Dr Taghreed El Hajj is a public health researcher with more than 18 years’ experience in academic and international organisations. She is passionate about using research to address real-world problems, drive policy change, and improve health and wellbeing for individuals and communities. In her current role as Knowledge Exchange Officer in the LIGHT research programme on gender and tuberculosis, Taghreed supports the translation of research into policy and practice.
She works with partners in the UK and sub-Saharan Africa to ensure that emerging evidence leads to meaningful impact. Her expertise includes qualitative and participatory research, monitoring, evaluation and learning, and capacity strengthening and research uptake. Previously she was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine's Centre for Capacity Research, leading the MEL component of a pilot programme. The programme, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Royal Society, aimed to strengthen research capacity of higher education institutions in Africa.
Taghreed also collaborated with London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and academic partners in Lebanon on strengthening institutional research capacity. Her interest in sexual and reproductive health and rights, stigma, and gender motivated her earlier work as a HIV Officer on Stigma at the International Planned Parenthood Federation and as a freelance consultant with Watipa Community Interest Company. Earlier in her career, she spent six years as a Research Assistant and Senior Research Assistant at the American University of Beirut, where she worked on public health topics including mental health among young refugees, tobacco control, and sexual health.
Taghreed's research interests centre on sociological and public health issues, including sexual health, gender, mental health, stigma and discrimination, social risks, and the social determinants of health. She is particularly focused on driving change through approaches that enable individuals and communities to shape their own health outcomes including participatory research, health promotion, advocacy and community engagement. She is also interested in capacity strengthening, research uptake and policy change, ensuring that research is translated into practice and is effectively used to inform decision-making.
Taghreed supervises master’s students at LSTM, providing guidance on research design, methodology, evidence synthesis and academic writing. She also sits on the Progress Assessment Panel for postgraduate research students, offering feedback and academic support to ensure their successful progression.