Gill Black, Ethox Centre Research Associate

Gill Black is a researcher, community engagement practitioner and managing director at the Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation (SLF). Gill has a background in TB and HIV immunology including 12 years of post-doctoral experience in vaccine trials and biomarker research. Her international career as a field-based medical scientist, and interactions with research participants in diverse settings, ignited Gill’s interest in social science and inspired her to co-found SLF in 2010. As the leader of Health Participation at SLF, Gill works to engage people living in townships and informal settlements about the public health issues and medical research activities that most affect their lives. Gill has gained experience in a range of participatory visual methods (PVM) including digital storytelling, applied theatre, photovoice, collaborative video, hand mapping and body mapping. She has used these methodologies in multiple action research and public engagement projects and has become increasingly interested in the ethics of working with them. Gill joined the Resilience Empowerment and Advocacy in Women and Children’s Research (REACH) project in April 2017 as a consultant in the use of PVM for public engagement in global health research.