Farina completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Birmingham and went onto achieve an MSc in Health Psychology at Aston University as a professional training course. Both of these degrees are accredited by the British Psychological Society. She then went on to complete an MA in Social Research (Social Policy) at the University of Birmingham as part of her PhD, which involved investigating the role of social support in influencing health beliefs and lifestyle practices amongst tri-generational Pakistani migrants in the West Midlands, UK.
Whilst completing her PhD Farina started work with the development and evaluation of Quality Outcome Framework (QOF) indicators for Diabetes Prevention at the University of Birmingham. Following this she worked with clinicians and academics on developing a range of projects with the CLAHRC Maternity team that can be applied to maternity services. She then worked on a mixed-methods project exploring mental health in junior doctors. Currently, Farina is part of the Shame and Medicine Project at the College of Social Sciences.
Farina has also contributed to wider research taking place at the University and internationally. She has been awarded Fellowship status by the Higher Education Academy for her contribution to teaching