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MSc in Translational Health Sciences

Jackie coleads the following modules on the MSc in Translational Health Sciences:

- Critical Social Sciences

- Technological Innovation and Digital Health

Jackie van Dael

BSc, MSc, PhD, FHEA


Health Services Researcher

I am an interdisciplinary social scientist who utilises qualitative and ethnographic approaches to study digital health and innovation in healthcare. Drawing on theory from medical sociology, organisation studies, and science and technology studies, my work examines the social and ethical implications of various ‘digital transformation’ projects in the NHS, focusing on how caring practices, patienthood, and mechanisms of exclusion are being reconfigured in light of this.

I joined the department in 2022 to conduct the ethnographic work in the Together-2 study, a mixed-methods evaluation of video and hybrid group consultations in general practice (NIHR-funded), with collaborators from the Universities of York and Exeter (2022-2024). I also support the qualitative and theoretical work in DECIDEa new centre focused on rapid evaluation of technology-enabled remote monitoring.

I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and have taught and supervised at postgraduate level, on topics such as patient knowledge and the politics of evidence, complexity and sociotechnical innovation, and critical data studies. Alongside this, I also co-lead the department's Social Theory Group which meets bimonthly to discuss theoretical papers in fields spanning sociology, STS, organisation studies, and medical anthropology.

Prior to joining Oxford, I held several research and teaching positions at Imperial College London and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). I completed my PhD in 2021 at Imperial College (in collaboration with LSE) in which I examined formal complaints and their handling in the NHS.

Recent publications

More publications