Collecting COVID: Oral Histories

Georgina Ferry interviews Trudie Lang, Professor of Global Health Research and Head of the Global Health Network, 13 April 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:20) early interest in science, degree in biochemistry, work in the pharmaceutical industry as a clinical trial monitor, work in Africa and a Surgical Eye Expedition project, running clinical trials in U.K. hospitals, malaria work with Smit...

Georgina Ferry interviews Siobhan Gardiner, Clinical Research Nurse, 11 April 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:18) early interest in nursing and studies at Cambridge, work in New Zealand and Australia, teaching at Thames Valley University, research nursing and work with the Dementias and Neurodegenerative Disease Research Network [DeNDRoN]; (00:04:31) dementia portfolio, including commercial...

Georgina Ferry interviews Sara Khalid, Associate Professor, 31 March 2023. Topics discussed include (00:01:00) early interest in engineering science, studies in Pakistan, Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford and specialism in biomedical engineering; (00:02:15) Planetary Health research group; (00:05:55) incorporation of climate data in recent studies; (00:10:54) first awareness of COVID-19; (00:15:59) int...

Georgina Ferry interviews David Eyre, Professor of Infectious Diseases, 28 March 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:46) early interest in medicine, studies in Cambridge and clinical studies at Oxford, work in Oxford in the John Radcliffe and Horton Hospital, PhD in pathogen sequencing, specialist training, consultant in infection; (00:04:27) genomic sequencing; (00:07:37) place within the Big D...

Georgina Ferry interviews Yi-Chun Wang, Research Scientist and PhD Student, 24 March 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:40) early interest in science, undergraduate studies in Taiwan and specialism in medical imaging and radiology science, master's in radiation biology at the University of Oxford, internship at Perspectum; (00:11:02) first awareness of COVID-19, visa extension; (00:15:54) inter...

Georgina Ferry interviews Claas Kirchhelle, former Honorary Fellow in Vaccine History (Oxford Vaccine Group/Oxford Martin School), 22 March 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:48) early interest in history, studies in Munich, study of the environment and contemporary history, research into antibiotics, master's at the University of Chicago, post at Oxford and pivot to history of medicine; (00:02...

Georgina Ferry interviews Elizabeth Stafford, Clinical Research Nurse Manager, 22 March 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:20) early interest in nursing, studies at the University of Reading, training as a midwife, work in acute urgent and intensive care, research and role at Oxford exploring hepatology; (00:02:59) role of a research nurse; (00:07:51) patient recruitment for research; (00:11:16...

Georgina Ferry interviews Sam Foster, former Chief Nursing Officer (Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust), 22 March 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:31) early interest in nursing and healthcare, work in medical wards and intensive care units, interest in training and education, corporate roles; (00:02:11) management and leadership roles; (00:03:57) core Chief Nursing Officer role, role at Ox...

Georgina Ferry interviews Mary Daly, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy, 20 March 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:29) early interest in social work, degree studies in Ireland, master's in social sciences, research career; (00:01:50) research interests, including questions of wellbeing, analysis of the welfare state, concept of care; (00:03:30) main components of care, including activit...

Georgina Ferry interviews Sumali Bajaj, DPhil student (Department of Biology), 17 March 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:38) early interest in science, undergraduate studies in India, research projects, work at a government hospital in the biostats unit, consultancy for the Public Health Foundation of India, scholarship master's studies at Harvard University, role at Imperial College and work...

Georgina Ferry interviews Andrew Brent, Consultant in Infectious Diseases & General Internal Medicine and Deputy Chief Medical Officer (Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), 17 March 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:18) early interest in medicine, degree studies at Cambridge, clinical studies at Oxford, interest in working in the developing world and tropics, Fellowship worki...

Georgina Ferry interviews Xin Xu, Research Fellow at the Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE) and Junior Research Fellow (Kellogg College), 15 March 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:40) undergraduate degree in China, interest in social sciences and higher education studies, DPhil at Oxford; (00:03:00) fundamental questions in higher education research; (00:05:15) influence of higher educ...

Georgina Ferry interviews Kate Orkin, Associate Professor in Economics and Public Policy, 15 March 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:39) interest in economics, particularly in labour market and social protection policy, PhD at Oxford, work in Ethiopia, Fellowships at Cambridge and Princeton; (00:03:50) fieldwork, including in Western Kenya and work with NGO GiveDirectly; (00:10:48) first aware...

