Benjamin Costello

About
Dr Benjamin Costello

BA (Hons), MA, PhD, FRSA, FHEA, FInstLM

#qm_1

Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, Vice-Chair of BARN, and Trustee of Redditch Nightstop.

An experienced researcher, teacher, and advisor in applied/practical ethics, mental health, applied health research, and social policy.

Currently engaged in qualitative research in mental health, forensic psychology, advocacy, twin pregnancy, and FGM, and theoretical research in applied ethics (particularly prevention and early intervention).

Preferred pronouns: he/his
Experience

Research Posts

Research Fellow (Forensic Psychology)
School of Psychology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham
November 2020 – Present

Research Fellow (Twin Pregnancy)
Institute of Applied Health Research, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham
August 2020 – October 2020

Research Fellow (Female Genital Mutilation, FGM)
Institute of Applied Health Research, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham
April 2019 – September 2020

Research Fellow (Advocacy)
Health Services Management Centre, College of Social Sciences, University of Birmingham
June 2020 – August 2020

Research Fellow (Mental Health)
Health Services Management Centre, College of Social Sciences, University of Birmingham
October 2018 – March 2019

Research Fellow (Corpus Linguistics)
School of English, Drama, and American and Canadian Studies, College or Arts and Law, University of Birmingham
October 2018 – January 2019

Research Associate (Mental Health) and Advisor to the Mental Health Policy Commission
School of Social Policy, College of Social Sciences, University of Birmingham
September 2016 – July 2018

Research Assistant (Philosophy)
Department of Philosophy, College of Arts and Law, University of Birmingham
November 2013 – October 2014

Teaching Posts

Academic Writing Tutor
Academic Writing Advisory Service, College of Arts and Law, University of Birmingham
February 2015 – May 2020

Teaching Associate (Learning and Teaching in Higher Education)
Higher Education Futures Institute (HEFi), University of Birmingham
September 2019 – April 2020

Academic Skills Advisor
Academic Skills Centre, University of Birmingham
October 2017 – March 2020

Teaching Associate (Philosophy)
Department of Philosophy, College of Arts and Law, University of Birmingham
October 2014 – March 2019

Subject Workshop Instructor (Philosophy and Mental Health)
Outreach and Recruitment, University of Birmingham
January 2014 – October 2019

Academic-Related Posts

Student Experience Officer
Birmingham Law School, College of Arts and Law, University of Birmingham
March 2016 – June 2016 (Secondment)

Project Co-ordinator
Bank of Assessed Work, College of Arts and Law, University of Birmingham
November 2014 – July 2016

Voluntary Posts

Director/Trustee
Redditch Nightstop
July 2019 – Present

Journal Copy Editor
Evental Aesthetics
April 2019 – Present

Director/Trustee and Vice-Chair
Bromsgrove and Redditch Network (BARN)
February 2019 – Present

For details and to view my full employment history, visit LinkedIn.
Education

University of Birmingham

Doctor of Philosophy, PhD, Philosophy
Awarded in 2019

Thesis Title: Moral Sequencing and Intervening to Prevent Harm
Supervisors: Professor Lisa Bortolotti and Dr Iain Law
Examiners: Dr Jonathan Parry and Dr Patrick Tomlin

University of Southampton

Master of Arts, MA, Philosophy
Merit, awarded in 2013

Bachelor of Arts, BA (Hons), Philosophy
First Class with Honours, awarded in 2012
Research
Main research areas include:

Moral sequencing

Prevention and early intervention

Mental health crisis care

Mental health & well-being

Female genital mutilation

Decision-making
Publications
Commission Reports

Burstow, P., Newbigging, K., Tew, J., and Costello, B. (2018). Investing in a Resilient Generation: Keys to a Mentally Prosperous Nation. Birmingham: University of Birmingham. Available at: www.birmingham.ac.uk/mhpc

Watch Video

Journal Articles

Jones, L., Danks, E., Costello, B., Jolly, L., Cross-Sudworth, F., Latthe, P., Fassam-Wright, M., Clarke, J., Byrne, A. and Taylor, J. (forthcoming) 'Female genital mutilation: a qualitative study exploring survivors’ and healthcare professionals’ views on the timing of deinfibulation surgery (FGM Sister Study)'. Health Technology Assessment.

