Junior Research Fellow, Dr Freya Jephcott, is en route from Queens' to the Democratic Republic of Congo today, where she will take up the role of Manager of Epidemiological Activities, looking at the country's response to the Ebola crisis.
Working with Medicins Sans Frontieres, her chief focus will be the collection and analysis of all relevant data on the outbreak, looking at the number of cases and key risk factors, as well as advising on the operational response.
"Unlike with research it all happens very quickly, and you're seeing the consequence of analyses and recommendations almost immediately."
Dr Jephcott will also be supporting local public health officers in developing and maintaining a surveillance system, and tracking down all possible contacts of known Ebola cases for monitoring.
Freya with her Ebola Medal for service in West Africa in 2016