Emma Heffernan is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Research Collaborative in Quality and Safety (RCQS) based at the RCSI / MU. She completed her PhD in anthropology at Maynooth University in 2011 and a Masters in Public Health in UCD in 2013. Emma is also a registered general nurse and holds a BSc (Hons) in Nursing from RCSI and a Postgraduate Diploma in Specialist Nursing from TCD. Her research interests include social exclusion, global health, social and cultural determinants of health and illness, sexuality, social epidemiology and public health.