Professor Josianne Scerri completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Malta, graduating with First class honours. She continued her postgraduate studies obtaining a Master's in Education, and then read for her Doctorate at the University of Nottingham. Her Doctoral research was a prospective study examining the illness perceptions and emotional adjustment of patients with chronic illnesses and their carers.

At present Josianne is Head, Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta. She is also an Honorary Research Fellow at Kingston University and St George's University of London. Josianne is also an Associate member of the Person-centred Practice Research International Community of Practice and a member of the European Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Research in Continuing Professional Development, Malta Neuroscience Network and the Global law enforcement and Public Health Association (GLEPHA). She presently is the Chair's delegate on the University Research and Ethics-DP committee and an Associate Editor of the Malta Journal of Health Sciences. As a keynote speaker at both local and international conferences, she has addressed issues relating to person-centred care, the experiences of patients and carers, as well as means of empowerment with health professionals, patients, carers and the academic community.

In addition to her regular lecturing load and the conducting of her own research, she supervises students undertaking dissertations from undergraduate to doctoral level.

Research Work
-International study involving academics from the UK (University of Nottingham), Hungary, USA
(Ohio University), Australia (Queensland & Melbourne University), Italy (Catholic University
Milan), Holland (Sanquin), Mexico (Circula vida), Canada (McGill) and University of Malta
(represented by myself). The Lead Researcher is Professor Eamonn Ferguson from the University
of Nottingham. The study is a cross-cultural comparison involving the examination of framing
payments as gifts or earnings and the impact on the perceptions of individuals about the
transaction. This will be done using 4 hypothetical charity games scenarios and the
completion of 3 questionnaires. Data analysis involving Tobit and Negative Binomial models
has now commenced.

-International study with the lead researcher being Prof. Mary Chambers (Kingston University
& St George’s), the University of Malta (represented by Dr Alexei Sammut and myself) and
other partners. This study will involve the validation and Implementation of the Therapeutic
Engagement Questionnaire (TEQ tool) with staff and service users. We are currently working on
obtaining ethics approval to commence the validation process.

-Awarded RIDT funding to conduct a physical and psychosocial intervention with persons
diagnosed with cancer.

Invited Contributor to Conference proceedings Publication
-Scerri, C.A., & Scerri, J. (2007) The evolving role of patients support organizations- AOECS
experience, International Coeliac Disease Meeting Proceedings Maribor, p 119-123.

-External Reviewer for the Report ‘Europeans of retirement age: chronic diseases and economic
activity’ prepared by The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
(RIVM) in 2012 in response to a call by the European Commission (DG SANCO, Directorate
General Health and Consumers). Specific contract – No SC 2011 62 51, implementing Framework
Contract No EAHC/2010/Health/01 (Lot 1). The report and list of reviewers can be viewed on:
https://ec.europa.eu/health//sites/health/files/major_chronic_diseases/docs/rivm_report_retir
ement_en.pdf
• Associate Editor of the Malta Journal of Health Sciences
• Reviewer for the British Journal of Health Psychology, Journal of Mental Health and
Malta Journal of Health Sciences