking a PhD project focusing on sedentary behaviour in the workplace; ‘Expecting to Sit’: Sitting at work: an exploration of the social construction and maintenance of occupational sitting within a University setting'.

I have been a member of the British Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (BACPR) since 2009 and served on the Executive Team as the Scientific Officer 2011 – 2015, chairing the conferences in Edinburgh (2012), Solihull (2013) and Derry, N.I. (2014). Recently I co-edited the BACPR’s 2nd Edition of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation in Practice Guidelines.