Gemma Aellah

Dr. Gemma Aellah is a social anthropologist and Research Fellow at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, specializing in global health and infection. Her work focuses on policy-making for stigmatizing skin diseases (podoconiosis, scabies, mycetoma) in the UK, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, alongside HIV research in Kenya.

• PhD in Anthropology from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
• MA from Goldsmiths University of London
• BA (Hons) from University of Cambridge

Her research explores the intersection of medical research with social, economic, and political realities, particularly in transnational contexts. She emphasizes ethical challenges in global health research and has published case studies on topics like recruitment practices, poverty management in trials, and cultural misunderstandings.

Aellah co-authored the book Global Health Research in an Unequal World and previously worked with the Royal Anthropological Institute to develop educational tools for researchers. She is fluent in Luo (Kenya/Tanzania) and actively engages in creative knowledge communication.