Connecting Citizens to Science – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of Connecting Citizens to Science, we conclude our three-part miniseries on improving maternal and newborn healthcare. Host Dr. Kim Ozano and her guests explore how to sustain quality improvements in health systems and progress toward maternal and newborn Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Dr. Rael Mutai, Regional Technical Advisor for Maternal and Newborn Health at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Kenya, and Dr. Nicholas Furtado, Senior Medical Advisor at Global Fund, share their insights on the successes and challenges of embedding sustainable practices in maternal and newborn healthcare systems across Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria. (see 'useful links' for the other episodes from the series).

Chapter List:

00:00:00 – Introduction to Sustainability and SDG Goals

00:01:52 – Progress Towards Maternal and Newborn Health indicators

00:04:50 – Global Landscape: The Impact of the Pandemic

00:06:37 – Addressing Inequities within Countries

00:09:26 – Healthcare Workers and Sustainable Outcomes

00:12:22 – Intersectionality and Broader Determinants of Maternal Health

00:17:38 – Advice and Call to Action for Sustainable Solutions

In this episode:

Dr. Rael Mutai - Regional Technical Advisor (MNH), Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Tropical Kenya

Rael is a public health specialist with over 21 years’ of experience in health and development. She is passionate about health systems strengthening, Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights and Quality Maternal and Newborn Health. Rael has been involved with the quality improvement programme in the last 3 years, as the Regional Technical Adviser for Kenya and Tanzania. The Programme uses global evidence customised to country context for improved maternal and newborn outcomes. The programme has addressed gaps in ANC-PNC service delivery through capacity building of healthcare workers and integrated approaches to care.

Dr. Nicolas Furtado - Senior Medical Advisor, Global Fund

Nicolas is a Senior Medical Advisor with the Health System Strengthening Technical Advice and Partnerships team at the Global Fund. He is deeply engaged in efforts to strengthen primary healthcare systems globally, particularly focusing on improving maternal and newborn health outcomes and now focusing on improving access to medical oxygen and respiratory care. Throughout his work, Nicolas has been instrumental in addressing key challenges such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare inequities, and the need for sustainable, locally adapted solutions. He advocates for simple, effective, and culturally appropriate interventions to ensure quality care at the point of service delivery.

Useful links:

• Strengthening the Health Workforce for Maternal and Newborn Care - Connecting Citizens to Science - In the second episode of our three-part miniseries, " Transforming Maternal and Newborn Health", we focus on how capacity strengthening in healthcare can transform maternal and newborn care outcomes. The discussion highlights the critical role of health workers, from nurses to doctors, and the importance of building skills, teamwork, and communication to improve early diagnosis and reduce complications. Experts share insights on training approaches, challenges faced, and the transformative impact of mentorship and continuous professional development in Kenya, Tanzania, and beyond. This episode offers valuable lessons for health systems strengthening and sets the stage for our next conversation on sustainability.
• Quality Innovations in Maternal and Newborn Health - Connecting Citizens to Science - In this first episode of our three-part miniseries, "Transforming Maternal and Newborn Health," we dive into a groundbreaking quality improvement programme that has made significant strides in integrating HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria services into antenatal and postnatal care across Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania. We explore emerging evidence on how health systems can adapt and respond to changing landscapes, including the impact of COVID-19, to deliver better outcomes for mothers and newborns. Featuring insights from leading experts, we discuss the challenges, successes, and innovative approaches that have strengthened the capacity of health workers and improved access to essential care. This episode sets the stage for the next discussions on capacity building and sustainability, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in global health and health systems strengthening.
• Quality Improvement of Integrated HIV, TB and Malaria Services in ANC & PNC | LSTM

Want to hear more podcasts like this?

Follow Connecting Citizens to Science on your usual podcast platform or YouTube to hear more about current research and debates within global health.

The podcast covers topics like health systems strengthening, gender and intersectionality, tropical diseases (NTDs, TB, Malaria), maternal and child healthcare, mental health, vector-borne diseases, climate change, and co-production approaches.

If you would like your project or programme to feature in an episode or mini-series, get in touch with the producers of Connecting Citizens to Science, the SCL Agency.

Join us as we focus on how capacity strengthening in healthcare can transform maternal and newborn care outcomes, in the second episode of our three-part miniseries, "Transforming Maternal and Newborn Health". The discussion highlights the critical role of health workers, from nurses to doctors, and the importance of building skills, teamwork, and communication to improve early diagnosis and reduce complications.

Experts share insights on training approaches, challenges faced, and the transformative impact of mentorship and continuous professional development in Kenya, Tanzania, and beyond. This episode offers valuable lessons for health systems strengthening and sets the stage for our next conversation on sustainability.

