Dr Rachel Sumner
BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD
Current positions
Senior Research Associate in Applied Health Research
Bristol Medical School (THS)
Contact
Press and media
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Research interests
I'm a psychobiologist interested in understanding the ways that our social and physical environment impact our health on a cellular level. I have a strong interest in burnout and chronic stress, and have been co-leading the CV19 Heroes Project since March 2020 tracking the welfare of frontline workers through the Covid-19 pandemic.
I'm also interested in understanding more about how social prescribing supports the health and wellbeing of individuals. I specialise in arts for health and nature for health interventions and have carried out several service evaluations for programmes of this sort in the South West of England.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Exploring the biopsychosocial mechanisms of diabetes burnout
Principal Investigator
Description
The present project seeks to develop and explore a biopsychosocial understanding of diabetes burnout by conducting a large mixed-methods psychosocial survey followed by a biomarker study examining associations between a…Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (THS)Dates
02/03/2026
The CV19 Heroes Project
Principal Investigator
Description
Tracking the welfare of frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyondManaging organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (THS)Dates
23/03/2020
Exploring wellbeing benefits of Arts on Prescription
Principal Investigator
Description
Research consultancy project working in collaboration with Artlift (Gloucestershire) to understand participant outcomes in engaging with arts through social prescribing.Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (THS)Dates
11/09/2017
Publications
Selected publications
28/10/2023A Biopsychosocial Approach to Health From Cell to Society
A Biopsychosocial Approach to Health From Cell to Society
Scattered Black and Whites
The Social Science of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Solidarity appraisal, meaning, and markers of welfare in frontline workers in the UK and Ireland during the Covid-19 pandemic
SSM - Mental Health
High expectations and unreciprocated effort in societal exchange: Lessons from the pandemic about psychological forces that influence burnout
Burnout While Working
Recent publications
28/11/2025The psychobiology of art
Routledge Handbook of Arts and Health
Does Allostatic Load in 50–89‐Year‐Olds Predict the Development of Frailty? Evidence From a National Longitudinal Study Over 12 Years
Stress and Health
Considering biophilic tendencies when operationalising nature as medicine
Journal of Environmental Psychology
Hero Contract
Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies
Medical Heroism
Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies