Click here to hear my name

 

I provide a live code compendium of methods and code - https://chrissyhroberts.github.io/Code_Book/

My github includes many of my research outputs - https://github.com/chrissyhroberts 

 

 

I am an Associate Professor of Global Health Analytics in the Clinical Research Department and Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases. My work focuses on the integration of embedded mixed methods, emerging technologies, and cross-disciplinary health sciences to advance equitable and impactful public health research. I work across clinical, laboratory, field, social, and analytical domains to develop and apply pragmatic tools, including software, hardware, methodologies, and data systems. My portfolio spans operational research, humanitarian and epidemic response, clinical trials, public health surveillance, and implementation science. I also maintain a forward-looking approach through continuous horizon scanning of emerging technologies for application in global health. 

 

In parallel, I contribute to educational innovation and institutional strategy, with a focus on accessibility, data integrity, reproducibility, and methodological rigour. I hold leadership roles in LSHTM’s taught programmes, curriculum design, and governance, and am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I actively contribute to LSHTM’s efforts in equity, decolonisation, and global health ethics. 

 

In addition to research and education, I contribute extensively to LSHTM’s institutional life. I am an experienced team leader, having managed research groups of up to ten staff across multiple projects. I serve on departmental and faculty committees, contribute to operational and strategic planning, and play an active role in the Doctoral College. My work includes academic governance, quality assurance, and pastoral support for students and colleagues. I am also deeply engaged in LSHTM’s equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) agenda, helping shape initiatives on decolonisation, ethics, and inclusive research practice.

 

Originally trained as a laboratory scientist, the majority of my work is now highly multi-disciplinary, focused on research methodology, research about data and technological innovations at the bench, field and computer. I am particularly interested in understanding how emerging and alternative technologies can be leveraged for the benefit of human health and public good. Current focus-points of my work centre on the development of electronic data systems for use in health emergencies and epidemics, on scalable low-cost laboratory diagnostics and on methods for integrated surveillance of infectious diseases and One Health. 

 

Current Research

 

My active research portfolio includes several doctoral projects that share a commitment to developing equitable, context-sensitive digital and analytical systems for global health. These projects are united by a focus on integrating emerging technologies, data governance frameworks and applied mixed methods to address complex challenges in surveillance, diagnostics, health systems, and community engagement. Across disciplines, they explore how data can be more ethically produced, shared, and acted upon, emphasising stakeholder participation, decentralised research models and the development of open infrastructure aligned with principles of fairness, accountability, and local relevance. This work is closely aligned with my own research in regulatory-grade data systems and platform development, forming an integrated programme of research that supports both methodological innovation and practical implementation at scale.

 

Open-Source ODK Ecosystem Tools for ALCOA-Compliant Clinical Trial Data Collection

 PI  Chrissy H Roberts –- Funded by FHI360 via KoboToolbox

 

This project develops modular tools that bring clinical trial-grade data integrity to open-source platforms like ODK and KoBoToolbox. The work focuses on regulatory-aligned audit trails, cryptographic tamper evidence, participant verification, and site-level automation, enabling trustworthy, decentralised research in low-resource or health system settings. I personally lead all strategic design and coordination of this project 

 

 

Theory, Policy & Practice: Community-based Surveillance and Information Sharing in a High-Risk Mobility Corridor Context

Sara Hollis – PhD 2024–2031

 

This project explores how community-based surveillance (CBS) can be optimally integrated into One Health surveillance frameworks to prevent zoonotic spillovers and support equitable epidemic responses. Drawing on Sara’s extensive fieldwork with WHO and GOARN, the research uses mixed methods to examine data flows, feedback mechanisms, and trust across community-state interfaces, with the aim of influencing WHO and national/regional strategies for more community-centric, anti-colonial surveillance practices. Sara's research focuses on the tension between theory, policy and practice of infectious disease control in borderlands.

