Dr Amrit (Bhatti) Chauhan

Profile

I am a Lecturer in Qualitative Methodology and Autism-related Oral Health Research within the School of Dentistry and a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol). My expertise lies in qualitative research methods, with a focus on health and social sciences. As module co-lead for Applied Qualitative Health Research, I contribute to teaching and curriculum development, supporting students in applying qualitative methodologies within healthcare. My extensive experience working with autistic children and their families informs both my research and teaching. 

I am currently the project manager for toothPASTE, an oral health support package aimed at improving oral health outcomes for autistic children by empowering families to establish optimal oral health habits. As part of this work, I have led the development of an online intervention, creating video content and practical guidance for parents and professionals. As well as this, I support several research projects with health professionals and early-years professionals to develop and evaluate complex oral health interventions that help improve the oral health of young children. I also teach and supervise postgraduate students across the faculty of Medicine and Health and provide training around having behaviour change conversations with parents of young children to a wide range of early years professionals, including health visitors and dental team members. 

I am also proud to be a member of the Athena SWAN and its commitment to gender equality, as well as Aurora. 

Responsibilities

• Applied Qualitative Health Research Module Co-lead

Research interests

My research interests are qualitative methodologies, inclusive research methods, autism, paediatric oral health, patient and public involvement in research, complex oral health intervention development and evaluation, and behaviour change in dentistry. I am currently supporting several research projects to help improve the oral health of young children. These include: 

• toothPASTE- a co-designed oral health intervention to support families in undertaking optimal oral health behaviours for their young autistic children. This is a NIHR-funded study. 
• HABIT - an oral health intervention to support health visitors to have effective oral health conversations at their universal child development contacts with parents of young children. This is an MRC and Better Start Bradford-funded study. 
• "Strong Teeth" - an oral health intervention to support dental teams in having effective behaviour change conversations with parents of young children. This is a Procter & Gamble (P&G) Company (Oral B) funded study. 
• Health Education England (Starting Well)- Providing training and resources for dental teams to help support behaviour change and how to have effective behaviour change conversations with parents of young children. This is an HEE-funded study. 

I also act as a qualitative mentor, supporting researchers in integrating qualitative methodologies into health and dental research. My broader academic contributions include internal transfer reviews, vivas, and mock interview panels for Doctoral Research Fellowships (DRF). Additionally, I collaborate with wider research teams across the Faculty of Medicine and Health and internationally, to enhance qualitative research capacity and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Qualifications

• PhD Research
• BSc (Hons) Psychology

Professional memberships

• The British Psychological Society

Student education

I am currently supervising six Professional Doctorate and PhD postgraduate students, providing qualitative research expertise across various areas within Dentistry, including autism, amelogenesis imperfecta, tooth autotransplantation, behaviour change, and oxide/oxygen sedation.

I co-lead a module in Applied Qualitative Health Research and contribute to teaching on two additional courses aligned with my expertise: one related to Social Sciences for Undergraduate Dental Students and another in Paediatric Dentistry for Postgraduate Dental Specialty.

I am particularly interested in expanding teaching content on neurodiversity, incorporating findings from toothPASTE into applied learning.