Sherman, Sue, Professor

Qualifications

BSc, MA, PhD, SFHEA

Research interests

My main area of research concerns public health, but I also conduct research from time to time on topics in cognitive psychology.

Public health

The focus of my public health research is on understanding the psychosocial barriers and facilitators to immunisation (HPV, COVID-19, varicella) and cancer screening (cervical and HPV self-sampling) uptake. I work closely with patient and charity stakeholders as well as representatives from public health bodies in the UK and New Zealand, and colleagues at other universities to deliver rigorous research with demonstrable impact on policy and practice.

Much of my research has a health equity focus and I am interested in the public, patient, and healthcare provider perspectives.

Cervical screening and HPV vaccination

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common group of viruses. Two low-risk HPV types can cause genital warts and several high-risk HPV types are responsible for causing cancers such as cervical, vulval, anal, penile, and head and neck cancers. There is an HPV vaccination that protects against some of these HPV types and in the UK, this is given to children aged 12-13 through a school-based programme. In addition, women and people with a cervix can go for cervical screening. In the UK and some other countries, HPV primary testing is the screening method used. This involves a sample of cells from the cervix being first tested for HPV infection and if the test is positive, they are further inspected using cytology for pre-cancerous cell changes, which if detected can be removed.

Since HPV primary screening has been introduced in the last few years, it has led to the development of self-sampling kits which have been introduced in some countries (e.g. Australia and New Zealand) and which have been piloted in the UK.

I currently lead an NIHR funded research project . The project has an and conference presentations and papers will be added here as the project progresses.

Cervical screening is a physically challenging procedure for many people. There is little research exploring the cervical screening experiences of physically Disabled people despite them being less likely to attend screening. This research is exploring what barriers exist in current practice, how these might be addressed and the extent to which alternatives to speculum-based sampling might be acceptable to people with a range of physical disabilities.

I work on this project along with my Research Associate Dr Emma Kemp as well as a team from The Eve Appeal, Queen Mary University London, and Keele University. In addition, we have a team of patient and public involvement (PPI) representatives who all have lived experience and advise us on the project development and delivery. PPI representation is central to the ethos and success of the funding scheme (Research for Patient Benefit) and the project, and we have a PPI co-investigator on the grant Samantha Renke who is an actress and journalist. You can watch .

Cognitive psychology

My PhD (2000-2004) focused on false memories created using the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. In this paradigm, participants are presented with lists of words (e.g. bed, wake, night, dream) related to a non-presented critical lure word (e.g. sleep). On subsequent memory tasks, participants have robust false memories for the non-presented critical lure words. I remain fascinated by this area and in particular its application to real world stimuli such as adverts, music, and faces, as well as how mindfulness and mind wandering influence performance on the task.

Publications

Show: Featured publications All publications

Featured publications

Books

Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & St Clair-Thompson H () . Routledge.

Journal articles

Sherman SM, Allerton-Price C, Lingley-Heath N, Lai J & Bedford H (2024) . Vaccine, 42(10), 2621-2627.
Sherman SM, Lingley-Heath N, Lai J, Sim J & Bedford H (2023) . Vaccine, 41(8), 1438-1446.
Sherman SM, Brewer N, Bartholomew K, Bromhead C, Crengle S, Cunningham C, Douwes J, Foliaki S, Grant J, Maxwell A , McPherson G et al (2022) . Health Expectations, 25(6), 2914-2923.
Sherman SM, Smith LE, Sim J, Amlôt R, Cutts M, Dasch H, Rubin GJ & Sevdalis N (2021) . Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 17(6), 1612-1621.
Sherman SM & Grange JA (2020) . Psychological Science, 31(8), 968-977.
Patel H, Jeve YB, Sherman SM & Moss EL (2016) . Sexually Transmitted Infections, 92(6), 474-479.
Sherman SM, Cohen CR, Denison HJ, Bromhead C & Patel H () . European Journal of Public Health.
Sherman SM & Nailer E () . PLOS ONE, 13(4), e0195801-e0195801.

