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Biography
I am in my third year as a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Public Health in UCC. Currently, I am working on the FOODPATH project. Prior to this, I was working on the FEAST project.
My research interests are interdisciplinary, and include obesity, commercial determinants of heath, ethics and politics of population-level food and nutrition policy, and philosophy of medicine and epidemiology.
Research Interests
I am a postdoctoral researcher working on the FOODPATH project, which aims to understand and reduce the impact of inequality on diet and health. Currently, we are planning group model building workshops in a disadvantaged area of Cork city. This involves working with citizens and community workers to create a diagram of the barriers and facilitators to healthy eating in the area. I am also contributing to two systematic reviews as part of FOODPATH, one relating to commercial determinants of health and the other on local-level food policies and their impact on inequality.
I am also interested in philosophy of medicine and epidemiology, particularly in relation to obesity and population-level nutrition. In particular, I am curious about how philosophy can help us to understand and counter dominant narratives and frames around 'personal responsibility', the 'nanny state' and related debates.
Publications
Peer Reviewed Journals
| Year | Publication |
---|
| (2023) | 'Philosophically, is obesity really a disease?' Steele M;Finucane FM; (2023) 'Philosophically, is obesity really a disease?'. Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, [DOI] [Details] |
| (2021) | 'Obesity, public health ethics and the nanny state' Margaret Steele; (2021) 'Obesity, public health ethics and the nanny state'. Ethics, Medicine and Public Health, [DOI] [Details] |
Published Reports
| Year | Publication |
---|
| (2024) | FEAST - Report on BIA-Obesity/Sustainability assessments. Margaret Steele;Sara Dastoum;Susana Campos;Ricardo Mendes Alves;Ana Teresa Oliveira;Janas Harrington;Stefanie Vandevijvere; (2024) FEAST - Report on BIA-Obesity/Sustainability assessments. . [DOI] [Details] |
Professional Activities
Conference Contributions
| Year | Publication |
---|
| (2023) | Company commitments and practices on nutrition and environmental sustainability in Ireland, M Steele;J Harrington; (2023) Company commitments and practices on nutrition and environmental sustainability in Ireland, . [Details] |
| (2023) | European Congress on Obesity, Margaret Steele (2023) Annual conference. [Poster Presentation], European Congress on Obesity, Dublin . [Details] |
| (2023) | 16th European Public Health Conference, Margaret Steele (2023) EPH annual conference. [Poster Presentation], 16th European Public Health Conference, Dublin . [Details] |
Committees
| Committee | Function | From / To |
---|
| Comhrá (Cork Medical Humanities Research and teaching Alliance) | Steering group member | 2024 / |
| Society for Women in Philosophy Ireland | Committee member/ communications | / |
Employment
| Employer | Position | From / To |
---|
| University College Cork | | 03-OCT-22 / |
Education
| Year | Institution | Qualification | Subject |
---|
| 2021 | University of Galway | MSc | Obesity |
| 2023 | UCC | Postgraduate certificate | Teaching and Learning |
| 2024 | UCC | Digital Badge | Responsible Conduct of Research |
| 2015 | Marquette University | PhD | Philosophy |
Journal Activities
| Journal | Role | To / From |
---|
| Health Promotion International | Peer Reviewer | - |
| International Journal Of Obesity | Peer Reviewer | - |
| Journal Of Bioethical Inquiry | Peer Reviewer | - |
| Obesity Reviews | Peer Reviewer | - |
Teaching Activities
Teaching Interests
This year, I am the main lecturer (and co-coordinator, with Dr Janas Harrington) of EH1010 Introduction to Public Health. I am also teaching on commercial determinants of health, political determinants of health, and obesity on the Masters in Public Health program, as well as the MA in Health and Society.
In the past year, I've supervised two masters' dissertations. I am open to supervising qualitative or review-based postgrad projects, particularly in the area of commercial determinants of health, food-related policy, or obesity.
I taught undergraduate modules in history of western philosophy, feminist philosophy, and ethics for many years both in Ireland and in the USA.