Fellows and Academics

Damian Clements is the Somerville College accountant. He joined Somerville in January 2024 after working at All Souls College, Oxford, and supporting a comprehensive transformation of the 18^thCentury stately home Harewood House in Yorkshire.

Damian first trained as an accountant with Deloitte in Jersey after reading PPE at Trinity College, Oxford. He then worked for several years in TV and for the BBC before deciding to concentrate his energies on charities including London Zoo, the Royal Court Theatre, Leeds Culture Trust and the aforementioned Harewood House.

Despite going to Trinity, Damian has a strong Somerville connection; his mother and two close family friends read zoology here, as did his cousin and older sister. Now Damian is keen to help Somerville increase its financial management and love of Excel spreadsheets. Outside work, Damian listens to many hours of radio drama and audiobooks while going on long walks to pubs, normally with a play script in his pocket to read when he gets there

I’m a DPhil student in History, researching memory, identity in postcolonial nation-states. As Welfare Officer, I care deeply about fostering an inclusive and supportive MCR where everyone feels welcome and heard. Whether you’re looking for someone to talk to, advice on resources, or just a quiet cup of tea, I’m here to help. I’m also a big believer in small but sustainable joys—so expect occasional sweet bites, helpful scheme plans (feel free to share ideas) and low-pressure events to keep spirits up. Please feel free to reach out anytime!

Mounir comes from a lovely small city on the east coast of the Mediterranean: Saida, Lebanon. Mounir received his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering – Design, Materials, and Manufacturing track along with a minor degree in Arabic and Near Eastern Languages from the American University of Beirut (AUB). His interest in language goes far to the study of classical texts in the early Arabic Grammar and Lexicography. 

Mounir has worked with the Insight Club AUB to construct a supportive community to university students by balancing between physical intellectual and spiritual needs. Mounir is interested in the field of solid mechanics and mechanics of composite materials has published in reputable journals and received faculty awards.

Mounir aims to apply his experience to Metal Organic Framework Materials (MOFs) in studying their mechanical properties and their composites in polymer matrices and different geometries. This includes exploring the time dependent properties of MOFs and composites at different length scales. In addition, the fracture of MOFs and their toughness is of interest for designing damage-tolerant structures for energy absorption applications.

Beyond engineering, Mounir is interested in walking and in reading classical and folk literature.

Hello all! My name is Juliette, I am a DPhil student in Economics where I work on environmental economics. As Music rep, I am in charge of organising all the music events such as music lessons, karaoke, open mics and charity concerts! 

When I’m not doing these things, chances are I’ll still be behind a piano… in the kitchen maybe, as I am a fond baker of French pastries. 

Hey! I’m Francess and I’m a graduate entry medical student at Somerville. I am based mostly in the John Radcliffe hospital, but you can often find me in the library or in any of the wonderful cafés we have in Jericho.

As Vice President, my role involves supporting the president in the running of the executive and representative committee. I also play a role in organising initiatives with focuses ranging from social conscience to promoting personal and academic development. My goal is to work collaboratively with the committee to provide sufficient opportunities for postgraduates to thrive and leave Oxford with a fulfilling, memorable experience.

I always love to hear from you, whether that’s to share ideas about future events or to grab a coffee – do not hesitate to reach out for a chat! 

Ishani is a candidate for the D.Phil. in Law at Somerville College. Her doctoral research aims to evaluate the present paradigm on disability-selective abortions in India and develop an ‘indigenous’ normative and legal framework for governing such abortion in India. In contrast to sex-selective abortions, which are prohibited in India, disability-selective abortions are positively sanctioned under the Indian legislative and judicial framework. She seeks to underline how the present paradigm reduces women to ‘gatekeepers of perfection’ and disregards the State’s duty of non-discrimination and reasonable accommodation towards disabled people. Given the unique context of evolution of reproductive rights and disability rights in India, she will attempt to highlight the limitations of Western intellectual tradition and develop an ‘Indian’ framework to address this debate in India. In doing so, she will endeavour to fill a theoretical gap in Indian feminist and disability-rights scholarship and make appropriate recommendations for legal reforms.