All publications

Books

Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & St Clair-Thompson H () . Routledge.

Journal articles

O'Mahony E, Sherman SM, Marlow R, Bedford H & Fitzgerald F (2024) . Vaccine, 42(22).
Sherman SM, Allerton-Price C, Lingley-Heath N, Lai J & Bedford H (2024) . Vaccine, 42(10), 2621-2627.
Taylor J, Nailer E, Cohen CR, Redman CWE & Sherman SM (2024) . Psychology & Health, 39(4), 499-516.
Smith LE, Sim J, Cutts M, Dasch H, Amlôt R, Sevdalis N, Rubin GJ & Sherman SM (2023) . Vaccine: X, 13, 100276-100276.
Sherman SM, Lingley-Heath N, Lai J, Sim J & Bedford H (2023) . Vaccine, 41(8), 1438-1446.
Smith LE, Sim J, Sherman SM, Amlôt R, Cutts M, Dasch H, Sevdalis N & Rubin GJ (2023) . Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 164, 111104-111104.
Sherman SM, Brewer N, Bartholomew K, Bromhead C, Crengle S, Cunningham C, Douwes J, Foliaki S, Grant J, Maxwell A , McPherson G et al (2022) . Health Expectations, 25(6), 2914-2923.
Bennett C, Edwards D, Sherman SM, Baker P, Waheed D-E-N, Vorsters A, Sarıca Çevik H, Karafillakis E, Prue G & Kelly D (2022) . Sexually Transmitted Infections, 98(8), 599-607.
Smith LE, Sim J, Amlôt R, Cutts M, Dasch H, Sevdalis N, Rubin GJ & Sherman SM (2022) . Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 152, 110679-110679.
Sherman SM, Sim J, Cutts M, Dasch H, Amlôt R, Rubin GJ, Sevdalis N & Smith LE (2022) . Public Health, 202, 1-9.
Alzubaidi H, Samorinha C, Saddik B, Saidawi W, Abduelkarem AR, Abu-Gharbieh E & Sherman SM (2021) . Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 17(11), 4074-4082.
Sherman SM, Sim J, Amlôt R, Cutts M, Dasch H, Rubin GJ, Sevdalis N & Smith LE (2021) . BMJ Open, 11(7), e049369-e049369.
Bartholomew K, Lawton B, Sherman SM, Bromhead C, Grant J, McPherson G, Maxwell A, Saville M, Crengle S & Scott N (2021) Recommendations for implementing HPV self-testing in Aotearoa. New Zealand Medical Journal, 134(1535), 11-16.
Sherman SM, Smith LE, Sim J, Amlôt R, Cutts M, Dasch H, Rubin GJ & Sevdalis N (2021) . Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 17(6), 1612-1621.
Hill E, Nemec M, Marlow L, Sherman SM & Waller J (2021) . Journal of Medical Screening, 28(3), 333-340.
O'Connor DB, Aggleton JP, Chakrabarti B, Cooper CL, Creswell C, Dunsmuir S, Fiske ST, Gathercole S, Gough B, Ireland JL , Jones MV et al (2020) . British Journal of Psychology, 111(4), 603-629.
Sherman SM & Grange JA (2020) . Psychological Science, 31(8), 968-977.
Patel H, Sherman SM, Tincello D & Moss EL (2020) . Journal of Medical Screening, 27(1), 40-47.
Patel H, Sherman SM, Pčolkina K, Strazdiņa K, Viberga I, Redman CW, Zodzika J, Rezeberga D & Moss EL (2019) . Acta Dermatovenerologica Alpina Pannonica et Adriatica, 28(3).
Patel H, Moss EL & Sherman SM (2018) . Psycho-Oncology, 27(6), 1559-1564.
Hope KA, Moss E, Redman CWE & Sherman SM (2017) . Preventive Medicine, 101, 60-66.