Georgina Ferry interviews Daniel Prieto-Alhambra, Professor of Pharmaco- and Device Epidemiology, 14 March 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:37) early interest in science and medicine, PhD studies in Barcelona, visiting PhD student at Oxford, health data sciences (00:02:42) use of existing data (routinely collected data and electronic medical records) for research into musculoskeletal conditio...

Georgina Ferry interviews Rajarshi Banerjee, CEO Perspectum and former student of Oxford Medical School, 14 March 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:08) early interest in science, entry into medical school at Oxford, interest in research, registrar training programme in cardiology and internal medicine, British Heart Foundation funding for a PhD; (00:04:21) PhD studies at Oxford on cardiac MRI...

Georgina Ferry interviews Tony Brett, Director of Medical Sciences Division IT Services, 28 February 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:23) early interest in science, degree in chemistry at Oxford, interest in IT and computers and work at Oxford at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, roles at Corpus Christi and OUCS; (00:05:09) challenges in supporting academics; (00:07:11) scope of...

Georgina Ferry interviews Sheetal Silal, Associate Professor (Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town) and Honorary Visiting Research Fellow in Tropical Disease Modelling (Nuffield Department of Medicine), 28 February 2023. Topics discussed include (00:01:18) early interest in mathematics, database evidence making in health; (00:03:24) global health problem of malaria; (00:04:4...

Georgina Ferry interviews Ane Ogbe, former Senior Immunologist (Frater Lab) and Group Leader (Evox Therapeutics), 23 Febrauary 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:48) early interest in science, studies in biomedical sciences, master's in molecular medicine with cancer research at Brunel University; (00:07:13) main arms of the immune system, difference between T cells and B cells; (00:12:57) move...

Georgina Ferry interviews Nicole Zitzmann, Professor of Virology and Principal Investigator (Department of Biochemistry), 22 February 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:31) studies in Germany, including study of Biology in Bonn, studies in English, biochemistry student in Dundee, Masters and PhD under supervisor Professor Mike Ferguson, move to Oxford in 1997 working at the Glycobiology Institu...

Georgina Ferry interviews Chia Chen (Jane) Hsu, Chief Operating Officer (SimCell) and former postdoctoral researcher (Institute of Biomedical Engineering), 20 February 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:40) early interest in science and engineering, studies in biomedical engineering, synthetic biology, PhD studies at Imperial College London, postdoctoral project at Oxford; (00:06:25) neuro engi...

Georgina Ferry interviews Chris Price, Divisional Registrar and Chief Operating Officer for Medical Sciences, 8 February 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:34) work at the University of Oxford since 1993, sociology degree, work with Sir Richard Peto and Sir Rory Collins in the Clinical Trial Service Unit ; (00:01:52) interest in medical sciences, work in professional services roles; (00:03:40)...

Georgina Ferry interviews Brian Marsden, Associate Professor for Data Management and Research Informatics, 3 February 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:46) early interest in science, degree studies at Cambridge, DPhil at Oxford in Biochemistry, work at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego and BioFocus; (00:02:29) computational chemistry; (00:07:35) Structural Genomics Consortium; (00:18...

Georgina Ferry interviews Omar El Muhanna, Senior Operations Manager (Clinical BioManufacturing Facility), 2 February 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:39) studies in Engineering, Executive MBA from Northwestern University, work in retail, construction, particularly on projects in the Middle East, involvement in the humanitarian response to the civil war in Syria, humanitarian aid including mo...

Georgina Ferry interviews Alex Mentzer, NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer, 25 January 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:40) early interest in medicine, travels abroad in Nigeria, studies in Biochemistry at Imperial College London, Masters in Molecular Medicine, medical school at University College London, work at the Royal Free Hospital, London Infectious Diseases Department, research and traini...

Georgina Ferry interviews Lennard Lee, Academic Clinical Lecturer and Medical Oncologist, 19 January 2023. Topics discussed include (00:00:49) early interest in medicine, studies at Cambridge, PhD at the Wellcome Trust in Oxford; (00:03:28) Junior group leader in Birmingham and training as a cancer doctor; (00:05:32) first awareness of COVID-19; (00:07:16) impact of the pandemic on cancer patients...