 

 

Applied Artificial Intelligence & Open-Source Data Methods for Female Genital Schistosomiasis and Global Women’s Health

Morgan Lemin – PhD 2023–2027

 

This research applies Ai-based image classification and open-source data pipelines to improve the detection and monitoring of Female Genital schistosomiasis (FGS) and its pathological sequelae. Morgan’s project combines cutting-edge technical development of computer vision with ethical approaches to data governance, contributing scalable solutions for neglected conditions in women’s health and building digital infrastructure for community-led surveillance.

 

 

The Use of Knowledge-Sharing Platforms and Notification Frameworks to Support Public Health Partners to Improve Referral Adherence

Namrata Thaker – DrPH 2023–2030

 

This practice-oriented research examines how health technology platforms, particularly Peek Vision’s global eye health infrastructure, can support improved referral adherence and connection to care via integrated notifications and peer-driven knowledge sharing. Using interviews, analytics, and participatory design, Namrata identifies system features and engagement strategies that enhance partner capacity to translate data into action.

 

 

From Ebola to COVID-19 in Sierra Leone: Community-Based Surveillance Towards One Health

Anthony Mansaray – PhD 2023–2026

 

This project investigates how community-based surveillance (CBS) evolved across major health emergencies in Sierra Leone, with a focus on legitimacy, local ownership, and system resilience. Through policy analysis, fieldwork, oral histories, surveys and a novel digitally twinned game that assesses health-resource prioritisations among diverse publics, Anthony’s research examines how CBS can be institutionally supported without undermining grassroots autonomy, contributing new models for participatory epidemic intelligence. An emerging thread of this work involves the use of 'deliberative play', a concept for knowledge sharing in low-literacy settings that is inspired by tabletop and traditional games.

 

 

Integrating Effective Refractive Error Coverage (eREC) Metrics into Trachoma Screening and Eye Health Programmes

PI - Emma Harding-Esch, Funded by WHO & The Carter Center

 

This project develops and tests methods for embedding effective refractive error coverage (eREC) metrics within trachoma and broader eye health screening programmes. Building on LSHTM’s long-standing leadership in trachoma elimination, the research evaluates how vision screening platforms can be adapted to capture refractive status, spectacle correction needs, and population-level coverage within integrated survey designs. Through field implementation, data modelling, and collaboration with national eye health teams, the work aims to operationalise eREC within routine monitoring frameworks, linking blindness prevention, visual impairment correction, and trachoma surveillance into a unified, equity-oriented system that supports Universal Eye Health and VISION 2030 goals.

 

Digital Research Infrastructure

 

As System Director of the LSHTM Global Health Analytics Data Services, I have led the engineering and stewardship of

digital platforms that have supported over 600 global health studies since 2015. This infrastructure is built on

open-source technologies, primarily ODK, and provides secure, scalable, and offline-capable electronic data capture for

research in remote, resource-limited, and emergency settings. These services are freely available to LSHTM-affiliated

researchers and collaborators under a progressive “Pay What You Can” (PWYC) support model designed to maximise

equity and access.

 

I also maintain a portfolio of original software contributions used widely across the global health research community.

These include ”Keppel”, an open-source biometric registration framework integrated with ODK; Automation Tools which

simplify and scale field deployments; and a set of methodological and audit modules aligned to ALCOA standards for

clinical trials. These tools are openly published and documented on GitHub, and have been adopted by independent

research teams, NGOs, and academic partners globally.

 

I am an active contributor to the ODK and KoBoToolbox ecosystems, serving in advisory roles and collaborating with

core developers to shape roadmap priorities and implementation strategies. This work reflects my broader

commitment to developing infrastructure that not only meets technical and regulatory standards, but also reflects

principles of public good, transparency, and sustainability in global research.

