I joined LSHTM in 2021 after more than 10 years working at Médecins Sans Frontières (Operational Centre Amsterdam), including leading the Emerging and Infectious Diseases portfolio, dividing my time between COVID-19, malaria and other infectious diseases outbreaks. I have worked in humanitarian responses across multiple contexts, and am a public health clinician with a PhD in infectious disease epidemiology.
I am developing a portfolio of research on malaria and infectious disease control in public health crises and complex emergencies, with a particular interest in surveillance, early-warning systems, and anticipatory action (linking disease, climate and conflict) as well as vaccination and other mass-interventions strategies in crises. I am a co-PI for JI-RISE (Jameel Institute Real Time Intelligent Support for Emergencies), which is an project joint with Imperial College London seeking to enhance the modelling of disease and mortality burdens during humanitarian crises, improve the use of mortality, trauma and early warning system data and develop a evidence framework for mortality in humanitarian response. The project will specifically begin with Gaza but will be designed for global applicability.
I currently supervise 5 PhD/DrPH students, focussed on infectious diseases and/or climate in humanitarian crises.
In addition I am one of the co-Programme Directors of the new Distance-Learning Health in Humanitarian Crises programme and also co-module organiser for HHM101 Public Health Information in Humanitarian Crises. I have co-edited the revised Conflict and Health textbook which serves as the basis for the distance learning PHM214 Conflict & Health module which is a core foundation module for the HHC programme.
To keep connected to the operational front-line, I'm continuing in a part-time role at MSF, currently as the OCA Strategic Lead for Research and malaria/infectious diseases specialist, as well as retaining an honorary clinical position with UKSHA.
I am currently co-director of the LSHTM Malaria Centre and serve on the steering committee of the Health in Humanitarian Crises Centre.
Affiliations
Centres
Teaching
Co-Programme Director for Health in Humanitarian Crises programme DL
Co-module organiser for HHM101 Public Health Information in Humanitarian Crises
Co-editor for PHM214 Conflict & Health module textbook
Lecturer: Conflict & Health module, Advanced Research Methods, Applying Public Health Principles, Malaria modules, Pandemics short course, DTM&H and Global Health Primer
Frequent lecturer for infectious diseases and public health UK training schemes
Research
Anticipatory Action
Early warning systems
Surveillance
Mortality estimation
Climate change
Complex interventions
Conflict
Malaria
Pneumonia
Diagnostics
Infectious disease policy
Maternal health
Public health
Viruses
Disease control
Global Health
Natural disasters
Outbreaks
Vector control
Vaccination and Vaccine Preventable Diseases
Mass drug administration
Community interventions - iCCM