Research Profile

Margaret Steele

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

 YearPublication
(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

 YearPublication
(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

 YearPublication
(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

 CommitteeFunctionFrom / To
Comhrá (Cork Medical Humanities Research and teaching Alliance) Steering group member2024 /
Society for Women in Philosophy Ireland Committee member/ communications/

Employment

 EmployerPositionFrom / To
University College Cork 03-OCT-22 /

Education

 YearInstitutionQualificationSubject
2021University of Galway MScObesity
2023UCC Postgraduate certificateTeaching and Learning
2024UCC Digital BadgeResponsible Conduct of Research
2015Marquette University PhDPhilosophy

Journal Activities

 JournalRoleTo / 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. 

Contact details

Search profiles by name

Search profiles by topic

School of Public Health

Scoil na Sláinte Poiblí

4th Floor, Western Gateway Building, Western Road,

Top