Dr Neha Singh - Co-Director

Neha Singh is Associate Professor in Health Systems and Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health. She has a background in public health and expertise in health systems and financing research using mixed methods to improve women’s, children’s and adolescent health in humanitarian crises (Afghanistan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Uganda) and under-resourced settings (India, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, China). Neha has specific interests in using participatory approaches and research methodologies based on systems thinking and complexity science to analyse and improve the prioritisation, design and delivery of health interventions.

Dr Michelle Lokot - Co-Director 

Michelle Lokot is an Assistant Professor. She is an interdisciplinary researcher with an interest in gender, forced migration and humanitarian assistance. Michelle has experience conducting qualitative research, specifically feminist research informed by principles of decolonisation and co-production. Prior to working at LSHTM, Michelle worked in humanitarian organisations, including the International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps and World Vision, focused on gender equality and gender-based violence. Her current research explores mental health systems (Lebanon), sexual and reproductive health (Somalia, South Sudan), intimate partner violence (Bangladesh) and violence against children (Zimbabwe).

Dr Catharina Van der Boor - Co-Director

Catharine Van der Boor is a Global Mental Health researcher specializing in conflict, mental health, forced displacement, and social determinants of wellbeing. With a PhD in Global Mental Health, she focuses on the mental health and wellbeing of forcibly displaced populations. Carine's expertise spans mixed methods and participatory approaches to research, demonstrated through her work as a Postdoctoral Research Associate on a participatory action research project in Colombia. Currently, as a Research Fellow on the CHANGE project at LSHTM, she is leading efforts to develop and implement a brief psychological intervention targeting alcohol misuse and co-occurring psychological distress in conflict-affected populations in Uganda and Ukraine.