Chapter List:

00:00:00 – Introduction to Capacity Strengthening

00:01:11 – Role of Health Workers in Maternal and Newborn Care

00:02:19 – Challenges in Achieving High-Quality Care

00:04:52 – Impact of Continuous Professional Development

00:05:51 – Real-Life Improvements in Diagnosis and Care

00:09:28 – Competency-Based Training Approaches

00:12:20 – Shifting Attitudes and Respectful Maternity Care

00:14:01 – Research Integration and Policy Influence

00:16:13 – Key Advice for Capacity Strengthening

00:20:06 – Conclusion and What’s Next

In this episode:

Dr. Rael Mutai, Regional Technical Advisor (MNH), Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Tropical

Rael is a public health specialist with over 21 years’ of experience in health and development. She is passionate about health systems strengthening, Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights and Quality Maternal and Newborn Health. Rael has been involved with the programme in the last 3 years, as the Regional Technical Adviser for Kenya and Tanzania. The Programme uses global evidence customised to country context for improved maternal and newborn outcomes. The programme has addressed gaps in ANC-PNC service delivery through capacity building of healthcare workers and integrated approaches to care.

Dr. Leonard Katalambula – Lecturer, University of Dodoma

Dr. Katalambula is the Head of the Department of Public Health at the University of Dodoma (UDOM), where he has worked for over 15 years. He also serves as Board Chairperson for Action Against Hunger (Tanzania) and is a technical committee member of TWG 6, focusing on reproductive, maternal, child, and adolescent health. An experienced researcher with publications in implementation science and public health, Dr. Katalambula leads projects on Quality Improvement of Integrated HIV, TB, and Malaria Services during antenatal and postnatal care, as well as the MEGA project. For the past 15 years, he has worked closely with communities, addressing challenges through research and community services.

Sylvia Kimtai – Midwife, Uasin Gishu County

Sylvia is currently attached to the county reproductive health office coordinating the elimination of maternal-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B and also quality improvement. She has been involved in ANC/PNC and quality improvement training supporting Kenya and Tanzania in both face-to-face and blended learning

Sylvia mentors nurses, midwives, and clinical officers on quality improvement in ANC/PNC in Uasin Gishu County, also supporting sub-county reproductive health coordinators in the mentorship of service providers on ANC/PNC. Passionate about quality improvement, she has a WhatsApp platform where facility quality improvement chairpersons share best practices and challenges.

Useful links:

• A Collaborative Approach to Improving Maternal and Newborn Health in Tanzania or Saving Lives
• Improving antenatal and postnatal care for better maternal and newborn health outcomes
• Quality Innovations in Maternal and Newborn Health - Connecting Citizens to Science - The first episode of our three-part miniseries, "Transforming Maternal and Newborn Health," dives into a groundbreaking quality improvement programme that has made significant strides in integrating HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria services into antenatal and postnatal care across Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania. We explore emerging evidence on how health systems can adapt and respond to changing landscapes, including the impact of COVID-19, to deliver better outcomes for mothers and newborns. Featuring insights from leading experts, we discuss the challenges, successes, and innovative approaches that have strengthened the capacity of health workers and improved access to essential care. This episode sets the stage for the next discussions on capacity building and sustainability, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in global health and health systems strengthening.
• Quality Improvement of Integrated HIV, TB and Malaria Services in ANC & PNC | LSTM

Want to hear more podcasts like this?

Follow Connecting Citizens to Science on your usual podcast platform or YouTube to hear more about current research and debates within global health.

The podcast covers topics like health systems strengthening, gender and intersectionality, tropical diseases (NTDs, TB, Malaria), maternal and child healthcare, mental health, vector-borne diseases, climate change, and co-production approaches.

If you would like your project or programme to feature in an episode or mini-series, get in touch with the producers of Connecting Citizens to Science, the SCL Agency.

In this episode, we discuss meaningful participation and inclusion when working with marginalised communities. We draw on research approaches from the Reducing the Burden of Severe Stigmatising Skin Diseases (REDRESS) research programme that aims to reduce illness, stigma, social exclusion, and poverty caused by severe stigmatising skin diseases (SSSDs) in Liberia. Since 2019 REDRESS has been co-developing new knowledge together with researchers, patients and programme implementers that directly respond to priority health needs detailed in the country’s ‘Investment Plan for Building a Resilient Health System’.

Hannah Berrian who is a Research Fellow for the Patient Engagement and Person-Centred Approaches thematic area for REDRESS and Shahreen Chowdhury, a researcher and PhD student at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine join us in a discussion about participation and inclusion and how these impact the partnerships and power dynamics that exist when trying to improve the health and wellbeing of marginalised people.

