Dr Sohail Jannesari
Research Fellow
Pronouns
he/him
Biography
Dr Sohail Jannesari is a Research Fellow at King’s College London and a Senior Teaching Fellow at Imperial College London. He founded the health inequalities Stolen Tools journal, co-convenes the Inspiring Ethics group, and founded the Migrant Connections Festival.
His research focuses migration and mental health; outcomes for survivors of human trafficking (he is currently co-editing a Lancet series on human trafficking and health); creative, participatory and decolonial methods; equitable knowledge production, and research ethics.
As a freelance consultant he’s worked on violence affected youth, maternity experiences, supporting torture survivors, mapping out migration services and designing a community-based ethics review.
He hosts the Qualitative Open Mic podcast, gives conference keynotes, and has made media appearances on the BBC and LBC. You can find out more about his work on his website www.sohailj.com.
Research interests
- Migration and Mental Health
- The Experiences of Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Sanctuary Seekers
- Participatory research ethics, bioethics
- Participatory Research Approaches
- Co-produced mental health services
- Outcomes for survivors of human trafficking
- Global and public health
- Knowledge production in global health
- Understanding what it means to decolonise global health
Teaching
- 'Qualitative methods' module
- 'Participatory approaches' module
- 'Photovoice' module
- 'Migration and Mental Health' module
- 'Research Ethics' module
Expertise and public engagement
- Host of the Qualitative Open Mic podcast reaching thousands of listeners. Includes series such as ‘Controversies in Qualitative Research’, and ‘Qualitative Conundrums’.
- Keynote talks at the ETMU Conference in 2024 where he discussed poetry as a site of sanctuary, resistance and research, and at UCL’s 2024 Qualitative Health Research Network Conference.
- Founded the Migrant Connections Festival (2017–2023), bringing together over 50 migrant rights organisations with by thousands of people.
- Established the Walk and Talk Migrant Welcome Tours (2016–2021), organising tours for over 300 recent migrants.
- Co-created an ethics review process for the Lambeth Community Research Network with High Trees (2021–2024).
- Co-created poetry anthologies with refugee charities and sanctuary seekers, and conducted workshops based on the anthologies.
Research
Health Inequalities Research Network (HERON)
Identifying ways to reduce inequalities in health and healthcare
Health Inequalities Research Group
Health Inequalities Research Group is focused on delivering interdisciplinary research on inequalities in mental health in marginalised communities and across health services with an emphasis on race at the intersection of other social identities.
Mental Health & Society research group
Seeking to better understand the socio-political dimensions of mental health and illness in the Global North and South.
Refugee Mental Health and Place Network
Network exploring post-migration and refugee mental health
Qualitative Research Group
Qualitative Research Group is an interdisciplinary team of methodologists comprising social scientists, experts by experience, and health practitioners
Events
LAUNCH EVENT: “Do you hear me?”: A creative anthology of poems in exile
Join us for the launch of this creative anthology made in response to the racist riots in the UK
Please note: this event has passed.
Poetry of sanctuary: Searching for safety, belonging and home
Join the Refugee Mental Health and Place Network for an evening of personal and poetic expression of the lived refugee experience.
Please note: this event has passed.
QUAHRC Seminar Series: Does qualitative health research need ethics committees?
Sohail Jannesari and the Inspiring Ethics group discuss the question, does qualitative health research need ethics committees?
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
The Border Follows Me
A border isn't simply a physical barrier but also a legal and social one that follows people around. Mohammad Reza draws on his lived experience seeking...
Poetry by Sanctuary Seekers: The impact of the asylum process on mental health
Dr Sohail Jannesari developed a poetry anthology reflecting the impact of the asylum process on mental health.
Research
Health Inequalities Research Network (HERON)
Identifying ways to reduce inequalities in health and healthcare
Health Inequalities Research Group
Health Inequalities Research Group is focused on delivering interdisciplinary research on inequalities in mental health in marginalised communities and across health services with an emphasis on race at the intersection of other social identities.
Mental Health & Society research group
Seeking to better understand the socio-political dimensions of mental health and illness in the Global North and South.
Refugee Mental Health and Place Network
Network exploring post-migration and refugee mental health
Qualitative Research Group
Qualitative Research Group is an interdisciplinary team of methodologists comprising social scientists, experts by experience, and health practitioners
Events
LAUNCH EVENT: “Do you hear me?”: A creative anthology of poems in exile
Join us for the launch of this creative anthology made in response to the racist riots in the UK
Please note: this event has passed.
Poetry of sanctuary: Searching for safety, belonging and home
Join the Refugee Mental Health and Place Network for an evening of personal and poetic expression of the lived refugee experience.
Please note: this event has passed.
QUAHRC Seminar Series: Does qualitative health research need ethics committees?
Sohail Jannesari and the Inspiring Ethics group discuss the question, does qualitative health research need ethics committees?
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
The Border Follows Me
A border isn't simply a physical barrier but also a legal and social one that follows people around. Mohammad Reza draws on his lived experience seeking...
Poetry by Sanctuary Seekers: The impact of the asylum process on mental health
Dr Sohail Jannesari developed a poetry anthology reflecting the impact of the asylum process on mental health.