Ishani is keenly interested in analysing rights-based frameworks through feminist and critical legal scholarship and undertaking comparative and inter-disciplinary study of human rights and corresponding State obligations. Prior to the DPhil, Ishani read on the Bachelor of Civil Law programme at the University of Oxford as a Cornelia Sorabji Scholar. She opted for public law courses, like Medical Law and Ethics and Comparative Equality Law. She also graduated with the B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) degree from Jindal Global Law School, India.

As the Welfare Officer, she hopes to make the MCR a more comfortable, welcoming and inclusive space for all members of the MCR, through different events, initiatives, and schemes. If there is anything that the MCR can support you with, please feel free to reach out to her. 

My work aims to improve psychological treatments for people experiencing severe mental health problems, with a particular focus on: i) distressing voices; and, ii) sleep disruption.

In my research, I have developed a new psychological framework for understanding why voices cause distress: listening to and believing derogatory and threatening voices. The theory was built from patient interviews and tested in 591 NHS patients who hear voices. I aim to develop this into a psychological treatment to help NHS patients who hear voices to feel less emotionally affected by them.

As part of the wider Oxford Cognitive Approaches to Psychosis team I have worked on several studies which have demonstrated that sleep disruption is one contributory cause of mental health problems, including psychotic experiences. I led a pilot trial testing a sleep intervention for psychiatric inpatient wards. The treatment was feasible to deliver. The patients who received it experienced reductions in insomnia, and there were promising reductions in the duration of inpatient admissions. I have a particular interest in nightmares, their causes and the consequences for other mental health problems. Our pilot trial demonstrated that a brief CBT intervention for nightmares showed promising reductions in nightmares, insomnia and paranoia in patients experiencing psychosis.

I am an HCPC registered Clinical Psychologist and hold an honorary clinical contract with Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. I completed my doctorate in clinical psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, following which I joined the Oxford Cognitive Approaches to Psychosis research group as part of the Wellcome Trust funded Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute. I have since been funded by an NIHR Clinical Doctoral Fellowship and a Development and Skills Enhancement Award.

Dr Peggie Rimmer went from being the first person in her family to study at university to one of the leading voices of CERN’s computing revolution, heading a team including Professor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web.

Born and raised in Liverpool, Dr Rimmer also began her academic career there. She gained the top degree in mathematics and physics from the University of Liverpool, followed by a first class Honours degree in physics. In 1961, she came to Oxford, matriculated at Lady Margaret Hall, and obtained a DPhil in nuclear physics. She then spent two years as a Junior Research Fellow at Somerville. In 1967, Dr Rimmer took up a two-year Fellowship at CERN and, relishing the company of 10,000 particle physicists, based her career there.

During her time at CERN, a fascination with the new computing equipment then emerging led Dr Rimmer to specialise in software for data acquisition and networking. Specifically, she led the group tasked with enabling standardised data collection for the multiple complex experiments being undertaken across the anarchic jumble of mini-computers, operating systems and programming languages then in use. In 1984, Tim Berners-Lee joined this team, conducting work that directly informed his Web prototype. Dr Rimmer subsequently led the CERN public relations group. Her last role prior to retirement was as Scientific Secretary to the Research Review Board.

In addition to her distinguished career, Dr Rimmer is a long-standing advocate for widening access to higher education. In 2012, she established the Peggie Rimmer Bursary for Women in Science at Somerville to enable more women to excel in STEM subjects. In 2023, she expanded this support through the Dr Peggie Rimmer Sanctuary Fund. This will transform the College’s ability to support its Sanctuary Scholars, providing those who have been displaced due to conflict, persecution or other serious human rights violations with a pathway to Oxford and support once they’re here.

Read more about Dr Peggie Rimmer’s career

Read more about the Dr Peggie Rimmer Sanctuary Fund

Bolanle Awe (Yoruba: Bọ́láńlé (Fájẹ́m̄bọ́là) Awẹ́) is a Nigerian and Yoruba history professor and pioneer of feminist history, intersectional thought and decolonisation.

