Blog posts

Designing healthcare for people and planet

This blog was co-authored by Helix Centre designers Sophie Horrocks and Tori Simpson.  

What if every act of care also cared for the planet?

From care pathways to medical products, healthcare can (and must) be designed to minimise waste, reduce emissions, and protect planetary health. This is not a distant vision, but an urgent necessity. As the world’s leading designers gather for the World Design Congress themed Design for Planet, here at the Helix Centre, we are exploring what it will take to make this ambition a reality, and the role human-centred design in healthcare can play in achieving it.

The Overlooked Link Between Heat and Mental Health

Daniel Teklemariam is the Julia Anderson Communications and Events Trainee in Climate and Mental Health, joining the Climate Cares Centre in summer 2025.  

The Climate Cares Centres is a team of researchers, designers, policy experts and educators working to understand and support mental health in the current climate and ecological crises. Our mission is to equip individuals, communities and systems with the knowledge and resources to protect mental health from climate impacts, while enabling climate action that strengthens the conditions for good mental health and wellbeing.    

Introduction: The Overlooked Link Between Heat and Mental Health 

The recent European heatwaves killed thousands across the continent and hundreds in London, with a report by Imperial’s Grantham Institute revealing that 65% of the heat deaths were a direct consequence of human-induced climate change.

Protecting mental health from the impacts of climate change: An imperative for action

Launch of a joint United for Global Mental Health & Climate Cares Centre report on mental health in national adaptation policies. This blog post was written by Alessandro Massazza, United for Global Mental Health, and Jessica Newberry Le Vay, Climate Cares Centre.

From increasing the risk of new mental health problems following extreme weather events to making people living with pre-existing mental health problems more vulnerable, climate change affects all aspects of people’s mental health and wellbeing. The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates, with high confidence, that climate change has already been negatively impacting mental health globally, and that these impacts are expected to worsen as climate change deepens.

Digital Health Leadership Programme Q&A with Jake Marshall

The Digital Health Leadership Programme is delivered by Imperial College London’s Institute of Global Health Innovation, in collaboration with a wide network of partnerships including Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.  Jake Marshall is a MSc student of the Digital Health Leadership Programme and completed the PG Diploma with Cohort 6 in 2023-24. He shares his experience of the programme and his career to date.

What’s your academic background? What did you study for your undergraduate degree or other degrees?

Jake Marshall (JM): I graduated with a BSc in Economics and Management from King’s College London (King’s Business School) in 2019, driven by an interest in analysing business challenges through the multidisciplinary lenses of analytics, leadership and technology.

Cybersecurity Bootcamp for digital leaders

In a rapidly evolving landscape, digital leaders in the NHS need the knowledge and practical skills to respond to new threats and opportunities for the healthcare sector, supporting them to lead their organisations with the latest developments in generative AI, Cybersecurity and other pressing issues.   

The Education team at IGHI has developed a new series of highly interactive, seminar-style residential bootcamps to support digital leaders, offering a carefully curated programme of expert panels, Imperial academic keynotes, real-life simulations and practical workshops to enable immediate implementation of their learning into their organisations.   

On 3 and 4 April, we hosted our first Cybersecurity Bootcamp in partnership with IBM.

Severe Malaria Africa: A consortium for Research and Trials

This blog post was written by Professor Kathryn Maitland, Professor of Paediatric Tropical Infectious Diseases at the Faculty of Medicine and Director of the Centre of African Research and Engagement at the Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London. She leads the SMAART Consortium (Severe Malaria Africa: A consortium for Research and Trials).

In much of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), malaria remains a key cause of paediatric hospital admission, and makes a substantial contribution to under 5-year mortality, estimated at 600,000 annually.

Despite implementing currently effective, fast-acting artemisinin-based combination therapies, the multisite SMAART observational study has shown that inpatient mortality for paediatric severe malaria (excluding hyperparasitaemia with no additional severity features) remains unacceptably high at ~8%.

Planning for Tomorrow: Psychological Impacts of Climate Change on US Youth

This blog post was written by Alexander Jake McDonald, and a version first appeared in a newsletter by CIRCLE (Community-minded Interventions for Resilience, Climate Leadership and Emotional wellbeing, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of Stanford Medicine)

In a groundbreaking US survey, researchers explored the complex ways climate change psychologically affects youth, examining the links between a broad spectrum of emotional and mental responses, mental health and well-being, and life plans. Dr Britt Wray, Dr Ans Vercammen and Dr Emma Lawrance (Imperial College London) led this study alongside Dr Gary Belkin and Dr Yoshika Crider, delving into how young Americans aged 16-24 are psychologically impacted by climate-related concerns, and how self-reported experiences of climate change-related hazards and extreme events influence these responses.

Exchanging knowledge with Ghanian health policy makers    

This blog post is written by Ishan Kaur Khalsa, Policy Fellow in Healthcare Data, Chris Agape Ajah, Policy Fellow in Digital Health, and Peter Howitt, Managing Director of the Centre for Health Policy.

On 1 April the Centre for Health Policy at the Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) hosted a delegation from Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). The dozen-strong delegation worked across partnerships, research, policy, monitoring and evaluation, health purchasing, ICT, financing, and health services in Ghana. 

The visit to the Institute by the delegation was part of a fact-finding mission to the UK organised by the NHS Consortium for Global Health with the goal of understanding the UK health financing and payment systems.

Health Policy MSc Q&A with Adriana Lopez

The Health Policy MSc at Imperial College London is led by the Institute of Global Health Innovation. Adriana Lopez is a Health Policy Master’s student and part of the Imperial College London Sports Scholarship Programme. She shares her experience of the programme, which she manages alongside high-level sport and a full-time job.

What’s your background? What did you study for your undergraduate degree?

Adriana Lopez (AL): I studied for a BSc in Biomedical Sciences with a Placement Year at the University of Warwick. As part of my degree, I was a Medical Operations Industrial Placement student at ViiV Healthcare within GlaxoSmithKline.

Celebrating Women at IGHI: Driving Meaningful Change in Global Health

On International Women’s Day, we shine a spotlight on the incredible women at the Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) who are shaping the future of healthcare worldwide. From pioneering research to innovative policy work, these leaders are tackling some of the most pressing global health challenges —making a real difference in in the UK and beyond.

In this blog, we celebrate their achievements and highlight how their expertise and dedication continue to inspire change. Read on to learn about some of these fantastic women at the IGHI and discover key examples of their work.

Professor Bryony Dean Franklin – Visiting Professor at IGHI

Professor Bryony Dean Franklin is visiting Professor in the Department of Surgery and Cancer at the Centre for Prevention and Management at Imperial College.