Georgina Ferry interviews Marion Watson, Head of Operations, Clinical Trials (Jenner Institute), 14 November 2022.
Dr Marion Watson
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Topics discussed include (00:00:30) early interest in biomedical science, including degree in Biochemistry at Imperial College London, PhD at St Mary's Hospital; (00:04:02) life after PhD including work at G. D. Searle on the molecular biology of yeast; (00:05:45) work for Glaxo Group Research and Sernova; (00:07:30) work in academia at Oxford, including at Oxford Brookes and Oxford University; (00:08:44) experience of working in clinical trials; (00:12:10) viral disease and vaccine work at the Jenner Institute; (00:13:30) role of Head of Operations; (00:14:34) emergence of COVID-19; (00:16:00) ChAdOx platform; (00:17:40) changes to role as a result of COVID work, patient safety, suspension of non-COVID related trials; (00:20:00) work with quality assurance team relating to clinical trials, MHRA inspections; (00:22:20) involvement in COVID trials, particularly relating to safety; (00:23:40) reporting of serious adverse events; (00:27:46) vaccine confidence and hesitancy, including webinars and Zoom Q&A's to address concerns of the public, both nationally and internationally; (00:32:09) involvement in Ebola vaccine work and COVID nasal spray; (00:35:06) COVID-19 challenge trials, including research ethics and committees; (00:39:15) trial volunteers, including mobile units; (00:42:25) day-to-day work during the pandemic and impact of COVID on ability to perform duties, threat of COVID-19 to personal health and the health of friends and family; (00:47:10) life working from home and wellbeing, including knitting for charity; (00:54:30) creativity in science, including technological advancements; (00:58:25) collaborative nature of the work on COVID-19; (01:01:00) changes to working practices as a result of the pandemic, including hybrid working; (01:03:00) the future of clinical trials and speed of approval for new trials; (01:06:00) changes in approach to work and life as a result of the pandemic; (01:08:02) vaccine confidence work and speech at the Lambeth Conference, including the church as a medium of communication in Africa.
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The Collecting COVID oral history project captures the University of Oxford's research response during an unprecedented time, revealing the professional and personal stories of a diverse range of individual researchers and teams. Since November 2021, science writer and broadcaster Georgina Ferry has interviewed researchers and support staff from across Oxford’s academic divisions, capturing the story of the pandemic, as seen through the eyes of those at the forefront of research...