Episode guests:

Miss Hannah Berrian - Research Fellow, UL-PIRE Africa Center

Hannah Berrian obtained a Master’s degree in Public Health (MPH) from Cuttington Graduate School of Professional Studies in Liberia. She served as Liberia’s Mental Health Research Capacity Building Coordinator for Youth FORWARD, the U.S.-National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded project from a collaboration between the Boston College of Social Work in Massachusetts, U.S., College of Medicine of the Allied Health Sciences (CoMAS) of the University of Sierra Leone, and UL-PIRE Africa Center at the University of Liberia, respectively.

She has several years of professional experience in project management, qualitative and quantitative research, programme implementation, qualitative data analysis, and building capacity for mental health research, among others. Hannah is a Research Fellow for the Patient Engagement and Person-Centred Approaches thematic area on Health Systems Strengthening for Reducing the Burden of Severe Stigmatizing Skin Diseases (REDRESS) consortium.

Ms Shahreen Chowdhury - Research Assistant, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Shahreen Chowdhury is a social scientist, with a background in public health and geography. She currently works as a research assistant and PhD student at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. She obtained her Masters in Public Health in International Development at the University of Sheffield and has varied local and international NGO experience in diverse settings on community health programmes.

Shahreen is particularly interested in the links between equity, mental health and disability inclusion, and community based participatory research. Her PhD explores mainstreaming the rights of people with psychosocial disabilities in Bangladesh, Liberia and Lebanon. In her current work, Shahreen is passionate about using creative participatory methods to amplify the voices and experiences of vulnerable groups affected by chronic illness and disability. Shahreen has extensive experience in working with co-researchers using photovoice, storytelling and art based participatory methods. Shahreen works in Neglected Tropical Disease programmes in West Africa and South Asia with a focus on co-production, designing, implementing and evaluating case detection and community based psychosocial support systems.

Useful links:

• DOWNLOAD A TOOLKIT FOR PARTICIPATORY HEALTH RESEARCH METHODS - Download and access a toolkit of PHR paradigms, methodologies and methods that can be selected and applied by researchers aiming to maximise inclusion, participation, and the achievement of more equitable research partnerships.
• Community Engagement - REDRESS Liberia - Access the REDRESS photovoice booklets here and find more about REDRESS' approach to community engagement and involvement (CEI).

Want to hear more podcasts like this?

Follow Connecting Citizens to Science on your usual podcast platform or YouTube to hear more about the methods and approaches that researchers apply to connect with communities and co-produce solutions to global health challenges.

The podcast covers wide ranging topics such as NTD’s, NCD’s, antenatal and postnatal care, mental wellbeing and climate change, all linked to community engagement and power dynamics.   

If you would like your own project or programme to feature in an episode, get in touch with producers of Connecting Citizens to Science, the SCL Agency.  

In this two-part mini-series we are focusing on health systems strengthening- what it is, how to do it and what action is needed to ensure that the approach is embedded in discussions at key global events and discussion platforms.

This episode follows on from the first episode from the Centre for Health Systems Strengthening at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (episode 60) which focused on the health diplomacy and how researchers can advocate for health systems strengthening approaches and community voices in health diplomacy spaces.

Today we hear from two advocates who have been acting within health diplomacy spaces and as researchers. We hear from Emmanuel Zaizay, who is affected by the Neglected Tropical Disease Buruli Ulcer, about his experience of growing skills and capacity to communicate the needs of people affected by stigmatising neglected tropical diseases.

We also hear from Maurine Murenga, a TB advocate who has represented the TB community in high level UN meetings. She is open and honest about both the strengths and opportunities of being an advocate, but also what this means to her on a personal level. Her open reflections are really critical to how researchers function when engaging with communities.

Episode guests:

Dr Kerry Millington - Research Uptake Manager, Liverpool of Tropical Medicine

Kerry has been working in global health for over 20 years with a keen focus on ending the tuberculosis epidemic. A key part of her work is developing trusted relationships with range of stakeholders to work in partnership, in collaboration and in a coordinated way ensuring the academic and health professional voice credibly informs decisions that impact on health. This can range from co-creating research ideas to influencing policy and political commitments. A key stakeholder to engage with is the voice of TB survivors and advocates to accelerate action for those in most need of innovations in TB care and prevention to transform lives.

Maurine Murenga - Coordinator of TB Women Global

Maurine Murenga is a passionate advocate for the health, development and human rights of women and children. Maurine’s passion for advocacy is driven by her lived experience, and the inequality and vulnerability that young women and adolescent girls experience in her community.

