Gail_Davey

Gail Davey

Gail Davey

British scientist

Gail Davey OBE is a professor of epidemiology at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, UK. Her work focuses on Neglected Tropical Diseases, particular podoconiosis.

Career

Davey specialises in neglected tropical diseases, especially ones that involve the skin. After taking an MBBChir degree in medicine, she trained in epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, gaining Masters and MD degrees.[1] She then worked at the School of Public Health, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia for almost a decade, developing training programmes in public health to doctoral level[2] Her work was initially about the causes and origin of asthma.[1]

In 2005, her research began to focus on podoconiosis, taking a broad view of the disease to include its causes, management and consequences.[2] The stigma and social exclusion caused by this preventable disease mean it is under-reported and a source of economic as well as personal suffering.[3] Davey has been particularly active in both designing effective treatment methods for podoconiosis and promoting its inclusion in national and international public health priorities. This resulted in its inclusion in the WHO list of Neglected Tropical Diseases and also as a health priority in Ethiopia.[4]

She was the founder and first executive director of the non-governmental organisation Footwork, the International Podoconiosis Initiative, in March 2012.[5][4]

In 2010, Davey returned to the UK supported by a Wellcome Trust University Award that she held at University of Sussex.[2] She subsequently gained tenure, promotion from Reader to Professor, and was appointed Co-Director of the Brighton and Sussex Centre for Global Health Research at University of Sussex. She was also made President of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 2020.[4]

The first international podoconiosis conference, held in Addis Ababa in 2018, was organised by Davey.

She was awarded an OBE in the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours for her work on neglected tropical diseases. [6]

Publications

Davey is a member of the large multinational collaborations that have contributed to the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors study since 2015.[7] She is author or co-author of over 80 scientific publications or book chapters.[2] They include:

References

  1. [1]
    "Professor Gail Davey (MBBChir, MSc, MD)". Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  2. [2]
    "Prof. Gail Davey". HSTalks. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  3. [3]
    Saeed, Sundus (20 April 2017). "Health push in Uganda after mystery disease turns out to be 'mossy foot'". The Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  4. [4]
    "Professor Gail Davey". Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  5. [5]
    "Are Shoes 'The Next Bed-Nets'?: Announcing Footwork, the International Podoconiosis Initiative". CISION. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  6. [6]
    Allen, Stephanie. "Professor awarded OBE for services to tackling neglected tropical diseases". University of Sussex. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  7. [7]
    GBD 2017 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Collaborators (2018). "Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017". The Lancet. 392 (10159): 1789–1858. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32279-7. PMC 6227754. PMID 30496104.
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