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Dr Michelle Lokot

Assistant Professor

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
15-17 Tavistock Place
London
WC1H9SH
United Kingdom

Michelle has experience conducting qualitative research using interdisciplinary approaches. Her research interests include forced migration, gender, humanitarian assistance, gender-based violence and decolonisation. She has experience conducting feminist research and using participatory approaches.

Michelle was previously a humanitarian practitioner working on gender equality and gender-based violence. Prior to joining LSHTM, Michelle worked for the International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps and World Vision, including longer-term postings in Jordan, Nigeria and Burundi. Her PhD research explored humanitarian gender narratives on (im)mobility, family relationships and resistance among self-settled Syrian refugees in Jordan.

Michelle has a PhD in Gender Studies (SOAS), a Masters degree in International and Community Development, a Bachelors degree in Law and a Bachelors degree in Arts.

Michelle is a Co-Director of the Health in Humanitarian Crises Centre. She is also a member of the Gender Violence and Health Centre. Michelle is part of the global GBV AoR Community of Practice.

Affiliations

Department of Health Services Research and Policy
Faculty of Public Health and Policy

Centres

Health in Humanitarian Crises Centre

Teaching

Michelle is Co-Organiser of the Conflict & Health course, where she also lectures on gender-based violence in humanitarian crises and decolonising humanitarian health. She lectures on ethics in gender-based violence research on the LSHTM short course: 'Researching Gender-based violence: methods and meaning'.

Michelle supervises multiple doctoral students at LSHTM, including: a DrPH student researching patient and public involvement among minoritised populations; and a DrPH student researching migrant worker health in Singapore. She also supervises a PhD student at the University of New South Wales (Australia) who is studying cross-cultural supervision of mental health service delivery for Syrian refugees in Turkey using a decolonial lens.

Michelle is a tutor and research supervisor for students completing a MSc in Public Health.

Research

Michelle is leading research on sexual and reproductive health in Somalia and South Sudan, as part of the Afya Consortium. She is Co-Principal Investigator, along with Dr. Rahma Hassan (University of Nairobi) on a project exploring localisation of GBV in Kenya (2024-2026).  Michelle works with colleagues at the Gender, Violence and Health Centre on a project focused on decolonising the violence against women field. This includes leading a scoping review and qualitative research with practitioners and academics.


Michelle is also Co-Investigator for research on intimate partner violence in Bangladesh. She is leading qualitative research to explore the impact of food, cash and behaviour change communication on women's experiences of violence. 

From 2020-2024, Michelle led a workstream on the GOAL project in Lebanon. Her work explored power hierarchies within humanitarian coordination structures and refugee participation in mental health decision-making. Previously, within the RECAP project, she conducted research on co-production within humanitarian settings.

 

In 2022-2023, Michelle led a project on refugee participation, conducting a scoping review on refugee participation in gender equality and GBV research, as well as qualitative research with practitioners and academics about how they operationalise refugee participation in research. From 2019-2020, Michelle worked in the Department of Global Health & Development at LSHTM, where she led the development of a social norms course for NGO practitioners working on child protection issues. Within this department, she led qualitative research on agency and child marriage among NGO practitioners in Cameroon and Somalia, and a systematic review on corporal punishment and social norms.

Research Area
Development studies
Anthropology
Gender-based violence
Social science (general)
Qualitative research
Migration
Refugees
Conflict
Colonialism
Health in humanitarian crises
Disease and Health Conditions
Mental health
Country
Jordan
Nigeria
Burundi
Lebanon
Bangladesh
Zimbabwe
Zambia
Solomon Islands
South Sudan
Papua New Guinea
Ethiopia
India
Region
Sub-Saharan Africa (developing only)
Middle East & North Africa (all income levels)
East Asia & Pacific (developing only)
Pacific island small states
Arab World

Selected Publications

Decolonising the field of violence against women and girls: A scoping review and recommendations for research and programming.
LOKOT, M; PICHON, M; Kalichman, B; Nardella, S; FALCONER, J; KYEGOMBE, N; BULLER, AM;
2024
Social Science & Medicine
Always the Ideal? Exploring the Risks of Refugee Participation in Research
LOKOT, M; Hashmi, I; HARTMAN, E; Zreik, T; Wake, C;
2024
Refuge: Canada's Journal on Refugees
Research Co-production Within Humanitarian Health: Reflections on Our Practice
LOKOT, M; Zreik, T;
2024
International Review of Qualitative Research
Power dynamics and participation within humanitarian coordination groups: A case study of the MHPSS Taskforce in Lebanon.
LOKOT, M; Zreik, T; El Masri, R; Chaar, S; Ali, R; Meksassi, B; Asmar, MK; McKee, M; ROBERTS, B; El Chammay, R;
2024
PLOS Global Public Health
Gendered Power Struggles beyond the Male-Female Dichotomy
LOKOT, M;
2023
Anthropology of the Middle East
Participation of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in research: guidance for researchers from researchers
LOKOT, M; HASHMI, I; HARTMAN, E;
2023
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Unravelling Humanitarian Narratives
LOKOT, M;
2022
Journal of Humanitarian Affairs
Collaborative Coding in Multi-National Teams: Benefits, Challenges and Experiences Promoting Equitable Research
Zreik, T; El Masri, R; Chaar, S; Ali, R; Meksassi, B; Elias, J; LOKOT, M;
2022
International Journal of Qualitative Methods
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