Rate My Professor Sandila Tanveer

Dr. Sandila Tanveer is an Assistant Research Fellow in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Otago, Christchurch, within the Division of Health Sciences. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Otago. Her research specializations include culturally responsive research methodologies, psychosocial wellbeing, and translational research, with a strong focus on mental health outcomes in minority ethnic and faith communities, particularly following traumatic events such as terrorist attacks and pandemics. Tanveer emphasizes participatory and trauma-informed approaches, including community engagement, to study psychosocial sequelae in vulnerable populations.

Tanveer's career at the University of Otago involves contributions to significant studies on the impacts of the 15 March 2019 Christchurch mosque terrorist attacks, which resulted in 51 deaths and 40 injuries. Key publications include 'Psychosocial impacts on the Christchurch Muslim community following the 15 March terrorist attacks: a mixed-methods study protocol' (BMJ Open, 2021), 'The psychosocial impacts of the 15 March terrorist attack on the Christchurch Muslim community: A descriptive, cross-sectional assessment' (Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 2024), 'Factors associated with mental health outcomes in a Muslim community following the Christchurch terrorist attack' (BJPsych Open, 2024), and 'Research following trauma in minority ethnic and faith communities: lessons from a study of the psychosocial sequelae of the Christchurch mosque terror attacks' (BJPsych Open, 2024). She also co-authored 'Post-traumatic growth and religious coping in Muslims exposed to the March 15 terror attacks in New Zealand: A cross-sectional study' (Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 2025), 'The COVID Psychosocial Impacts Scale: A Reliable and Valid Tool to Examine the Psychosocial Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic' (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2023), 'Cultural modification of neuropsychiatric assessment: complexities to consider' (BJPsych Open, 2022), and 'UNITE Project: understanding neurocognitive impairment after trauma exposure–study protocol of an observational study in Christchurch, New Zealand' (BMJ Open, 2023). Her 15 publications have accumulated 67 citations, advancing knowledge on post-traumatic growth, religious coping, neurocognitive effects of trauma, and psychosocial research challenges in disaster contexts.