Catherine Grant is a social scientist, her work focuses on international health, education and nutrition issues. She has an interest in zoonotic diseases and was recently part of an international interdisciplinary consortium focusing on four zoonotic diseases, each affected in different ways by ecosystem changes and having different impacts on people’s health, wellbeing and livelihoods. As part of this work she conducted fieldwork and participatory research focusing on zoonotic diseases in Africa.
Her recent research focused on the benefits of using participatory research in conjunction with traditional modelling methods to potentially improve disease research, control and management. The idea behind this work is that integrated approaches can lead to more realistic mathematical models which in turn can assist with making policy decisions that reduce disease and benefit local people. Currently, she works for the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) Health and Education Advice and Resource Team, which provides rapid response research support to time-pressured development practitioners and decision-makers in the areas of health, nutrition and education.
Catherine joined IDS in 2011, prior to this, she conducted research for and had management roles in several international development organisations, managed an NHS research department and monitored clinical trials. She has worked in international development for over a decade and has worked in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mexico, Zambia, Cote D’Ivoire and South Africa.
