缅北禁地

Dr Natasha Fothergill-Misbah is a Postdoctoral Research Associate working in the field of Global Public Health. In her previous post, she was a Lecturer in Gerontology based in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Southampton. Her research mainly uses qualitative methods and has focussed around ageing and gerontology (mainly in Africa), Parkinson’s disease, stigma, access to healthcare, and climate change and health. Natasha is also interested in how research can influence policy, consults for the World Health Organization Brain Health Unit, and is involved with Parkinson’s advocacy organisations and activities around the world. 

Positions and Responsibilities

• Regional Liaison for sub-Saharan Africa and Editorial Committee,
• Editorial Board,
• Committee member, British Geriatric Society (BGS)
• Steering Committee, British Society of Gerontology (BSG)
• Committee member, International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society

Qualifications/Training

DrPH Graduate Class Climate Change and Public Health Problem Solving, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

PhD Global Health, 缅北禁地 - 'The lived experience of Parkinson's disease in Kenya: sociality, improvisation and hope'

Short Course Ageing in Africa, University of Southampton

PGCert Research Training Methods, 缅北禁地

MSc Public Health (Global Health), 缅北禁地

BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences, 缅北禁地

Awards

The Tom Isaacs Award 2023 for 'Innovation in Parkinson's research to positively impact the lives of people living with Parkinson's and involve them in a participatory way in their investigations' by

Winner of 缅北禁地 Engagement and Place Awards 'Engaging for Health and Wellbeing' Category 2025

Shortlisted in 缅北禁地 Engagement and Place Awards 'Engaging Globally' Category 2024

Highly commended 缅北禁地 Alumni Achievement Award in the ‘Outstanding global, intercultural and EDI contribution’ category 2024

Award-winning documentary producer 'Shaking Hands With The Devil'

Award-winning documentary producer 'UHURU'

Media - interviews and podcasts

on Parkinson's in Africa

, Kenya, on Understanding Parkinson's disease

interview

for World Movement Disorders Day 2024

on Parkinson's stigma and medication access in Africa

about 'Shaking Hands With The Devil'

newsletter on receiving Tom Isaacs Award

Media - blogs

on perceptions of Parkinson's disease in Africa

PLOS Blog

Media - films

in Swahili

My research focusses on neurological disorders (mainly Parkinson’s disease) and ageing in sub-Saharan Africa. My academic background is interdisciplinary, combining biomedical sciences, anthropology, global health, gerontology and public health.

Medical Research Foundation Impact of Climate Change on Health Award (2025-2028, £300k): Principal Investigator, alongside Eunice Muthoni Mwangi at Aga Khan University Nairobi, on this project to assess the impact of climate change on neurological disorders in older adults in Kilifi, Kenya. Find out more .

British Academy ODA interdisciplinary project 'A canvas for change' (2024-2026, £300k): Principal Investigator on a British Academy funded project to produce a community-based awareness campaign in Kenya to tackle stigma, informed by, and co-created with, people with lived experience of neurological disorders. Find out more .

NIHR Global Health Research Group 'Transforming Parkinson's Care in Africa (TraPCAf)' (2022-2026): Research Associate, working across 7 African countries to improve the diagnosis, treatment and care of Parkinson's. Follow the grant on or visit our website.

Climate change in Ghana (2022-2023): Pilot project in rural Ghana to develop participatory approaches to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of vulnerable groups around sustainable health development amid climate change. I'm interested in how climate change is affecting older people in LMICs, but also how older people can be empowered to tackle the climate crisis and be agents of change in the climate movement.

Rollercoaster project (2021): Research Fellow post at Northumbria University working with the Children and Young People's Mental Health team, evaluating Rollercoaster, a support group for parents/carers of children and young people with mental health difficulties in the North East of England. This work utilised ethnographic methods and a realist approach.

ESRC funded doctoral research 'Lived experience of Parkinson’s disease in Kenya' (2016-2020): PhD research through the Northern Ireland and North East Doctoral Training Partnership (NINE DTP). The project involved 1 year of ethnographic fieldwork across Kenya, exploring how people navigated life with Parkinson’s, from diagnosis through to the end of life. This research involved people with Parkinson’s, their families, caregivers, healthcare professionals, as well as herbal and religious healers, identifying the roles of sociality, improvisation and hope in living with, and managing Parkinson’s disease.

I am a full-time researcher and open to supervising new PhD students.

