I am an anthropologist with a background in infectious disease control and additional training in microbiology, epidemiology, health systems and policy analysis. Previously I was a founder and director of LSHTM’s Health in Humanitarian Crises Centre. Having entered academia through humanitarian practice, most of my work seeks to use social science and interdisciplinary evidence to highlight the social and political dimensions of public health programming in settings affected by humanitarian crises.

My research has taken place mainly in East, Central and West Africa, with a long-term focus on South Sudan and Uganda, and more recently in Ethiopia, Somalia and DR Congo. My research has spanned neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), sexual and reproductive health, disability, eye care, epidemics, mortality estimation in crises, gender violence, forced migration, refugee health worker employment, and censorship in crisis-related research.

In the field of humanitarian crises and public health emergencies, I serve on the Social Science and Risk Communication & Community Engagement team of the UK's Public Health Rapid Support Team (PHRST) which is a partnership between the UK Health Security Agency and LSHTM. The PHRST has a triple mandate to respond to disease outbreaks around the world before they develop into health emergencies, conduct rigorous operational research and strengthen capacities to improve epidemic preparedness. I also am a member of the Multi-Hazards Research Network which combines natural, social and behavioural science research with rapid response capacity to deliver improved forecasting and tools, alongside timely, practical advice for those working to address emergencies in complex and data-limited settings. Before that, I was a member of the core team of the Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform.

In recent years, I have been working with an emerging and dynamic community of practice dedicated to mortality estimation in humanitarian crises. Mortality estimation is a vital form of evidence production needed to guide aid prioritisation but it is also difficult to do, can be very political and attract censorship. I have been leading a multi-disciplinary team to systematically map and document these dynamics across a variety of settings and am now using insights from this project to develop the first localisation and national engagement strategy for the global Mortality Estimation Initiative.

Finally, a long-term interest has been in the control of NTDs including cutaneous leishmaniasis, Buruli ulcer, leprosy and  human African trypanosomiasis (HAT or sleeping sickness). I served for several years on the steering committee for the global clinical trials HAT Platform during an exciting period of adjustment and innovation for the HAT field including the roll-out of novel rapid diagnostic tests, oral treatments and tsetse fly targets, made possible through renewed investments for HAT elimination. I am now investigating the engagement of women and girls in a clinical trial for cutaneous leishmaniasis called MAMS4CL which builds on exploratory work to pilot health system and community-based solutions under the Skin Health Africa Research Programme.

I received a PhD and MSc in Control of Infectious Diseases from LSHTM as well as a BSc, Hon in Microbiology & Immunology from McGill University in Canada.