Maurine is currently the coordinator of TB Women Global, Board Member of Unitaid, Friend of the Fight US and EGPAF Kenya. She is a former board member of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and is also a member of WHO's Global Accelerator for Pediatric Formulations Advisory and Union Working Group Gender Equity in TB. In Kenya – Maurine is a member of the Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism and Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV Committee of Experts.

Emmanuel Zaizay – Co-researcher and advocate, REDRESS, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Emmanuel Zaizay is from Lofa County, Voinjama District. He works with REDRESS as a coresearcher and was recruited as a patient affected person having been diagnosed with Buruli ulcer. He also serves as a data collector, working in photovoice settings and participatory methods such as bodymapping and focus group discussions.

Useful links:

• S8E3 - Being a co-researcher with lived experience of an NTD - Emmanuel Zaizay, who is a peer researcher in the REDRESS programme and is affected by Buruli Ulcer, a neglected tropical disease, features in this earlier epsiode. He shares with us the value of learning new skills, through becoming a co-researcher, which has helped him better connect with his community and contribute to the improvement of medical and psychosocial services for people living with NTDs.
• CHESS - Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine - CHESS is a multi-disciplinary group using research and teaching to strengthen health systems and to improve health and well-being amongst the poorest and marginalised in low and middle-income countries (LMIC).

Want to hear more podcasts like this?

Follow Connecting Citizens to Science on your usual podcast platform or YouTube to hear more about the methods and approaches that researchers apply to connect with communities and co-produce solutions to global health challenges.

The podcast covers wide ranging topics such as NTD’s, NCD’s, antenatal and postnatal care, mental wellbeing and climate change, all linked to community engagement and power dynamics.   

If you would like your own project or programme to feature in an episode, get in touch with producers of Connecting Citizens to Science, the SCL Agency.  

Hello Listeners! In this episode we are joined by the Centre for Health Systems Strengthening at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, also known as CHESS. In this first episode of a two-part mini-series focusing on health systems strengthening, we talk about health diplomacy and why it is needed.

We hear from Dr. Joanna Raven and Dr. Kerry Millington, who have both been working in global health for over 20 years and are passionate about embedding both health systems strengthening approaches and community knowledge into political commitments and policy reforms.

Bringing a perspective from the fields of maternal and child health, lung health and tuberculosis, Dr Uzochukwu Egere co-hosts this episode where we discuss health diplomacy as a new field for academics and healthcare professionals. One that is about making connections, sharing intel and learning how the United Nations and other High-Level Meetings work, so we can effectively share evidence quickly in often extremely short windows of opportunity, so policy makers can listen and act.

Dr Uzochukwu Egere - Senior Research Associate, Emergency Obstetric and Quality of Care Unit, Department of International Public Health (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine)

Uzo is a paediatrician and public health researcher with extensive experience in multidisciplinary global health research. His research interest is in implementation research and health systems strengthening to tackle inequities in the fields of Maternal and Child health, Lung health and Tuberculosis. Uzo’s work focuses on health and health systems challenges relevant to low-and middle-income settings and facilitates interactions between researchers and consumers of research outputs (the community) to ensure timely policy change, uptake of interventions, and universal health coverage.

Dr Joanna Raven - Reader in health systems, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Jo has worked in global health for more than 25 years, focusing on strengthening health systems. Jo is a researcher with a passion for co-designing and implementing health system research with local stakeholders including community members, health workers, health managers and decision makers. As a health worker herself, Jo’s work focuses on supporting the health workforce to deliver people-centred care that is of good quality and leaves no one behind.

Dr Kerry Millington – Research Uptake Manager, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Kerry has been working in global health for over 20 years with a keen focus on ending the tuberculosis epidemic. A key part of her work is developing trusted relationships with range of stakeholders to work in partnership, in collaboration and in a coordinated way ensuring the academic and health professional voice credibly informs decisions that impact on health. This can range from co-creating research ideas to influencing policy and political commitments. A key stakeholder to engage with is the voice of TB survivors and advocates to accelerate action for those in most need of innovations in TB care and prevention to transform lives.

Research programme links:

ReBUILD for Resilience - Research on health systems in fragile contexts

PERFORM2scale – Scaling up PERFORM

ReDRESS - Strengthening people-centred health systems for people affected by severe stigmatising skin diseases in Liberia

LIGHT - Aims to support policy and practice in transforming gendered pathways to health for people with TB in urban settings

Want to hear more podcasts like this?

Follow Connecting Citizens to Science on your usual podcast platform or YouTube to hear more about the methods and approaches that researchers apply to connect with communities and co-produce solutions to global health challenges.

The podcast covers wide ranging topics such as NTD’s, NCD’s, antenatal and postnatal care, mental wellbeing and climate change, all linked to community engagement and power dynamics.   