Current doctoral student supervision:

Etain Devenney (DClinPsy) 'Exploring stigma related to Parkinson's in Kenya' (2024-2026)

Seblewongel Asmare (PhD) 'Association of genotype and phenotype in Parkinson's disease dementia in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia' (2024-2027)

Charlotte Brown (PhD) 'An investigation of the effectiveness of arts-based methods in addressing health-related stigma of Parkinson's disease' (2025-2028)

Jack Lumsdon (PhD) 'Cross-contextual comparison of physical activity levels in people with Parkinson's in the UK and Ghana' (2025-2028)

Charlotte Willis (DClinPsy) 'Exploring clinician, patient and carer experiences of psychosis in Parkinson's disease in Kenya and Ethiopia' (2025-2027)

Emily Fardy (DClinPsy) 'Exploring the lived experience of women with Parkinson's disease across Africa' (2025-2027)

Currently supervise global health dissertation projects for MSc, MRes and BSc courses.

Teach on Global Health module for MRes and MPH courses.

In my previous role as Lecturer in Gerontology I taught modules on: Ageing in Africa; Policy Evaluation for Ageing Societies; Researching Ageing Societies; Quantitative Research Methods; and Perspectives in Gerontology.

• Articles

  • Lumsdon J, Nyadimo V, Unda SD, Fothergill-Misbah N, Bitta M. . PLoS One 2026, 21(3), e0328317.
  • Modugno N, Fothergill-Misbah N. . Journal of Parkinson's Disease 2025, epub ahead of print.
  • Fothergill-Misbah N, Cataldi R, Stothard M, Chowdhary N, Okubadejo N, Cappello B, Walker R, Dua T. . Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2025, 103(10), 626-634.
  • Subramanian I, Okubadejo N, Fothergill-Misbah N. . Movement Disorders 2025, 40(6), 1034-1036.
  • Ede CF, Fothergill-Misbah N, Ede SS. . Physiotherapy Theory and Practice 2025, 41(2), 337-350.
  • Fothergill-Misbah N, Hooker J, Kwasa J, Walker R. . Movement Disorders Clinical Practice 2024, 11(11), 1373-1378.
  • Carroni S, Del Sorbo F, Barichella M, Fothergill-Misbah N, Denne T, Laguna J, Urasa S, Dekker MJ, Akpalu A, Sarfo FS, Cham M, Pezzoli G, Cilia R. . Parkinsonism & Related Disorders 2024, 124, 106983.
  • Walker R, Fothergill-Misbah N, Kariuki S, Ojo O, Cilia R, Dekker MCJ, Agabi O, Akpalu A, Amod F, Breckons M, Cham M, Del Din S, Dotchin C, Guggsa S, Kwasa S, Mushi D, Nwaokorie FO, Park T, Rochester L, Rogathi J, Sarfo FS, Shalash A, Ternent L, Urasa S, Okubadejo N. . BMC Neurology 2023, 23, 373.
  • Fothergill-Misbah N. . BMC Public Health 2023, 23, 364.
  • Fothergill-Misbah N, Moffatt S, Mwithiga H, Hampshire K, Walker R. . Global Public Health 2022, 17(8), 1773-1783.
  • Schiess N, Cataldi R, Okun M, Fothergill-Misbah N, Dorsey R, Barretto M, Bhidayasiri R, Brown R, Chishimba L, Chowdhary N, Coslov M, Cubo E, Di Rocco A, Dolhun R, Dowrick C, Fung V, Gershanik O, Gifford L, Gordon J, Khalil H, Kühn A, Lew S, Lim S, Marano M, Micallef J, Mokaya J, Moukheiber E, Nwabuobi L, Okubadejo N, Pal P, Shah H, Shalash A, Sherer T, Siddiqui B, Thompson T, Ullrich A, Walker R, Dua T. . JAMA Neurology 2022, 79(9), 929-936.
  • Fothergill-Misbah N. . Social Policy & Administration 2022, 56(7), 1173-1175.
  • Fothergill-Misbah N, Walker R, Kwasa J, Hooker J, Hampshire K. . Social Science & Medicine 2021, 282, 114148.
  • Fothergill-Misbah N, Maroo H, Cham M, Pezzoli G, Walker R, Cilia R. . Parkinsonism & Related Disorders 2020, 73, 3-7.

• Digital or Visual Media

  • Fothergill-Misbah N, McCoy O, Plummer D. . 2023.