Professor Awe was born on January 28, 1933, in the town of Ilesa, Nigeria. After taking a Master’s in History from St Andrew’s, she came to Somerville to read for her DPhil in 1958. She returned to Nigeria in 1960, where she became the first woman formally appointed to academic office in a Nigerian university. Following a stint at the University of Lagos, she returned to Ibadan, where she was promoted to Professor of Oral History in 1976.

Awe’s work is ground-breaking on several fronts. Her interest in oral history has made her a pioneer in documenting the pre-colonial histories of Nigeria and the Yoruba people, as well as an early advocate for the decolonisation of African history. She is also pioneering as a feminist historian, where her use of oral history helped restore the narratives of previously overlooked or misrepresented women such as Efunsetan Aniwura.

Awe was one of those pioneering women who began to use the master’s tools of academic knowledge and power to demolish the house built on male hegemony.’

TOYIN FALOLA, HONORARY PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

Awe was also one of the first people to critique the Western, liberal feminist position which universalises women’s subjugation under patriarchal rule. As an advocate of nuanced intersectional thought, Awe argued that we can better serve women’s causes by understanding the history of oppression from culture to culture. In 1983, Awe was made an Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. She retired from teaching and government roles in 1998. In 2005 she became the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria in Nsukka, and in 2018 she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Ibadan on its seventieth anniversary.

Afua was appointed Chief Financial Officer, Executive Director of the Bank of England aged 36 in 2019, making her the first black senior executive in the Bank’s 329 year history. Her tenure so far has seen the Bank handle unprecedented challenges, including Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the September 2022 mini-budget, and the ongoing inflation and cost of living crises. Her current responsibilities include developing the Bank’s strategy and the financial governance of the Bank’s c. £1 trillion balance sheet.

Afua also serves as the Bank of England’s co-executive sponsor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and co-executive sponsor for Climate Change disclosure. In 2021, she won CFO of the Year at the Women in Finance Awards UK, and in October 2022 she was named in the Powerlist, which profiles 100 of Britain’s most influential Britons of African heritage. She was a 2022 listee in the Kindness & Leadership, 50 Leading Lights UK campaign. Afua is a key note speaker and represents the Bank in the Community, with Businesses and at international fora e.g. International Monetary Fund, G20, World Finance Forum & COP.

Afua joined the Bank from Barclays Bank (2012-2019) where she was the Chief Financial Officer Mortgages and played a key role in Barclays’ strategic cost transformation program, TRANSFORM, whilst in the Investment Bank and in Group COO. Previously, during the Global Financial Crisis, she was an Investment Banker at UBS (2007-2012) in the Financial Institutions Group and in Mergers and Acquisitions, Group Strategic Advisory. After university, Afua qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ICAS) with Ernst & Young, London.

Afua matriculated at Oxford University one year early, gaining an undergraduate Master’s in Chemistry (2000-2004). She was awarded a Junior Research Fellowship in Organic Chemistry by Princeton University.

Of her Honorary Fellowship, Afua said, “To be invited to be an Honorary Fellow of Somerville is the greatest honour and took me completely by surprise!”

“I loved my time at Somerville. It played such an instrumental role in my career and I made lifelong friends.”

My name is Jenny. I have been a nurse and a midwife for 30 years and have worked in schools and colleges for the last 15 years .

I have three older children; the youngest has just finished University. I have two gorgeous grandchildren who now live in Thailand as my daughter is teaching there. I live in a tiny village on the outskirts of Oxford and love walking our two mad dogs around the fields and river nearby. I very much enjoy listening to music and playing it myself, with a mixed reviews from my family. One of my favourite hobbies is outdoor swimming in all weathers.

My role as your College Nurse is to support you with minor injuries and minor illness and to help signpost you to the relevant medical and dental services where appropriate. I also work with the welfare team to support anyone who is struggling with mental health or other issues.

