Dr Jennifer Kirton BSc, MSc, PhD

Personal Statement

Jennifer Kirton is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the Primary Care and Mental Health, Institute of Population Health.Orcid
Jennifer is co-founder of The University of Liverpool Autism Hub. The Hub comprises of a team of autistic and non-autistic people including academics, researchers, charitable organisations and clinicians that have a shared interest in autism research. We hold three free events a year that strive to promote awareness, acceptance and understanding of autism and to facilitate and promote new effective ways of working (please contact me if you would like to attend our next event).
The aim of the University of Liverpool Autism Hub is to create an environment where we can conduct innovative scientific research that reflects the research priorities of autistic people and that enhances knowledge and understanding and better provision for autistic people. Our research is collaborative in nature; doing research with autistic people, and ensuring experiential knowledge is at the heart of the research we do.
Jennifer is happy to receive expressions of interest from students with projects focussing on Autism.

Jennifer’s first degree is in Psychology, she has an MSc in Social Research & Evaluation and a Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE). Her doctoral studies were completed at The University of Sheffield (2022). Her doctoral work is a grounded theory study which focused on the lived experience of older autistic adults, with particular reference to personal wellbeing: Surviving or Thriving: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study Exploring the Wellbeing of Older Autistic Adults.

Previously Jennifer worked for 15 years as a Research Associate within the Medical School of The Faculty of Health, Social Care & Medicine at Edge Hill University.

Jennifer’s research has been published widely in (33) peer-reviewed journals and regional reports. She has been invited to present her work nationally and internationally at conferences both in the UK and Europe.



Keywords #autism #qualitative #autistic #neurodiversity #fixedterm