Grace Redhead

Grace Redhead is a Research Fellow at the Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health, University of Exeter. Her work bridges history, medicine, and social justice, focusing on chronic illness, health inequality, and the role of patient advocacy in shaping the National Health Service. She specializes in oral history and the lived experiences of marginalized communities within the British welfare state.

Research Interests:

• History of Medicine
• Oral History and Everyday Experience
• Chronic Illness (especially sickle cell disease and liver disease)
• Race, Racism, and Healthcare Access
• Medical Activism and Patient Advocacy
• Black British Political Action and Citizenship

Her recent work analyzes how marginalized communities have influenced health policy through protest and public engagement. She has published on sickle cell disease activism and is contributing to broader narratives on anti-racism in modern Britain. Her current NIHR-funded project explores chronic liver disease and regional health disparities through oral histories, examining how stigma, environment, and bodily experience affect doctor-patient relationships.

Scientific Engagement and Collaborations:

• Collaboration with Dr. Rebecca Lynch on chronic liver disease
• Partnerships with the Sickle Cell Society, Black Cultural Archives, and Wellcome Trust
• Public exhibition on the history of sickle cell disease in Britain (2021, Black Cultural Archives)

Grace Redhead is actively engaged in research, public scholarship, and interdisciplinary collaboration. She advises on community-centered research methodologies and contributes to national conversations on equity in healthcare.