Staff profile

My educational and research background is in the social sciences, with a specific interest in interdisciplinary approaches.

I obtained my BA in social sciences and my MA in sociology at Allameh Tabataba'i University. My master's dissertation was concerned with the problem of gender and the city, focusing on the concept of 'the women-friendly city'. Being interested in gender issues as well as interdisciplinary studies, I completed my PhD at the Institute of Cognition and Culture at the Queen's University of Belfast, UK. My PhD thesis investigated "the problem of motherhood" from a cognitive anthropological, evolutionary, and historical perspective. My first research project at Durham was concerned with immigration and mental health. I investigated migrants' experiences with mental health care in the UK from the 'cultural models' approach. I have recently started a new study on the cultural conceptualisation of cognitive frailty in the UK. I also collaborate with the InSPIRE consortium, which is led by Professor Brian Castellani and works on the impacts of air pollution on dementia. 

Journal Article

• Ziyachi, M., & Castellani, B. (2024). A ‘Cultural Models’ Approach to Psychotherapy for Refugees and Asylum Seekers: A Case Study from the UK. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(5), Article 650. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21050650

Monograph

• Ziyachi, M. (2023). Iranian Motherhood: A Cognitive Approach. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003406365

Other (Print)

• Ziyachi, M., Castellani, B., Heckels, N., Clarke, C., Fullertonf, N., Barbrook-Johnson, P., & Bicketc, M. (2023). Mitigating the impact of air pollution on brain health and dementia: Policy and practice brief

Report

• Todd, L., Pini, S., Mathai, M., Wood, M., & et al. (2024). A country that works for all children and young people: An evidence-based plan for building the foundations of a new "Sure Start" in and around education settings. Child of the North and Centre for Young Lives