Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
In this lecture Dr Gemma Bowsher (Kings College London) will contextualise the role of the RAF within global health through the history of the RAF Institute of Pathology and Tropical Medicine.
This lecture was hosted and live-streamed from the Royal Aeronautical Society and is part of the RAF Museum's Research Lecture Programme.
If you'd like to support the RAF Museum, you can make a donation at: support.rafmuseum.org/Donate-Now
Talk Outline
The RAF Institute of Pathology and Tropical Medicine holds an important place in the history of defence medical services, and more widely, the development of the field of tropical medicine and global health.
As a centre of disease research and vaccine development, the Institute featured as an important player in the United Kingdom’s disease response capabilities.
Spanish Flu, the early trials of penicillin and the development of large-scale vaccine production are but a few of the key medical events of the 20th century to have driven activity at the Institute.
Now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of such units emerge as a key element of national approaches to outbreak preparedness.
The RAF's association with clinical medicine is well documented in relation to aviation medicine and surgery (in particular burns), however its role as a driver of innovation in tropical medicine and global health has received comparatively little recognition.
Through archival research and interviews, the role of this unit will be shown within the broader timeline of military association with global health, as well as medicine’s association with air power.
These enduring associations cultivated through the work of the Institute of Pathology and Tropical Medicine provoke reflection on the future of such research and capability development within the Defence Medical Services.
About Gemma Bowsher
Dr Gemma Bowsher is a social scientist working on global health security with a focus on health security intelligence, civil/military cooperation, and public health in conflict settings.
She is the co-principal investigator for the health intelligence and biosecurity theme at the King’s College London, Department of War Studies’ Conflict and Health Research Group. She is also an affiliate member of the KCL Centre for Science and Security Studies.
Her work at KCL focuses on health security intelligence, linking clinical domains with intelligence processes within national and international governance systems. She works with organisations and researchers across defence, academia and public policy.
She received her master’s degree in medical anthropology from Harvard University in 2016 and her PhD at KCL is funded by the London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership.
Gemma holds the Metro Supply Chain fellowship of the Canadian Conference of Defence Associations Institute and she is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health. She is also a practising medical doctor in London.
In this lecture Dr Gemma Bowsher (Kings College London) will contextualise the role of the RAF within global health through the history of the RAF Institute of Pathology and Tropical Medicine.
This lecture was hosted and live-streamed from the Royal Aeronautical Society and is part of the RAF Museum's Research Lecture Programme.
If you'd like to support the RAF Museum, you can make a donation at: support.rafmuseum.org/Donate-Now
Talk Outline
The RAF Institute of Pathology and Tropical Medicine holds an important place in the history of defence medical services, and more widely, the development of the field of tropical medicine and global health.
As a centre of disease research and vaccine development, the Institute featured as an important player in the United Kingdom’s disease response capabilities.
Spanish Flu, the early trials of penicillin and the development of large-scale vaccine production are but a few of the key medical events of the 20th century to have driven activity at the Institute.
Now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of such units emerge as a key element of national approaches to outbreak preparedness.
The RAF's association with clinical medicine is well documented in relation to aviation medicine and surgery (in particular burns), however its role as a driver of innovation in tropical medicine and global health has received comparatively little recognition.
Through archival research and interviews, the role of this unit will be shown within the broader timeline of military association with global health, as well as medicine’s association with air power.
These enduring associations cultivated through the work of the Institute of Pathology and Tropical Medicine provoke reflection on the future of such research and capability development within the Defence Medical Services.
About Gemma Bowsher
Dr Gemma Bowsher is a social scientist working on global health security with a focus on health security intelligence, civil/military cooperation, and public health in conflict settings.
She is the co-principal investigator for the health intelligence and biosecurity theme at the King’s College London, Department of War Studies’ Conflict and Health Research Group. She is also an affiliate member of the KCL Centre for Science and Security Studies.
Her work at KCL focuses on health security intelligence, linking clinical domains with intelligence processes within national and international governance systems. She works with organisations and researchers across defence, academia and public policy.
She received her master’s degree in medical anthropology from Harvard University in 2016 and her PhD at KCL is funded by the London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership.
Gemma holds the Metro Supply Chain fellowship of the Canadian Conference of Defence Associations Institute and she is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health. She is also a practising medical doctor in London.