Newbigging, K., Rees, J. Ince, R., Mohan, J., Joseph, D., Ashman, M., Norden, B., Dare, C., Bourke, S., and Costello, B. (2020). 'The contribution of the voluntary sector to mental health crisis care in England: a mixed methods study'. Health Services and Delivery Research, 8(29). DOI: 10.3310/hsdr08290

Jones, L., Danks, E., Clarke, J., Alidu, L., Costello, B., Jolly, K., Byrne, A., Fassam-Wright, M., Latthe, P., and Taylor, J. (2019). 'Exploring the views of female genital mutilation survivors, their male partners and healthcare professionals on the timing of deinfibulation surgery and NHS FGM care provision (the FGM Sister Study): protocol for a qualitative study'. BMJ Open, 9(10): e034140. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034140

2 papers currently under review and 6 papers in preparation

Online Articles

Jones, L., Costello, B., Danks, E., and Cross-Sudworth, F. (2020). 'Female genital mutilation (FGM): an increasingly important healthcare challenge in the UK'. The Birmingham Brief. Available at: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/thebirminghambrief/items/2020/02/female-genital-mutilation-fgm-an-increasingly-important-healthcare-challenge-in-the-uk.aspx

Burstow, P. and Costello, B. (2016). 'A New Paradigm for Mental Health'. Birmingham Perspective. Available at: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/perspective/mental-health-awareness-day-2016.aspx
Grants & Funding
Successful funding includes:

Newbigging, K. and Costello, B. ‘Enabling disabled people to have a voice in their care and to receive support during COVID-19’. ESRC Impact Acceleration Account Urgency Fund, £6,868 value, awarded in June 2020

Costello, B. and Duggal, S. ‘Improving belonging and inclusion for University of Birmingham BAME students: identifying barriers and inequalities using Experience-Based Co-Design to improve the education pathway’. University of Birmingham Education Enhancement Fund, application EEFP253, £13,193 value, awarded in January 2020

Costello, B. and Thompson, P. ‘Employing corpus analysis and qualitative data analysis tools to better understand and act on free-text comments from student feedback: a mixed-methods study’. University of Birmingham Education Enhancement Fund, application EEFP265, £10,804 value, awarded in December 2019

Costello, B. and Allen, P. University of Birmingham Postgraduate Research Support Fund, £1,200 value, awarded in March 2014
Talks
Talks

Invited to give talks, lectures, and workshops at the University of Birmingham for outreach events, widening participation events, campus visits, residential summer schools, TeachFirst events, public talks, and other events.

Talks have included:
'Investing in a Resilient Generation'
'How Can We Tell If Someone Is Mentally Ill? A Philosophical Approach to Psychiatry'
'Mental Illness, Involuntary Hospitalisation, and Nosological Uncertainty'
'Finding Normality in Mental Illness'

Please see my CV for the full list of talks.

Conference Presentations

Jones L.L., Costello, B., Danks, E., Cross-Sudworth, F., Fassam-Wright, M., Latthe, P, Byrne, A., Jolly, K., and Taylor, J. (2020). ‘Exploring views and experiences of the impact of female genital mutilation (FGM) on the sexual and reproductive health of survivors, male partners and healthcare professionals across the UK: part of the FGM Sister Study.’ Annual Scientific Meeting 2020, Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH), Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), 20-21/04/2020 [Postponed due to COVID-19]

Costello, B. and Danks, E. (2019). ‘The FGM Sister Study’. North West Central Social Care Conference, Tally-Ho! Birmingham, 03/07/2019

Costello, B. and Taylor, N. (2019). Exploiting Technologies to Improve the Module Evaluation Questionnaire (MEQ) Feedback-Loop. Higher Education Futures Institute (HEFI) Conference 2019, University of Birmingham, 20-21/06/2019

Costello, B. (2019) Moral Sequencing and Intervening to Prevent Harm, Research Poster Conference 2019, University of Birmingham, 19/06/2019

Costello, B. and Finan, L. (2015). Advocating Active Learning: Developments in the College of Arts and Law Bank of Assessed Work. 12th Annual Teaching and Learning Conference, University of Birmingham, 23/06/2015
Fellowships & Memberships
Learned Societies, Professional Institutions, and Professional Associations

Fellow (FRSA), The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA)
Fellow (FHEA), Higher Education Academy (HEA)
Fellow (FInstLM), The Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM)
Member, Q (The Health Foundation)
Member, The British Philosophical Association (BPA)
Member, The Royal Institute of Philosophy (RIP)
Member, International Association for Youth Mental Health (IAYMH)
Skills
Qualitative Research

Teaching

Outreach and Public Engagement

Proofreading and Copyediting

Advising and Consultancy

Content Creation

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