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St Hugh’s Fellow highlights the importance of integration of disciplines to address complex global health challenge

On International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we are delighted to be able to highlight the work of St Hugh’s Biology Fellow, Professor Rachel Tanner. The research group of Professor Tanner is primarily a ‘wet lab’ focused on the development of novel vaccines and drugs for tuberculosis (TB). However, they recognise that addressing this complex global health challenge requires the integration of social and computational as well as biomedical sciences. As a result, they run a number of interdisciplinary projects that embed broader expertise alongside laboratory research.

Professor Tanner is the lead PI of the Oxford Ineos Institute Grand Challenge consortium to tackle drug-resistant TB, within which early and meaningful engagement with patient groups is viewed as critical to support the translational pipeline. They work closely with social scientists to explore patient and community attitudes towards novel TB drugs, broader perceptions of TB research, and awareness of antimicrobial resistance. In parallel, their work has examined the social determinants of vaccine uptake and the representation of ethnic and racial minority groups in vaccine trials, reflecting a commitment to ensuring that TB research is scientifically robust, socially responsive and inclusive.

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