Patel H, Pčolkina K, Strazdina K, Viberga I, Sherman SM, Tincello DG, Redman CW, Rezeberga D & Moss EL (2017) . International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 137(2), 138-144.
Sherman SM, Moss EL, Pearmain P & Redman CWE (2016) . European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, 201, 42-45.
Patel H, Jeve YB, Sherman SM & Moss EL (2016) . Sexually Transmitted Infections, 92(6), 474-479.
Sherman SM, Nailer E, Pearmain P, Todd RW & Redman CWE (2016) . Cytopathology, 27(4), 237-241.
Sherman SM, Nailer E, Minshall C, Coombes R, Cooper J & Redman CWE (2016) . Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 36(1), 76-80.
Sherman SM, Castanon A, Moss E & Redman CWE (2015) . BMJ, 350(jun15 1), h2729-h2729.
Sherman SM & Lane EL (2015) . Journal of Cancer Education, 30(4), 660-663.
Sherman SM & Kennerley J (2014) . Memory, 22(7), 852-860.
Sherman SM, Moss E & Redman CWE (2013) . Cytopathology, 24(2), 77-80.
Sherman SM (2013) . Memory, 21(2), 219-229.
Moss EL, Sherman SM, Pearmain P & Redman CWE (2012) . BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 119(1), 1-4.
Sherman SM & Jordan TR (2011) . British Journal of Psychology, 102(3), 559-568.
Sherman SM & Moran EJ (2011) . Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25(2), 336-340.
Edelstyn NMJ, Shepherd TA, Mayes AR, Sherman SM & Ellis SJ (2010) . Neuropsychologia, 48(5), 1367-1375.
Jordan TR, Sherman SM & Tonkin RP (2007) . Behavior Research Methods, 39(3), 494-501.
Jordan TR, Sherman SM & Patching GR (2007) . Behavior Research Methods, 39(4), 884-891.
Smith-Spark JH, Moore V, Valentine T & Sherman SM (2006) . Behavior Research Methods, 38(4), 590-597.
Adams J, Sherman SM & Williams HL () . Behavior Research Methods, 56(4), 3861-3872.
Smith LE, Sherman SM, Sim J, Amlôt R, Cutts M, Dasch H, Sevdalis N & Rubin GJ () . PLOS ONE, 17(12), e0279285-e0279285.
Coote P, Bartholomew K, Grant J, Maxwell A, Bromhead C, Gillett F, Saraf R, Moodabe K, Sherman S, McPherson G , Flower D et al () . New Zealand Medical Journal, 135(1565), 83-94.
Bromhead C, Wihongi H, Sherman SM, Crengle S, Grant J, Martin G, Maxwell A, McPherson G, Puloka A, Reid S , Scott N et al () . International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(19), 10050-10050.
Rowley M, Gilman H & Sherman SM () . Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(4), 402-409.
Sherman SM, Cohen CR, Denison HJ, Bromhead C & Patel H () . European Journal of Public Health.
Sherman SM, Bartholomew K, Denison HJ, Patel H, Moss EL, Douwes J & Bromhead C () . PLOS ONE, 13(12), e0197648-e0197648.
Sherman SM & Nailer E () . PLOS ONE, 13(4), e0195801-e0195801.
Patel H, Austin-Smith K, Sherman SM, Tincello D & Moss EL () . Journal of Public Health.
Sherman SM, Follows H, Mushore ABR, Hampson-Jones K & Wright-Bevans K () . Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 4(1), 1-7.

