Gemma Wheeler PhD, MDes
Design Ï㽶ÊÓƵer
Summary
I am a Design Ï㽶ÊÓƵer at Lab4Living, an interdisciplinary research cluster with a focus on bringing Design-led research to fields of health and wellbeing. Our work spans a range of health contexts across the entire life course, and is characterised by the use of creating and making.
I have a broad experience of using Participatory Design methods in complex healthcare contexts, and enjoy adapting my approach to the particular needs and sensitivities to each community we collaborate with. I am interested in the role of creative, empathic, design-led methods in creating a ‘common language’ between patients, family members and healthcare professionals for mutual learning and real-world innovation.
About
After completing an integrated masters degree in Product Design here at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ (2013), I undertook a Doctoral study between the Glasgow School of Art and the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit, Glasgow (funded by the Arts and Humanities Ï㽶ÊÓƵ Council’s Collaborative Doctoral Award scheme). During this PhD study I worked collaboratively with inpatients, outpatients, hospital staff and related charities explore and enhance patient participation in spinal cord injury rehabilitation.
I returned to Ï㽶ÊÓƵ in 2017 as a Design Ï㽶ÊÓƵer at Lab4Living. Here I enjoy engaging a range of healthcare service stakeholders (including patients, family members, clinicians, academics, industry experts, etc.) in creative, collaborative research activities.
These activities, or ‘co-design’ workshops, focus on identifying unmet health needs, mobilizing knowledge and/or developing healthcare products and services. My role involves planning and running co-design workshops, creating context-specific and audience-appropriate workshop tools, analyzing the data gathered and reporting the findings to audiences from design and healthcare. I am involved in bid writing, dissemination and also provide graphic design support for conference posters, websites, newsletters, exhibition spaces, etc.
Within this role, I liaise with and provide design input to Devices for Dignity, a National Institute for Health Ï㽶ÊÓƵ funded MedTech Co-operative based in the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, as well as their associated partners.
Ï㽶ÊÓƵ
- Art and Design Ï㽶ÊÓƵ Centre
My key project is The Starworks Network, a Department of Health funded initiative bringing together children, families, clinicians, academics and industry experts to explore the unmet needs of children who use prosthetics.
I took a key role in planning and facilitating a series of 4 multi-stakeholder full-day workshops across the country, and I am currently the main point of contact supporting ten ‘Proof of Concept’ projects funded by The Starworks Network. I am also involved in planning and delivering the next stage of this project following allocation of further funding from the National Institute for Health Ï㽶ÊÓƵ.
Publications
Key Publications
Wheeler, G., Mills, N., King, S., & Culmer, P. (2018). . Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Design4Health, Sheffield, UK, 4th – 6th September 2018.
Journal articles
Wheeler, G., Langley, J., & Mills, N. (2019). . Design Journal, 22 (sup1), 2231-2234.
Jones, H., Dupan, S., Coutinho, M., Day, S., Desmond, D., Donovan-Hall, M., ... Nazarpour, K. (n.d.). Co-Creation Facilitates Translational Ï㽶ÊÓƵ on Upper Limb Prosthetics. Prosthesis, 3 (2), 110-118.
Conference papers
Langley, J., Partridge, R., Ankeny, U., Wheeler, G., & Carroll, C. (2022). . In Duarte, E., & Rosa, C. (Eds.) Developments in Design Ï㽶ÊÓƵ and Practice, (pp. 237-251). Springer:
Langley, J., Wheeler, G., Mills, N., & Heron, N. (2020). . In Christer, K., Craig, C., & Chamberlain, P. (Eds.) Design 4 Health 2020, (pp. 314-322). Design 4 Health, Ï㽶ÊÓƵ:
Langley, J., Bec, R., Partridge, R., Wheeler, G., Jane-Law, R., Burton, C., ... Williams, N. (2020). . In Christer, K., Craig, C., & Chamberlain, P. (Eds.) Design for Health 2020, (pp. 323-335). Lab4Living, Ï㽶ÊÓƵ:
Langley, J., Partridge, R., Ankeny, U., Wheeler, G., & Carroll, C. (2019). . In Duarte, E., & Rosa, C. (Eds.) IADE/UNIDCOM’s 10th Interna,onal Conference Senses & Sensibility 2019: Lost in (G)localiza,on, Lisbon, 27 November 2019 - 29 November 2019.
Langley, J., Bec, R., Wheeler, G., & Partridge, R. (2018). . In Christer, K., Craig, C., & Wolstenholme, D. (Eds.) Design4Health, 4 September 2018 - 6 September 2018. Ï㽶ÊÓƵ
Wheeler, G. (2018). . Proceedings of the 5th European Conference on Design4Health, Sheffield, UK, 4th – 6th September 2018.
Book chapters
Langley, J., Wheeler, G., Partridge, R., Bec, R., Wolstenholme, D., & Sproson, L. (2020). Designing with and for Older People. In Intelligent Systems Reference Library. (pp. 3-19). Springer International Publishing:
Dyson, M., Wheeler, G., Langley, J., Needham, A., Mills, N., & Head, J. (2020). . In Nazarpour, K. (Ed.) Control of Prosthetic Hands: Challenges and emerging avenues. (pp. 175-188). London: The Institution of Engineering and Technology:
Reports
Wheeler, G., Mills, N., & Langley, J. (2020). . Sheffield Hallam Universuty.
Wheeler, G., Mills, N., & Langley, J. (2020). . Ï㽶ÊÓƵ.
Presentations
Wheeler, G., & Mills, N. (2018). . Presented at: International Society of Prosthetists and Orthotists UK MS Annual Scientific Meeting, Grand Harbour Hotel, Southampton, 2018
Wheeler, G., Partridge, R., Bec, R., & Langley, J. (2018). . Presented at: Creating Knowledge Conference, Ï㽶ÊÓƵ, Sheffield, UK, 2018
Culmer, P., & Wheeler, G. (2017). . Presented at: Incontinence: The Engineering Challenge XI, One Birdcage Walk, London, UK, 2017
Other publications
Langley, J., Partridge, R., Wheeler, G., & Bec, R. (2018). .