About
My background is in public health research and epidemiology, with collaborations across social science researchers and computer scientists. Across the pandemic, I have led COVID-19 research studies in West Africa, in Ghana and Togo. Much of this research has covered vaccine hesitancy and also digital health interventions. Another interest is Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), particularly scabies and other skin NTDs. In 2022, I've been leading on a health needs survey aimed at Ukrainian refugees and displaced populations, along with a similar study around the Burkina Faso refugees who are in northern Ghana.
I am experienced at public engagement, outreach and working with the media (including dozens of interviews on BBC, CNN and other TV stations, and my quotes to the print media have been republished thousands of times in newspapers around the world).
I teach at undergraduate and postgraduate level, including lectures on vaccination and misinformation, precision public health, and global health research.
My student supervisions includes PhD and MSc students on topics covering climate change and health in Ghana, modelling the spread of misinformation and vaccine hesitancy in communities, and the use of computer science networks to identify and predict trends in funding for infectious disease research
Research
Research groups
Research interests
- - Health needs of vulnerable populations e.g. refugee and rural healthcare
- - Vaccine hesitancy in Ghana and Togo
- - Impact of climate change upon health
- - Epidemiology of skin Neglected Tropical Diseases, in particular scabies, in Ghana and Togo
- - Research Investments in Global Health study
Research projects
Active projects
Completed projects
Publications
External roles and responsibilities
Biography
I worked for 11 years at UCL, before moving to University of Southampton in 2015. I have been based in the Clinical Informatics Research Unit, within the Faculty of Medicine, since 2018, leading the 'RESIN' group (analyses of research funding trends) as well as directing programmes of global health research. I have a role within the University of Southampton Media and Communications Directorate, acting as 'Advocacy Manager'. I also have Adjunct/Visiting positions with Ghanaian institutions of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, and University for Development Studies.
My undergraduate degree was a BSc in Biomedical Sciences, I studied epidemiology at postgraduate level, and completed my PhD at the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, University of Amsterdam.
Prizes
- Best Paper Award (2021)
- UoS Staff Achievement Award (2022)
- Best Paper Award and Certificate of Appreciation (2021)