If you would like your own project or programme to feature in an episode, get in touch with producers of Connecting Citizens to Science, the SCL Agency.  

In this episode we will be hearing about a seven year research programme known as COUNTDOWN. COUNTDOWN consisted of multidisciplinary research teams across 4 countries- Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Cameroon and used co-production research approaches to improve the equity and efficiency of health systems interventions to control and eliminate seven Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Research was implemented at each of the health system levels from policy to community and is all documented in the Journal ‘International Health’ as a supplement entitled Stronger together: evidence for collaborative action on neglected tropical diseases. The supplement tells the story of how the programme engaged with people who have lived experience, health workers, and policy makers and really emphasises the importance of togetherness.

Our guests today are Dr Luret Lar who was the programme manager employed by Sightsavers Nigeria, a collaborator on the COUNTDOWN programme, Dr Karsor Kollie who is the Program Director for Neglected Tropical Diseases at the Ministry of Health Liberia and Laura Dean from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine who was the Social Science lead for COUNTDOWN.

Dr Laura Dean – Lecturer, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Laura has worked for the last 15 years in the use of participatory health research methodologies to support community and health systems development across sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. Through participatory action research projects, she supports capacity strengthening within communities and health systems so that stakeholders can identify challenges and co-produce solutions. The majority of her work has focused on increasing inclusion and participation of people with lived experience of mental health conditions and chronic infectious diseases of poverty, for example neglected tropical diseases.

Dr. Luret Lar - Medical Doctor, Public Health Physician, Lecturer, University of Jos, Nigeria

Luret was involved in implementation research for seven years in collaboration with Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine when she was working for Sightsavers. Her interest and passion about preventive medicine and including the voices of the voiceless have influenced her research career over the years. Luret was interested in inclusivity at all levels of implementation in the neglected tropical diseases programme. This connected her with people affected by neglected tropical diseases and implementers at the community facility, state, and federal levels. She worked closely with these implementers to co-produce solutions to implementation challenges that everyone collectively identified.

Karsor Kollie – Programme Director, Ministry of Health, Liberia

Since 2011, Mr Kollie has established and headed the Liberian Integrated NTDs Prevention and Control Programme and is based within the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. He developed the NTD country master plan which forms the operational national guide for the next 5 years.

Under his leadership the Liberian programme is making excellent progress in MDA control of Lymphatic Filariasis, Onchocerciasis, Schistosomiasis, Soil-transmitted Helminthiasis (STH) where treatment coverage has not gone below 75%, respectively. Alongside this, he is making significant progress in the development and application of new monitoring and evaluation criteria tailoring activities effectively with difficult on-the-ground terrain.

Want to hear more podcasts like this?

Follow Connecting Citizens to Science on your usual podcast platform or YouTube to hear more about the methods and approaches that researchers apply to connect with communities and co-produce solutions to global health challenges.

The podcast covers wide ranging topics such as NTD’s, NCD’s, antenatal and postnatal care, mental wellbeing and climate change, all linked to community engagement and power dynamics.   

If you would like your own project or programme to feature in an episode, get in touch with producers of Connecting Citizens to Science, the SCL Agency.  

In this episode we are talking about the FEPOW Research Group. FEPOW stands for Far East Prisoners of War, and it focuses on capturing the history of civilian captives during the second World War and the impact that this has had on subsequent generations.

The group brings together veterans, their families, writers, and academics to create a friendly space to capture stories that we can learn from and apply to research now.

Approximately 240,000 Allied servicemen had become prisoners of war of the Japanese by early 1942. Over 50,000 British were captured during the fighting in Hong Kong, Malaya, at the fall of Singapore and across the former Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). The 415-kilometre Thailand-Burma railway was built by Far East prisoners of war (FEPOW) who were part of a huge slave labour force drafted from across the region. The railway provided the Japanese with a vital supply route for their fighting forces in Burma. It was forged through raw jungle, across mountain passes and was completed in a little over 15 months in October 1943. Of the 30,000 British FEPOW sent to camps in Thailand and Burma over 6,600 died.

For this episode, we welcome a new co-host, Geoff Gill from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, where he has been involved with research and clinical care of former Far East prisoners of war.

He has led the medical history inquiries into Far East imprisonment, resulting in two recent books, Captive Memories, and Burma Railway Medicine. We also have two great guests, Brian Spittle and James Reynolds.

Geoff explains to us “I think one of the things I've learnt over the years, is that there are many different ways of telling a story and there's no one right way there, there are many different ways.” and in direct reference to the stories shared directly from the FEPOWs and their archives “It's a story worth learning from, and I think we have receptive generations to tell it to.”

