Janet Weston: Research Fellow, HIV/AIDS in prisons in England and Ireland, 1980s-2000 at the Centre for History in Public Health, LSHTM.

Our history of healthcare in prisons project has now been up and running for some time, and the rapidly expanding team got together in late March to catch up on progress and review our future plans. It was also an opportunity for the full team to be properly introduced: since November, there have been no fewer than four new additions, and with team members based at University College Dublin and Warwick University as well as the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, getting everyone together in person can be a challenge.

Of our new colleagues, Dr Rachel Bennett at Warwick is taking up research focusing on healthcare for women in prison, particularly maternity and new mother services, while Dr Holly Dunbar in Dublin is investigating the medical assistance provided by charitable and campaigning bodies, including to prisoners on release. We were also pleased to meet our two public engagement officers, Flo Swan (Warwick) and Dr Sinead McCann (UCD), who have many exciting plans for sharing our research far and wide. We hope to be working with producers, artists, photographers, journalists, and actors in the coming year, so watch this space!

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