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am a British-American writer with a background in global health journalism, an interdisciplinary global health researcher, and a practitioner of medical humanities in epidemics. I work at the intersection of global health journalism and epidemic response, collaborating with physicians, research scientists and medical anthropologists, using narratives as tools for greater understanding and expression—both in clinical settings and to inform epidemic preparedness and response. My work is rooted in public health and social science, and I bring additional training and expertise in the arts, humanities, oral history, and integrative approaches.

I have always been at home in transdisciplinary, inbetween spaces. I grew up in a multicultural family in a low-income corner of England, listening to family stories from Scotland, America, Singapore, Mexico, France, and the immigrant community I was raised in. My upbringing gave me a love for stories and an intention to be of service to health equity and journalism, and I take careful steps to bridge the two disciplines with compassion, collaborative dialogue, and academic rigor.

In 2018 I became a visiting writer-in-residence at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University. Since 2007 I have lived and worked primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, and I was part of the frontline response to Ebola outbreaks in D.R Congo and Liberia— which was my home for ten years. As a consultant I have worked with the Liberia Ministry of Health, North Kivu Ebola response, Johns Hopkins University, Partners in Health, Internews, MSF, United Nations agencies and other non-profit organizations. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Boston, I was a medical humanities practitioner and medical case manager with Boston Healthcare for the Homeless, supporting COVID-19 patients in the field hospital.

During the West Africa Ebola outbreak, four Liberian colleagues and I led the first Ebola qualitative study to center the experiences of local communities, informed by phenomenological and oral history approaches. Ever since, in my research and teaching (University of Liberia, MIT, University of Global Health Equity, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) I have explored the connections between global health and collaborative storytelling, taking cues from community-led approaches and working in partnership with national and local researchers.

Before studying at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine I studied literature, languages, translation and journalism (University of Warwick, University of London in Paris) and trained as a journalist on the foreign desk of The Independent newspaper, later covering global health and access to healthcare during conflict in 20+ African countries, notably Liberia, Libya, and Guinea-Bissau, with work published in The Guardian, Independent, The New York Times, and many others. From 2014-15 I was the founding editor of Ebola Deeply, a platform that earned praise from The Guardian and Forbes. Soon after I led the inaugural fellowship for health and medical journalists in Liberia with Johns Hopkins University, USAID and Internews. As a journalist I have been a Logan Nonfiction fellow and an International Women’s Media (IWMF) fellow.

In addition to years of experience in global health, journalism, and social science, I bring training in therapeutic approaches including narrative medicine, radical listening, compassion, mindfulness, trauma counseling, and as a certified yin yoga instructor. In addition I work with immigration lawyers to offer expertise in health-related immigration justice cases, and I work fluently in English and in French as a writer and translator. 

“Has the sensitivity of a writer and the accuracy of a scientist”

Dr. Pardis Sabeti, Harvard University

Epidemics Theme Issue, American Medical Association Journal of Ethics - January 2020

First Opinion: Learning About Epidemic Response from African Countries - STAT News, April 2020

COVID-19: The Anatomy of Community-Centered Response, April 2020

Liberia Oral History Study - The Oral History Journal, December 2019

Ebola listening projects take cues from community to improve response - Reuters, June 2019

Flipping the Paradigm in Ebola Response - Harvard Public Health Magazine, October 2019

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email: klgthomas@gmail.com

twitter: @klgthomas

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