Natalie Rhodes

Profile

I graduated from Maastricht University, The Netherlands, in 2019 with an MSc in Global Health. I then spent two years working at Transparency International Global Health where I focused on issues of transparency, accountability, and anti-corruption in pharmaceutical research and development, namely much of my work was centred around the development and procurement of COVID-19 vaccines. Alongside this role, I worked with a number of global health civil society organisations including, the People’s Health Movement, Public Services International and Universities Allied for Essential Medicines where I have produced policy briefs on the WHO pandemic treaty, analysed WHO World Health Assembly meetings, advocated for Socially Responsible Licensing at Universities and spoken on UK and International events on issues of health justice. Additionally, I worked as tutor on the MSc Global Health course at Maastricht University and have given guest lectures at the University of Toronto, Maastricht University, and The Technical University of Munich on the topics of global health governance, global health inequities, transparency of clinical trials, and access to medicines. 

I joined the University of Leeds in September 2021 on a 1+3 ESRC WRDTP PhD Studentship. I successfully completed an MA in Social Research and undertook a dissertation entitled ‘Legitimacy of the WHO pandemic treaty negotiation process’. My PhD research will involve an exploration of power asymmetries across global health governance and how such dynamics influence policy-making processes, in particular, I will be looking at the global response to COVID-19 and the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. 

Since joining the University of Leeds I have worked as a research assistant for Professor Garrett Wallace Brown where I have contributed to research work on Health Systems for Health Security and financing of Pandemic Preparedness and Response.  

Research interests

My main research interests related to my doctoral thesis are:

• The application of Political/IR theories of power in global health
• Power dynamics in global health governance
• Distributive justice
• Equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines 

Alongside this, I am particularly interested in:

• Pandemic preparedness and response
• Health justice movements

Qualifications

• MA Social Research (Interdisciplinary), University of Leeds
• MSc Global Health, Maastricht University
• BSc Biomedical Sciences, Newcastle University