Background
My areas of interest are medicine, biomedical science, public health and global development. I write as a freelance journalist on these topics, in addition to commercial scientific and medical writing. I have contributed articles for Nature Networks London, Society Guardian and SciDevNet. I draw on my varied background in biomedical research and my experience as a field health researcher in India. From 2005-2008 I worked on a tuberculosis molecular genetics project at the Medical Research Council’s National Institute of Medical Research, London, UK. I have a particular interest in writing about TB as a scientific, public health and development challenge. I also work for Health and Development Networks, running an international online TB discussion forum.
I graduated from the University of Oxford in 2004 with a Master’s in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, class IIi Honours. From 2000 to 2006 I worked part time as an in-house editor for WitH Ltd, Oxford, UK, on presubmission editing for style and grammar. I have worked as a freelance medical writer since 2006 and my comissions include conference reporting, transcripts and summaries of audio recordings and slides, and industrial reports. References are available.
I have worked on several laboratory research projects. From 2003 to 2004 I worked as a part time assistant with the Cardiovascular Research Group, St Georges Medical School, London, UK. My project investigated the hormonal mediators of placental circulation and development and an abstract was presented at The Placenta Association of the Americas 2004 meeting. I completed a short placement at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics in 2003, examining human genetic variations that could confer susceptibility to malaria. In 2002 I was awarded a Wellcome Trust scholarship grant and worked with the MRC Immunochemistry Unit, Oxford, UK, on hyaluronan binding proteins.
I spent six months working in Rajasthan, India, after my graduation as I wanted to gain direct experience in public health. I wrote a review of the health activities of a major local NGO, GRAVIS. This was published in 2005. Work with TB patients first interested me in tuberculosis as a research direction. I then worked in Thailand with Health and Development Networks and a local HIV care charity before returning to the UK.
