Research Associate at Cardiff University

Molly Gilmour is a Research Associate at Cardiff University in Disaster Risk Reduction. Prior to this, she was a Research Fellow at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute (HCRI), University of Manchester (awarded £42,480 via HCRI). She was awarded the Lord Kelvin Adam Smith interdisciplinary PhD Fellowship (2018-2023) at the University of Glasgow for her research which asked how an MSF-run non-communicable diseases (NCD) unit could improve their paediatric care in Lebanon. Prior to her PhD, Molly gained experience in the humanitarian sector with aid organisations e.g. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Save the Children, most notably in Greece and Afghanistan. She took her undergraduate degree in BA (Hons) Social Sciences and Cultural Innovation at Dublin City University in 2013 and her MSc in Migration and Ethnic Studies from the University of Amsterdam in 2015.

Molly specialises in interdisciplinary research, bridging the disciplines of Public Health, Sociology and Community Development. Methodologically, Molly deploys participatory research methods with healthcare practitioners and patients to reimagine more equitable healthcare structures. Recent examples include her Fellowship with HCRI which researched with surgical teams in conflict settings to explore capacity development possibilities (2023-2024); her PhD with MSF in Lebanon researched with healthcare practitioners and the carers of paediatric patients (2018-2023); as a Research Assistant she supported co-designing Tanzania’s ‘National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance’ through data analysis with Tanzanian human and animal healthcare practitioners (2021-23) and led data generation focusing on COVID-19 restrictions with people seeking asylum for ‘Scotland in Lockdown’ (2020; Funded by the Chief Scientist Office).

Molly is committed to advancing equitable healthcare, with a particular focus on non-communicable disease (NCD) care for people experiencing forced migration. She is intermediate in French and Arabic (Levantine and MSA).