The XXparadox, as coined by Women in Global Health in their 2023 report, is that while women account for 70% of the global health and social care workforce, conversely, 75% of those in global health leadership positions are men. As the saying goes “you can’t be what you can’t see” so, in 2024 we started a series of lectures by women in public health leadership roles.
This lecture series has been named in honour of Lady Amalia Fleming. Lady Amalia (1912 -1986) was a Greek physician, microbiologist, resistance fighter, political prisoner, social activist, member of parliament, founder of the Hellenic Foundation for Basic Biomedical Research and the second wife of Sir Alexander Fleming.
Lady Amalia’s link to Imperial NHS Trust began after WWII when she won a British Council scholarship and became the first female researcher in the inoculation department at St Mary’s Hospital where she worked in Sir Alexander Fleming’s laboratory for five years.
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We would like to thank the B.S.R.C Alexander Fleming and Elsa Rokofyllou President H.F.B.B.R. “Alexander Fleming” for permitting us to name our lecture series by women in leadership positions in public health in honour of Lady Amalia, a truly inspirational role model.
For more information about the B.S.R.C visit their website History (fleming.gr)
“Our Foundation was established by Amalia Fleming in 1965 in order to support research in the biomedical sciences in Greece. Since her death in 1986 we have continued to promote her vision, primarily through the establishment of the Biomedical Sciences Research Centre “Alexander Fleming”, but also through a variety of events, often concerning the role of women in science and public health. We therefore consider the use of her name very appropriate and an honour to her memory, and we would like to extend our wishes for a successful lecture series.”
The Lady Amalia Fleming Lecture Series by Women in Health Leadership
As part of WomenatImperial Week, we were excited to welcome our guest speaker, Melissa Holloway, Founder and CEO of SmartStart Health. For our International Womens Day Lady Amalia Fleming Lecture, Melissa inspired us with an overview of the impact of patient-driven innovation. With a focus on diabetes, she highlighted kitchen-table projects that have remained open-source, startups that have scaled and exited, and technology-enabled approaches to peer support in low- and middle-income countries. Melissa touched on her work on SmartStart, a patient-centred approach to continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) user education. Supported by Diabetes Center Berne, the proof-of-concept study was completed in September 2023, with results presented at the 84th American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions in June 2024. In 2025, development continues with the creation of an adaptive diabetes education platform. This is being funded by a £185,050 SmartGrant from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation.
Following Melissa’s lecture, Celine Tabche, WHOCC Co-director, interviewed Melissa to trace her personal path as a woman CEO of a health tech startup. Discussing leadership positions, why she chose to take them on, what challenges and opportunities she encountered, and personal lessons learned from her career. They also talked about her hopes for the future, for a more gender-balanced and inclusive world of public health.
We were thrilled to have the opportunity to host a health tech entrepreneur who shares our passion for patient-centred healthcare solutions.
Highlights video coming soon!
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An accomplished microbiologist, educator, and researcher, Professor Atwan was a natural first choice for our inaugural Lady Amalia Fleming lecture. Professor Atwan presented her academic work on Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), a collaborative project she leads between Imperial College London, Scripps Research California, and the University of Basrah. As the Vice Dean of the College of Medicine, Professor of Virology, Head of the Quality Assurance Committee at the School of Lifesciences, and Director of Career Development Center at the University of Basrah, Iraq, it was amazing to hear Professor Atwan, interviewed by WHOCC’s Celine Tabche, on her insights and experiences as a woman working in STEMM, including how she has navigated her career so far, her reflections, and her hopes for the future of Public Health.