This episode features:

Prof. Geoff Gill – Professor of International Medicine, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine 

Geoff Gill is Professor of International Medicine at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and the University of Liverpool, and a retired NHS Consultant Physician. At LSTM he has been involved in the medical care of ex-Far East Prisoners of War (POWs), as well as extensive clinical research into their ongoing health problems – notably persisting malaria and amoebic dysentery, chronic worm infestations, hepatitis B infection, long-term effects of vitamin deficiency, and the extensive psychological aftermath. He has published extensively on these and other POW-related health issues. More recent research has involved the medical history of the Far East POW experience, in particular on the Thai-Burma Railway. This resulted in a PhD degree in 2009, and the book Burma Railway Medicine (with Meg Parkes) published in 2017. The LSTM Far East POW Project has been in operation in different forms since late 1945, and is the longest collaboration in the School’s history.

Brian Spittle

Brian grew up in the UK and in his mid-twenties moved to the United States to pursue postgraduate studies. He has lived in Chicago for the past forty years, retiring from a career in higher education administration six years ago. His father, Jack Spittle, was in the RAMC during the Second World War, arriving in Singapore at the end of November 1941. He worked in the dysentery wing at Roberts Hospital at Changi, and followed the hospital moves to Selarang and Kranji. A keen ornithologist, he made detailed observations of the birds at Changi, publishing them after the war in the Bulletin of the Raffles Museum. It was only after his father died in 2004 that Brian found the notebooks he had made in captivity. Brian is close to completing a memoir about his own journey to understand more of Jack Spittle’s time as a POW and of his own childhood growing up with a father with PTSD. The working title for the memoir is: Bird’s Eye View.

James Reynolds 

James Reynolds is the grandson of FEPOW Eric Cordingly, and the son of author Louise Cordingly. James has worked for the BBC since 1997, firstly as a foreign correspondent, now as a news presenter on the World Service. He's spent many years covering the effects of war.

Find out more about LSTM's FEPOW programme here: https://www.lstmed.ac.uk/history/far-eastern-prisoners-of-war-fepow

Want to hear more podcasts like this?

Follow Connecting Citizens to Science on your usual podcast platform or YouTube to hear more about the methods and approaches that researchers apply to connect with communities and co-produce solutions to global health challenges.

The podcast covers wide ranging topics such as NTD’s, NCD’s, antenatal and postnatal care, mental wellbeing and climate change, all linked to community engagement and power dynamics.    

If you would like your own project or programme to feature in an episode, get in touch with producers of Connecting Citizens to Science, the SCL Agency.

Have you heard the term SciArt before? In this episode, we explore what it is and the benefits of combining art and science as a research and communication tool.

Our Co-host for this episode is Elli Wright, Public Engagement Manager at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Elli told us ‘...effective science communication can really connect people and communities with research. Science communicators and public engagement professionals want to reduce the elitism built into society with regards to who is allowed to access scientific knowledge. Science belongs to all of us which is why effective science communication is so important. There are many ways that science can be communicated to the diverse public audience, including through art.’

Natasha Niethamer shared with us, ‘the more we engage others about public health concerns that require global efforts to fight, the more likely we are to inspire community action, driving interest in policy makers and funders. Directly inspiring even one teacher, parent, young person, or community member may indirectly inspire a large network of their own. You may inspire the next major activist of our generation!’

Listen on to find out more about how a playful approach can bring new insights to your work.

This episode features:

Dr Elli Wright - Public Engagement Manager, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Elli has been working in the science communication and public engagement sector at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine for nearly 8 years. She is currently studying an MSc. in science communication at the University of the West of England, which has given her a stronger understanding of the theories behind science communication practices. Her research explores the use of autoethnography as a tool to the co-creation of the Tropical Medicine Time Machine by artists Tom Hyatt and Natasha Neithamer (also featured in this episode).

Mark Roughley - Senior Lecturer 3D Digital Art, Liverpool John Moores University

Mark is a Senior Lecturer in 3D Digital Art at Liverpool School of Art and Design and a member of the Face Lab research group that explores faces and art-science applications. Mark trained as a medical artist, gaining his MSc in Medical Art from the University of Dundee, and specialises in visualising anatomy through 3D data acquisition, modelling and fabrication. His research focuses on the affordances of 3D digital technologies for both digital and haptic interaction with anatomical and cultural artefacts. Mark is also the programme leader for the MA Art in Science programme, which provides exciting opportunities for artists and scientists to collaborate and explore the boundaries of art and science.

