The Person First with Dr Suzi Gage

Suzanne H. Gage is a British psychologist and epidemiologist who is interested in the nature of associations between lifestyle behaviours and mental health. She is a lecturer at the University of Liverpool and has a popular science podcast, "Say Why to Drugs", which explores substance use.

Suzi Gage is from Missenden, Buckinghamshire, where she completed A-Levels in Maths, Biology, Music and English at Dr Challonders High School. She received her Bachelors degree in Psychology in 2004 and Masters degree in cognitive neuropsychology from University College London in 2005. Prior to her Ph.D., Gage concentrated on language, specifically the impact of early language learning on later ability. Her PhD used the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children to investigate associations between adolescent tobacco and cannabis use, which she completed at the University of Bristol in 2014

Gage remained at Bristol as a postdoctoral researcher, where she worked in Professor Marcus Munafo's programme of the Integrative Epidemiology Unit investigating causality in the associations between lifestyle behaviours and mental health outcomes. Here Gage taught a short course "Appraising Epidemiological Studies" and delivered lectures on Science Communication to MSc psychologists. Whilst at Bristol, she became a prominent voice in the public debate about recreational drug use.

Gage joined the University of Liverpool as a lecturer in 2017. She is a member of the Society for the Study of Addiction. She is Social Media Editor for the journal Addiction.

Gage began writing for the Guardian as a Ph.D. student at the University of Bristol.Sinc e, she has written for The Economist, The Conversation, The Telegraph and The Lancet Psychiatry. In June 2011 she won the science engagement activity I'm a Scientist, Get me out of here!. Gage started blogging in 2011, and her blog "Sifting the Evidence", focused on research and ideas in epidemiology and public health. In 2013 she appeared in the Science Grrl calendar, and in 2014 she appeared in their video "She Blinded Me with Science".She is an advocate for creativity within the sciences, and has argued "science and the arts don’t exist in silos". Gage was a keynote speaker at the 2017 March for Science in Bristol.

Gage's podcast, Say Why to Drugs, explores the science around substance use. It is on Scroobius Pip's Distraction Pieces Network, and the rapper has co-hosted many of the episodes. The podcast has over 750,000 listeners, and won Gage the 2016 AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science. She has also appeared in the University of Liverpool podcast series.