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Bethan McDonald

PhD MPH FFPH


Consultant in Public Health

  • Public Health and Social Care lead NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Oxford and Thames Valley
  • Consultant in Public Health, Oxfordshire County Council

My role with the ARC Oxford and Thames Valley is to facilitate and support the development of research partnerships across the region, particularly within Social Care and Public Health practice.

I’m interested in the interface between research and practice; bridging these spheres to ensure research is relevant to practitioners, and research findings can be incorporated into practice. I am interested in supporting people working in practice to become more involved in research.  

Prior to my role here, I spent ten years working in molecular biology, virology and epidemiological aspects of HIV and Hepatitis research at King’s College London, Harvard School of Public Health, Botswana Harvard Partnership for HIV Research and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Then, moving from research to applied Public Health, I undertook Public Health Specialty Training in the UK. 

I have worked on a diverse range of health protection, health improvement and health promotion projects, within a range of organisations, locally, regionally and internationally, including:

Buckinghamshire County Council Public Health 
Oxfordshire County Council Public Health
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Oxford University
NHS England South Central Screening and Immunisations
Public Health England Thames Valley Health Protection Team
Public Health England South East Region Healthcare Public Health 
UK Health Security Agency
The Commonwealth Secretariat 
Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network
World Health Organization 

In addition to my role within the NIHR ARC, I work as a Consultant in Public Health at Oxfordshire County Council, leading on data, intelligence and research.

I am a fellow of the Faculty of Public Health.