Erica Nelson

Erica Nelson is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, specializing in the intersection of history, anthropology, and global health. She is affiliated with the IDS Health and Nutrition Cluster and serves as an affiliate member of the Participation, Inclusion and Social Change Cluster.

Her research focuses on integrating historical perspectives into development and international health cooperation, exploring dynamics of trust in frontline health services, and enabling community engagement in health governance. Key projects include the AHRC-funded 'Remembering and Acting on Malnutrition,' the British Library for Development Studies Legacy Collection, and the 'Building Back Better from Below' initiative.

She is actively involved in professional communities as a member of the NIHR's Community Engagement and Involvement Expert Advisory Committee and the WHO's Community of Practice on Social Accountability in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. She also co-leads the History Group of Health Systems Global's Social Science Approaches for Research and Engagement in Health Policy and Systems (SHAPES).

Her methodological expertise spans development humanities, historical research (archives, oral history), medical anthropology, and participatory action research. She has extensive field experience across Latin America (particularly Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, and Chile) with additional work in Africa, Asia, and the UK.

As an educator, she lectures on Gender, Identity and Inclusion; Ideas in Development; and Health and Development modules at IDS, co-convenes the Power and Social Perspectives in Development module, and serves as guest lecturer at LSHTM and UCL. Previously, she worked as a research fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and as a post-doc at the University of Amsterdam, with consulting experience at WHO, UCL Consultants, and MSI Reproductive Choices.