Profile

I am an academic researcher specialising in critical history, politics, and the political economy of international and global health. My research focuses on social-political aspects of disease, vaccination programmes, infectious disease control, health policy and planning, geopolitics of global health, equitable access to health care, and social medicine.

Monograph

From Absence to Influence:

The WHO and China in Global Health

Forth coming

The Rising South in Global Health

Research Highlights

The Rising South in Global Health

  • pending

  • 2025-2030

Solidarity Medicine

  • This project is a part of Wellcome Trusted funded project Connecting Three Worlds: Socialism, Medicine, and Global Health After World War II. It is a collaborative project that studies particular health cultures produced by socialism across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe, and explores the impact and legacies of socialist internationalism. It is led by Dora Vargha (University of Exeter/ Humboldt University, Sarah Marks (Birkbeck, University of London), Edna Suárez-Díaz (National University of Mexico).

  • October 2021-September 2025

  • Wellcome Trust

Global Smallpox Eradication in China

  • October 2017-September 2021

  • Wellcome Trust

Publications

Chen, L. (2024). Navigating resistance in global health governance: Certification of smallpox eradication in China. Global Public Health, 19(1).

Upcoming Engagement Activities

Events

Events
Research residence at Brocher Foundation
Jul 3
Geneva
Research residence at Brocher Foundation
Geneva
Geneva

Lectures/Talks

Conferences

Past Activites

Past Activites

Events
Socialism and Community Health Care in Tanzania
Aug 22
Dar es Salam, Tanzania
Socialism and Community Health Care in Tanzania
Dar es Salam, Tanzania
Dar es Salam, Tanzania
From Local Practice to Global Health: Socialism and Medicine in East Asia
Jun 6
Shanghai, China
From Local Practice to Global Health: Socialism and Medicine in East Asia
Shanghai, China

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Shanghai, China

Lectures/Talks

Upcoming events
Strategic Collaboration in Transition- Expanded Programme on Immunization in China
Mar 26
Strategic Collaboration in Transition- Expanded Programme on Immunization in China
Solidarity Medicine: Socialism and Primary Health Care in China, India, and Tanzania
Nov 28
Solidarity Medicine: Socialism and Primary Health Care in China, India, and Tanzania

London School of Hygine and Tropical Medicine History Centre seminar series

Socialism, Medicine & Global Health After World War II
Feb 29
Socialism, Medicine & Global Health After World War II

The February seminar of the 2023/24 Wellcome Centre Seminar Series continues the theme of focussing on the work of our members in order to showcase our amazing Centre and colleagues.

In this seminar, we shared our research findings from the Connecting Three Worlds project. It explored how socialist internationalism diverged from developmentalist globalization interventions, shaping regional networks and exchanges of public health programs among "Second" and "Third" world actors. Through interdisciplinary dialogue and historical analysis, the seminar aimed to recover overlooked narratives and enrich our understanding of the intricate intersections between ideology, politics, and public health.

Conferences Attendances

Upcoming events
History of Science Society Annual Conference
Nov 7
Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
History of Science Society Annual Conference
Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
European Society for the History of Science Annual Conference
Sept 4
Barcelona, Spain
European Society for the History of Science Annual Conference
Barcelona, Spain

Science, Technology, Humanity, and the Earth

Barcelona, Spain
Socialist Humanitarianism in the Long Twentieth Century
Jun 11
University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Socialist Humanitarianism in the Long Twentieth Century
University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
European Association for the History of Medicine and Health
Aug 30
University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
European Association for the History of Medicine and Health
University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Society for Social Studies of Science Annual conference
Dec 7
Universidad Iberoamericana, Puebla, Mexico
Society for Social Studies of Science Annual conference
Universidad Iberoamericana, Puebla, Mexico

Reunion, Recuperation, Reconfiguration: Knowledge and technologies for living together

Universidad Iberoamericana, Puebla, Mexico
Afterlives of Epidemics
Jun 8
University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Afterlives of Epidemics
University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway