Dr Liliia Bespala
Somerville Associate Dr Liliia Bespala has set up the Clinical Communication Club for Ukraine-based students.
Liliia works at the intersection of linguistics and healthcare, exploring how language tools can facilitate clinical communication and improve patient outcomes. She relocated from Ukraine to the UK in 2022, seeking refuge from the ongoing military invasion, and soon joined the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences (NDPCHS) as a British Academy and CARA Fellow.
Liliia had previously spent over a decade at Zaporizhzhia State Medical and Pharmaceutical University (ZSMPhU) in south-eastern Ukraine, where she taught English and Clinical Communication to future healthcare professionals.
Despite the continued threat of bombardments and siege, thousands of ZSMPhU students have remained committed to their education. Liliia’s decision to set up the Clinical Communication Club sprang from her admiration of these students. She commented that, “Their resilience, determination, and courage inspired me to act. I wanted to find a way to continue supporting their learning, even from afar.”
The opening slide of a Clinical Communication Club session
The Clinical Communication Club is a virtual forum designed to introduce Ukrainian medical students and early-career researchers to evidence-based communication science. During the past academic year, the Club held three virtual sessions, attracting over 100 participants from Ukraine and beyond.
The sessions were led by Liliia herself, alongside Dr Jack Joyce, Dr Marco Pino, and Dr Charlotte Albury, Clinical Communication team lead and Associate Professor at Somerville. Topics included Conversation Analysis, communication skills in end-of-life care, and how clinicians can effectively communicate brief weight loss advice to people living with obesity.
Liliia reflected that, “In a context where everyday life is shaped by uncertainty and trauma, initiatives like this offer more than academic knowledge. They foster hope, connection, and professional development. These sessions give students a sense of belonging to a wider academic community and remind them that the pursuit of evidence-based medicine and compassionate care doesn’t stop at national borders.”
The session by Dr Charlotte Albury
The Ukrainian students responded enthusiastically to the sessions, with one student commenting, “The session was interactive and insightful, offering practical tips on effective patient interaction and teamwork.”
Having received overwhelming positive feedback, Liliia hopes to expand the Clinical Communication Club in the coming academic year, bringing in more experts and covering new topics. The aim, however, will remain the same: to empower Ukrainian students with tools for effective, compassionate, evidence-informed communication. Even in the darkest times, the act of talking – and listening – can be a form of care.
Somerville is also delighted to announce that Liliia has been awarded a highly competitive MSCA fellowship to continue her research on advice-giving in clinical communication. Under this fellowship, Liliia will be working across the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics and the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences — and, most excitingly for us, retaining her affiliation with Somerville for the next two years.
The Clinical Communication Club was made possible thanks to the encouragement of ZSMPhU, particularly the Department of Foreign Languages, and with the support of Professor Alla Kulichenko. Liliia’s work was also supported by her UK colleagues, especially the NDPCHS Clinical Communication Team.
If you’re interested in Liliia’s research, her latest publication is available here.