I am available from :  9:00-15:00 weekdays during term time and can be contacted at pml.somervillenurse@.nhs.net

Please feel free to pop in during these times for a chat or advice . I look forward to meeting you and hope you will be very happy at Somerville.

Aanchal is the first Elizabeth Moir Scholar, reading for an MPP at the Blavatnik School of Government . Before joining Oxford, she worked for the Food Innovation Hub at the World Economic Forum. 

Her research interests include policies at the intersection of innovation, technology, and partnerships for enabling food systems transformation. Her work with the World Economic Forum, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature focused on blended finance and partnerships. She holds a Bachelor’s in Commerce from Delhi University and Master’s in Sustainable Development Practices from TERI School of Advanced Studies.

Her experience with some of the leading organisations in the world and eminent experts trained her in in policymaking, implementing, partnering, and financing for large, complex projects. These projects include monitoring the environmental, social, and economic effects of responsible tourism on tribal communities, surveying villages and designing comprehensive agri-solutions, and leading India’s first research team in assessing PPP models for marine conservation. 

During her time at Oxford, she aims to work towards refining her skills and learning from her peers to lead effective collaboration.

Reema is a social entrepreneur dedicated to bridging income inequalities and advocating for the rights of vulnerable communities in India. Over nine years, she has been consistently engaged in grassroots work, building community-led income generation models with rural women, smallholding farmers, and indigenous populations.

Reema’s work centers around transforming agriculture and livestock supply chains, empowering rural communities to embrace entrepreneurship through micro-enterprises. In the State of Maharashtra, she pioneered the first-ever rural women-owned food brand. This initiative not only doubled their incomes but also inspired a set of women leaders challenging the status quo regarding women’s social and economic standing in their respective villages.

Along with her efforts on the ground, Reema serves as an advisor to various non-profits and community-led organizations in India. Her role in establishing Rajasthan’s first micro camel milk dairy benefited over 3,000 camel herders, providing a sustainable source of income amidst livelihood threats due to State policies and declining camel populations. Additionally, her expertise has catalyzed the formation of Manipur’s first women-only farmer producer company (FPC), empowering over 16,000 tribal women to embrace small-scale pig farming and create value-added products from forest resources. Her responsibility in this role revolved around policy recommendations and programs aimed at enhancing technology, finance, and livelihood opportunities for women in India and Bangladesh.

She has co-authored a regional chapter on South Asia for FAO’s (The food and agriculture organization of the United Nations) report on Gender and Climate-Smart Agriculture in collaboration with the University of East Anglia (UEA, Norwich). Reema is a Presidential Award Winner in the year 2017 (awarded by the Honorable President of India and the Ministry of Woman & Child Development), recognized for bringing positive economic change for rural women in Maharashtra.

She has been featured as one of the Most powerful women in the Indian impact business in Business Today and the Forbes Magazine. Her organization, Happy Roots, has been featured as one of the successful case studies bridging gender gap in agriculture by the United Nations & The World Bank Group. Reema is also a fellow at the British Asian Trust and UnLtd India. Her passion for building more inclusive, equitable, and transformative institutions and societies, leads her to Oxford, where she seeks to deepen her inquiry through theory and practice. Reema wishes to challenge her critical thinking, both inside and outside the classroom, to solve development problems at scale. Her interest lies at the intersection of economic development, multi-dimensional equality (including gender justice and community rights) and technology. When not working, Reema indulges in the joys of traveling, exercising, and savouring a good glass of wine.

Keeper of our college pet! 

Sam (or, in Outlook’s global address list, Samuel) Wetmore is the person to whom you can turn for anything AV-related.

Based in the AV Office in Maitland, Sam provides a range of services to support the audio and visual needs of meetings, conferences and events, and manages the technical aspects of the meeting rooms. Sam is also happy to collaborate on any projects which involve photography or filming, and to provide support and advice with composition and editing. If you have an AV query, contact the AV desk by emailing av.desk@some.ox.ac.uk.