Tom Hyatt - PhD Student at the Liverpool School of Art & Design, Liverpool John Moores University

Tom is a polymathic artist, musician, scientist, educator, and maker from Rossendale, Lancashire. After graduating with a Masters in physics and philosophy from Oxford University he moved to London to pursue grassroots music and a career in the arts, while teaching maths and physics. He moved back up to Liverpool after receiving a PhD scholarship to study at the Liverpool School of Art and Design. Recently he has been working with Natasha Niethamer to create the ‘Tropical Medicine Time Machine’ for LSTM – a multifaceted piece of sci-art public engagement that encompasses the length and breadth of LSTM’s prolific 125 years.

Natasha Niethamer – SciArtist, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Natasha is a SciArtist commissioned to create a pop up museum for LSTMs 125th Anniversary, along with a set of interactive loan boxes for use in local primary schools. Natasha has a special interest in sci-art activism and public outreach in microbiology and antimicrobial resistance. In 2020, she graduated from the MA Art in Science programme at Liverpool John Moores University. Her final MA project, an interactive choose-your-own text adventure called Bacteria, The Future, follows the heroic journey of a human from the 2050s travelling back in time as a bacteria to administer antibiotics to novel resistant microbes inside Hugh Manity, an unfortunate human in our present day, to save future humanity from the urgent global health crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Natasha also has an academic and professional background in microbiology, and since graduating spent time working in Dr Adam Roberts’ research lab at LSTM studying AMR mechanisms of evolution in clinical bacterial isolates. She grew up in California, USA and obtained a double major in Microbiology and Molecular Biology at Cal Poly SLO. She worked in plankton research, as an emergency room scribe, graphic design, and as a university science tutor.

Want to hear more podcasts like this?

Follow Connecting Citizens to Science on your usual podcast platform or YouTube to hear more about the methods and approaches that researchers apply to connect with communities and co-produce solutions to global health challenges.

The podcast covers wide ranging topics such as NTD’s, NCD’s, antenatal and postnatal care, mental wellbeing and climate change, all linked to community engagement and power dynamics.   

If you would like your own project or programme to feature in an episode, get in touch with producers of Connecting Citizens to Science, the SCL Agency.  

In this episode, we are going to celebrate World Malaria Day with our co-host and guests. This year's theme is Time to Deliver Zero Malaria, and it is focused on investing, innovating, and implementing tools that are available today and innovating for future tools.

WHO calls to action include prioritising funding for the most marginalised and hard to reach populations who are less able to access services and are the hardest hit when it comes to becoming ill from malaria. To help us understand more, we have co-host, Dr. Hellen Barsosio, who is a medical Kenyan doctor who has been investigating risk factors, tools, and interventions to prevent adverse birth outcomes, and more recently research on preventing malaria in pregnancy. She is in her final year of her PhD at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine under the Department of Clinical Science, where her PhD focuses on new drugs to prevent malaria in pregnancy.

The WHO also calls for stepping up innovation for new vector control approaches, so we have two guests with us today to help us to understand what those are.

We will be speaking to reader and Wolfson Fellow, Dr. Grant Hughes, and reader, Dr. Tony Nolan from the Vector Biology and Tropical Disease Biology Department at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Tony has led the development of genetic tools to better understand the biology of mosquitoes that transmit malaria, and this has led to the development of genetic approaches to control mosquito populations. This is to decrease the amount of malaria transmission. Tony is also using some of these tools to understand how insecticides work, and in particular, how mosquitoes can evolve resistance to insecticides.

Grant is currently focusing on novel control strategies for arboviruses and malaria, and his overarching goal is to develop approaches which will either reduce mosquito numbers, or stop these mosquitoes transmitting the pathogens that make people ill.

This episode features:

Dr Hellen Barsosio - Clinical Research Scientist and section Head Maternal and New-born Health Studies, Malaria Program, KEMRI-CGHR

Over the past 11 years, Hellen has been investigating risk factors, tools and interventions to prevent adverse birth outcomes, and more recently research on preventing malaria in pregnancy as one of the causes of adverse birth outcomes in malaria endemic areas. She trained in Kenya as a medical doctor, and did her post-graduate studies at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University of Oxford. She is in the final year of her PhD at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine under the department of Clinical Science where her PhD work focuses on new drugs to prevent malaria in pregnancy.

Dr Tony Nolan - Reader in Insect Genetics and Research Group Leader, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Tony has led the development of genetic tools to better understand the biology of mosquitoes that transmit malaria. This has led to the development of genetic approaches to control mosquito populations, in order to decrease the amount of malaria transmission. Tony is also using some of these genetic tools to understand how insecticides work and, in particular, how mosquitoes can evolve resistance to insecticides.