Chapters

Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & Clair-Thompson HS (2023) , Cognitive Psychology in a Changing World (pp. 439-477). Routledge
Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & Clair-Thompson HS (2023) , Cognitive Psychology in a Changing World (pp. 525-563). Routledge
Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & Clair-Thompson HS (2023) , Cognitive Psychology in a Changing World (pp. 565-594). Routledge
Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & Clair-Thompson HS (2023) , Cognitive Psychology in a Changing World (pp. 353-397). Routledge
Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & Clair-Thompson HS (2023) , Cognitive Psychology in a Changing World (pp. 21-77). Routledge
Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & Clair-Thompson HS (2023) , Cognitive Psychology in a Changing World (pp. 127-187). Routledge
Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & Clair-Thompson HS (2023) , Cognitive Psychology in a Changing World (pp. 1-20). Routledge
Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & Clair-Thompson HS (2023) , Cognitive Psychology in a Changing World (pp. 595-629). Routledge
Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & Clair-Thompson HS (2023) , Cognitive Psychology in a Changing World (pp. 309-351). Routledge
Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & Clair-Thompson HS (2023) , Cognitive Psychology in a Changing World (pp. 479-523). Routledge
Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & Clair-Thompson HS (2023) , Cognitive Psychology in a Changing World (pp. 263-307). Routledge
Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & Clair-Thompson HS (2023) , Cognitive Psychology in a Changing World (pp. 79-125). Routledge
Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & Clair-Thompson HS (2023) , Cognitive Psychology in a Changing World (pp. 189-210). Routledge
Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & Clair-Thompson HS (2023) , Cognitive Psychology in a Changing World (pp. 399-437). Routledge
Ball LJ, Butler LT, Sherman SM & Clair-Thompson HS (2023) , Cognitive Psychology in a Changing World (pp. 211-261). Routledge

Preprints

Sherman SM, Allerton-Price C, Lingley-Heath N, Lai J & Bedford H (2023) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Smith LE, Sim J, Sherman SM, Amlôt R, Cutts M, Dasch H, Sevdalis N & Rubin GJ (2022) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Sherman SM, Lingley-Heath N, Lai J, Sim J & Bedford H (2022) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Smith LE, Sherman SM, Sim J, Amlôt R, Cutts M, Dasch H, Sevdalis N & Rubin GJ (2022) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Sherman SM, Bartholomew K, Brewer N, Bromhead C, Crengle S, Cunningham C, Douwes J, Foliaki S, Grant J, Maxwell A , McPherson G et al (2022) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Sherman SM, Sim J, Cutts M, Dasch H, Amlôt R, Rubin GJ, Sevdalis N & Smith LE (2021) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Sherman SM, Sim J, Amlôt R, Cutts M, Dasch H, Rubin GJ, Sevdalis N & Smith LE (2020) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Sherman SM, Smith LE, Sim J, Amlôt R, Cutts M, Dasch H, Rubin GJ & Sevdalis N (2020) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Sherman SM, Bartholomew K, Denison HJ, Patel H, Moss EL, Douwes J & Bromhead C (2018) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Research group

Cognitive and neural processes across the lifespan

Wellbeing of individuals and society

Grants

Current grants:

2025-28, (Lead supervisor: £43k) matched funded PhD with Oracle Head and Neck Cancer UK. “The impact of language on public understanding and patient experience of head and neck cancers”.

2022-26 (Principal Investigator: £357,133, NIHR204322) NIHR Research for Patient Benefit ‘Cervical screening for women with physical disabilities: barriers and solutions’ – co-applicants: Kate Sanger from Jo’s Trust (replaced by Athena Lamnisos from Eve Appeal), Laura Marlow from KCL, Carolyn Chew-Graham, Andrew Finney, Charlotte Harper, Samantha Renke, Julius Sim, Katie Wright-Bevans, Keele University. The Research Associate is Dr Emma Kemp.

Teaching activities

I teach social psychology at Level 1 (PSY1001) and supervise Undergraduate research projects (PSY346) and extended essays (PSY331).

I have co-authored a BPS Core Textbook "Cognitive Psychology in a Changing World" published by Routledge and available .

Professional activities and memberships

I am currently a member of the UK HPV Coalition (2022-date) and in 2021 I set up and now lead the UK Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Special Interest Group.

Previously I was the external examiner for School of Psychology, Aston University (2021-2024), the Deputy Chair of BPS Research Board (2018-2021), Associate Editor for Journal of Cognitive Psychology (2017-2020) and Chair of the BPS Cognitive Section (2014-2017).

PhD Opportunities

I am happy to receive applications for PhD study in my area of research.

We advertise PhD opportunities (Funded or Self-Funded) on

For further information, please see the department PhD Opportunities page.

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School of Psychology

School of Psychology

Professor Sue Sherman

Featured publications

Books

Journal articles

All publications

Books

Journal articles

Chapters

Preprints