Dr Sanna Barrand is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at Deakin University. Sanna has worked in various research projects nationally and internationally. She has a PhD in Epigenetics from University of Oslo, Norway. Her PhD aimed to define the epigenetic landscape of pluripotency genes in cells with varying differentiation capacity to increase our understanding of cell plasticity. Her post-doctoral study at Deakin University focused on understanding the impact of maternal suboptimal diet on the health of the next generation.
Recently she worked as a Lived Experience Research Officer at HARMON-E clinical trial at Food and Mood Centre, Deakin University. In this role Sanna was involved in the various stages of the trial and contributed to the development of processes and review of trial documents with a lived experience lens. Additionally, she contributed to the design of one-on-one interviews, the development of workbooks and created a lived experience package for the trial participants.  During this role Sanna developed a passion for co-design and co-production practises in research. She believes that creating meaningful partnerships between people with lived experience (individuals, family, and carers) and researchers will improve research relevance, quality, and outcomes.
Dr Barrand works with A/Prof Genevieve Pepin and Shannon Calvert in the Lived Experience and Co-Production stream of the Centre. Sanna will be involved in developing co-design guidelines and resources to advance co-designed research in the field of eating disorder. She will contribute to generating new evidence about the role of people with lived experience in eating disorders research and education.