Dr Grant Hughes - Reader and Royal Society Wolfson Fellow, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Grant has been investigating the use of microbes to control mosquito-borne diseases for over 15 years. After undertaking a PhD at the University of Queensland in Australia looking at microbial control of crop pests, Grant moved to the US to complete a post-doctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to examine how a bacteria called Wolbachia infected mosquitoes and interacted with Plasmodium parasites, the parasites that cause Malaria. After further work at Penn State University, working on the same project, Grant moved to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston where his research shifted focus to examine microbes, mosquitoes, and arboviruses. Since moving to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine research has focused on novel control strategies for arboviruses and malaria, with the overarching goal to develop approaches which will either reduce mosquito number or stop these mosquitoes transmitting the pathogens that make people sick.

Relevant links:

BBC article ‘UK scientists say they have reached a milestone in the fight against malaria by creating a genetically modified mosquito that is infertile’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35024794

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In this episode we are celebrating World TB Day, this year’s campaign is ‘YES! We Can End TB’ and is all about solidarity and collective action. It centres on the increased engagement of those affected by TB, communities and civil society that are leading the movement towards ending this disease.

This episode features the LIGHT consortium which aims to provide new evidence on the effectiveness of different gender-sensitive pathways and approaches to health for those with TB in urban, HIV-prevalent settings across Uganda, Nigeria, Malawi and Kenya. Our co-host Samara Barnes, who has lived experience of TB in the UK, speaks with researchers Toyosi Adekeye in Nigeria and Jasper Nidoi in Uganda from the LIGHT consortium about the ways they are enaging with affected communities in their work. Samara also shares her experience from the UK and the conversation reflects on the differences of TB across contexts.

This episode features:

Samara Barnes Affected Community Co-Lead at the UK Academics and Professionals to End TB (UKAPTB)

Samara is an Affected Community Co-Lead at the UK Academics and Professionals to End TB (UKAPTB). She was diagnosed with active pulmonary TB in late 2015 and it was discovered she was also drug resistant as her treatment went on.

Until that point, Samara knew little about the illness apart from the fact that her Grandad had died of TB many years previously. Samara has raised money for TB Alert and has been part of their peer supporter programme too. She has also studied and written papers on the Global disparities in TB treatment. It is important for Samara to raise awareness of this illness, be an advocate for reducing the stigma surrounding it and to encourage decision makers in the UK to ensure they keep to their commitment of a year on year reduction of TB and contribute to the WHO's commitment to eliminate TB by 2035. Samara works for a national children's charity and is also a borough and county councilor.

Dr Jasper Nidoi - Early Career Researcher, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, U.K and Makerere University Lung Institute, Uganda.

Jasper Nidoi is a Ugandan medical doctor with specialist training in health economics and health systems and policy research from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. For over 5 years, she has been involved in the design and implementation of clinical trials that have evaluated drugs for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases in Uganda. She is a health economist on a clinical trial that is evaluating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of standardized medication for MDR-TB. She was a co-investigator in a study that evaluated the impact of socio-economic factors on tuberculosis treatment outcomes in one of the poorest regions in Uganda.

Her research interests are in the socio-economic determinants of health as they pertain to tuberculosis and the use of decision-analytic models to systematically synthesise data for the economic evaluation of healthcare interventions to guide policy that maximises resource allocation in the presence of uncertainty.

Dr Jasper Nidoi joins the LIGHT Consortium as a researcher where she will contribute to generating evidence on gender-sensitive pathways and approaches for TB to increase the proportion of men in urban areas with TB who successfully complete screening and initiate treatment.

Dr Toyosi Adekeye - Senior Lecturer Department of Community Medicine and primary Healthcare Bingham University and Research Uptake Manager, LIGHT Consortium Zankli Research Centre (ZRC) Nigeria

Dr. Adekeye is a Medical Doctor and Public Health expert who serves as a senior lecturer in the Department of Community Medicine and Primary Healthcare and the LIGHT consortium Research Uptake Manager, at the Zankli Research Centre (ZRC), Bingham University, New Karu, Nasarawa State where he manages and coordinates all research activities and inputs across the LIGHT consortium in Nigeria. He leads a team that strives to generate new evidence on options and approaches to maximize male access to healthcare services for TB in urban, HIV-prevalent settings. The evidence generated will inform better gender-sensitive and pro-poor policies that will enable better access to TB care.

Want to hear more podcasts like this?

Follow Connecting Citizens to Science on your usual podcast platform or YouTube to hear more about the methods and approaches that researchers apply to connect with communities and co-produce solutions to global health challenges.

The podcast covers wide ranging topics such as NTD’s, NCD’s, antenatal and postnatal care, mental wellbeing and climate change, all linked to community engagement and power dynamics.   

If you would like your own project or programme to feature in an episode, get in touch with producers of Connecting Citizens to Science, the SCL Agency.