Nora Engel

Athena Institute
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

I am associate professor transdisciplinary global health at Athena Institute at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. My research explores how social science approaches can support equitable innovation and transformations in global health.

My research program spans ethnographic studies of innovation processes along the entire value chain, transdisciplinary methods alongside RCTs or evaluation studies, and studies of experiential knowledge to diversify the global evidence base for decision-making in global health. Using theoretical insights from Science and Technology Studies, medical sociology, anthropology, innovation studies and transdisciplinary methods, my research focuses on the practices and dynamics of innovating, developing, maintaining, evaluating and appraising technologies and interventions to address global health challenges. Research interests include (infectious disease) diagnostics, point-of-care-testing programmes, mobile/digital health solutions, tuberculosis, integrated respiratory care, post infection disease and diversifying evidence for decision- and guideline-making.

I am an Associate Member at the McGill International TB Centre, McGill University, Canada. Together with Amrita Daftary (York University, Canada) and Jeremiah Chikovore (Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa) I founded and direct SSHIFTB, a virtual centre focused on social science research and innovation to address the global tuberculosis epidemic. I have served as technical expert on user perspectives for several World Health Organization guideline development group meetings on TB diagnostics.

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