Staff profile

Dr. Daniel P. Jones is an Early Career Award Fellow based in the Department of Sociology and the Institute for Medical Humanities. His research sits at the intersection of Tourette Syndrome and Tourettic Studies, Critical Disability Studies, Critical Neurodiversity Studies, and creative and inclusive research methodologies. Daniel is particularly interested in how embodied experiences of neurodevelopmental disability shape space, social interactions, and knowledge production.

Towards Tourettic Futures

Daniel's current research programme, Towards Tourettic Futures, is a five-year programme funded by Wellcome. The project develops new ways of understanding Tourette Syndrome and tourettic experience beyond predominantly biomedical approaches, exploring how tourettic people move, sense, communicate, create, and participate in the world. Bringing together humanities, social sciences, creative practice, and lived experience, the programme asks how research, technologies, and cultural practices might contribute to more inclusive and accessible futures for Tourettic people. It pays particular attention to experiences that are often marginalised within Tourette research, including BAME+, queer, and trans+ experiences.

History

Daniel joined Durham as a Bridging Fellow in Medical Humanities in September 2025, based in the Department of Sport & Exercise Science. During this time, he used performing arts and dance-based methods to conduct autoethnographic research exploring the embodied experiences of Tourette Syndrome. Daniel completed an ESRC-funded PhD in Human Geography at Newcastle University, where his thesis examined the geographies of impulse through the lens of Tourette Syndrome.

Before joining Durham, Daniel worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate on the Wellcome-funded Anti-Ableist Research Cultures project at the University of Sheffield. There, he led the development work package, designing guidance for inclusive event facilitation and developing a training programme on inclusive and anti-ableist research methods for early career researchers.

 

• Tourette Syndrome, Crip Aesthetics, Health Technology, Disability, Chronic Illness, Neurodiversity, Public Space, Creative Research Methods, Cultural Geography

• 2023 - 2024: Genius Within Award for Best Neurodiversity Research (Runner Up):

Journal Article

• ‘For the love of God, just refer me’: a co-produced qualitative study of the experiences of people with Tourette Syndrome and tic disorders accessing healthcare services in the UK
  
  Babbage, C. M., Davies, E. B., Jones, D. P., Stevenson, P., Salvage, J., Anderson, S., McNally, E., & Groom, M. J. (2025). ‘For the love of God, just refer me’: a co-produced qualitative study of the experiences of people with Tourette Syndrome and tic disorders accessing healthcare services in the UK. BMJ Open, 15(9), Article e098306. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-098306