A substantial focus of my current work is the development of novel methods for data collection, processing, management and governance in global health research. Working exclusively in the open-source domain, I use emerging software and hardware to implement novel platforms for data science. This includes the creation of code which is available on my Github repositories at https://github.com/chrissyhroberts/ and https://github.com/LSHTM-ORK

 

 

Previous Research Degree Supervision

 

 

• Respiratory Pathogen Transmission Among Exposed Household Contacts - Dr Kate Gaskell – PhD 2019–2024
• The Role of the Skin Microbiome and Host Genetics in Human Attractiveness to Mosquitoes - Dr Alicia Showering – PhD 2023–2024
• The Impact of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Human Genes That Regulate Hepcidin and Iron on Oral Iron Absorption and the Risk of Anaemia in Africans - Dr Momodou Wuri Jallow – PhD 2016–2019
• Chlamydia trachomatis Serology as a Means of Monitoring Intervention Activities to Eliminate Trachoma as a Public Health Problem - Dr Stephanie Migchelsen – PhD 2013–2018
• Using Alternate Indicators to Define Need for Public Health Intervention for Trachoma: Evidence from the Pacific Islands - Assistant Professor Robert Butcher – PhD 2013–2018

 

Software & Designs

 

• Cross-platform biometrics interface for the ODK ecosystem with fingerprint matching, Quality Assurance and audit tools (Keppel) – Roberts, C, Stott, S, McNulty, T. (2021, 2023, 2024, 2025)
• An XForm/ODK Form interpreter for Badger2040 E-Ink wearable electronic badge – Roberts, C, Bestor, G, Lemin, M. (2024)
• xHLA_R : An R wrapper for xHLA - Sequence analysis of short tandem reads from the Human Leukocyte Antigen region – Roberts, C. - Forked from xHLA (2023)
• Optical Mark Recognition for Paper Based Data Collection and Machine Learning Based Transcoding OMR_LSHTM – Roberts, C, Deshmukh,U - Forked from OMRChecker (2023)
• 3D CAD files for a tactile anatomical model for training in female genital swab collection and STI diagnostic procedures Thingiverse #5389526 – Roberts, C, Bustinduy, A (2022)
• 3D CAD files for a tactile anatomical model of female genital schistosomiasis eggs in reproductive tissues Thingiverse #5389502 – Roberts, C, Bustinduy, A (2022)
• 3D CAD files for a 3D-printed smartphone mount for capturing microscope images without specialised equipment Thingiverse #4145621 – Roberts, C (2021)
• Automation Tools for the ODK Aggregate Server [Obsolete] - EDK Automation Tools – Roberts, C (2020)
• ODK Tools for working with Big Data on the ODK Aggregate Server [Obsolete] OBD – Roberts, C (2019)
• 3D CAD files for a water-pressure-equalised ELISA plate washer Thingiverse #2856117 – Roberts, C (2018)
• FPC Grader : Image processing tool to support rapid clinical grading and digitisation of data from trachoma clinical photographs - FPC_Grader – Roberts, C (2017)
• Eyescores : an open platform for secure electronic data and photographic evidence collection in ophthalmological field studies [Obsolete] - Eyescores – Roberts, C, Mtuy, T, Derrick, T, Burton, MJ, Holland, MJ

 

Previous Research

 

I was the principal investigator of the NIHR funded Emergency and Epidemic Data Kit project, which won the 2018 LSHTM Director's Award for Best Research Group and the 2017 LSHTM Director's Award for innovation in teaching and learning. I was also a co-investigator and senior data coordinator on the flagship "Tujiokowe" (DRC-EB-001) trial, a major evaluation of Janssen pharmaceuticals' heterologous two dose ebola vaccine, which was funded by a £22m grant from CEPI. Through this funding from NIHR and DHSC, my group provided data collection and real time analytics to support the DR Congo Minostry of health and WHO to carry out an evaluation of the rVSV-ZEBOV Ebola vaccine.

I was a co-investigator and lead of two work-packages on FIEBRE, a £10m UK Government (FCDO/UKAID) funded study on the causes of fever in resource limited settings. I am also the principal investigator of the lab based Mos-Def study, a sister study to FIEBRE which is funded by a £360,000 grant from GHLabs (formerly The Global Good Fund).

I previously led a major programme of research in to the epidemiology of trachoma in the Western Pacific Region, research that was funded by more than £800,000 in grants from the International Trachoma Initiative, Fred Hollows Foundation, Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and Coalition for Operational Research on NTDs (COR-NTD). This work supported ministries of health in Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Papua New Guinea in their very successful public health programmes which aim to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem.