Support Staff

At Somerville I teach Renaissance English literature and Shakespeare to second and third year students, and the paper ‘An Introduction to Literary Studies’ to first years. I also greatly enjoy supervising finalists working on dissertations about early seventeenth-century poets such as John Donne, Ben Jonson, and George Herbert.

For the English Faculty at Oxford I give undergraduate lectures on a variety of seventeenth-century poets and writers. For graduates I teach a course in Renaissance palaeography and manuscript culture designed to assist MSt and DPhil students learning how to interpret early modern handwriting and to find & work with manuscripts in the Bodleian Library. I regularly supervise MSt dissertations, and welcome inquiries from DPhil applicants interested in early seventeenth-century poetry, manuscripts, devotional poets, and writing of the 1630s.

My research focuses on literature of the early seventeenth century, particularly the Caroline poets and the work of John Donne. I am currently completing a critical edition of James Shirley’s poems, and have published several articles and chapters about how Shirley’s writing was composed and circulated in the period. My edition will appear as a volume in The Complete Works of James Shirley, gen. eds. Eugene Giddens, Teresa Grant, and Barbara Ravelhofer, 10 vols (Oxford University Press). My previous work has focussed on the poetry of Henry Vaughan (1622-95) and on the work of poets he admired, including Ben Jonson and George Herbert. Alongside my Shirley edition I am also editing a volume of The Oxford Edition of the Sermons of John Donne, gen. ed. Peter McCullough, 13 vols (Oxford University Press, 2013- ) containing the sermons Donne preached to select audiences at private houses.

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.

Hi, I’m Abigail (or Abbie – either one works!). I am a DPhil student in Education interested in higher education and social mobility. My research explores the long-term impacts of widening participation initiatives and how former participants narrate their experiences. I received my bachelor’s degree in History and Politics and my master’s in Education, Globalisation, and International Development. I then moved to Bristol (my favourite city in the UK!) where I worked in Higher Education regulation. Outside of my research, you will most likely find me reading a non-fiction book, doing something creative like scrapbooking, or spending time with friends. I’m also learning how to DJ which has been lots of fun. I am really excited to be part of the welfare team and the community at Somerville. Please feel free to get in contact if you have a welfare concern, need support, or just want to have a chat!

I have undertaken the following training for my role as Student Welfare Advisor:

• First Aid Training offered by St John’s Ambulance
• Junior Deans Training offered by the University Counselling Service
• Health and Safety Training – Somerville Lodge Porters
• Fire Evacuation Training – Somerville Lodge Porters
• Welfare Policy and Procedures – Student Welfare Lead
• College Rules and Procedures – Decanal Officer
• Level 2 Generalist Safeguarding – Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership

Professor Clair Wills writes about the social, cultural and literary history of Britain and Ireland in the twentieth century.

Professor Wills works across the disciplines of literature, history, and cultural theory and is keen to explore new genres of academic writing. Her research focuses upon: migration in post-war Europe and the ways in which it gets represented by migrants and others; literature and culture in Northern Ireland; contemporary British fiction; feminism and women’s writing; and the history and experiences of coercive confinement in institutions (including psychiatric institutions) in Britain and Ireland in the twentieth century.

Clair is the King Edward VII Professor of English Literature at the University of Cambridge and a Professorial Fellow of Murray Edward College. She previously taught at Queen Mary University of London, at Princeton, and via numerous visiting fellowships. She has been a research associate at the Centre for Contemporary Irish History, Trinity College Dublin since 2007, and was elected an Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy in 2016.

In 2017, she was the recipient of the Irish Times International Non-Fiction Book of the Year for her book Lovers and Strangers. She also received the International PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History and the American Conference for Irish Studies Michael J. Durkan Prize for her 2008 book That Neutral Island. A keen jazz dancer, Professor Wills set up an interdisciplinary workshop with colleagues in Cambridge to explore the question, ‘What do we write about when we write about dance?’

I am based at Somerville College as the Mary Somerville Junior Research Fellow in German, where I am undertaking a project on ‘Play and Piety in Pre-Modern Women’s Religious Writing’,  a comparative project which will look at the interplay between the devotional and the ludic in French, German, and Dutch material. This grew partly out of a thematic strand of my doctoral research, ‘Late Medieval Marian Lyric in Urban Spaces’ which explored poetry about the Virgin Mary in competitive contexts,  through which I developed an interest in how the playful manifests itself in devotional writing and even enriches the articulation of piety. 

I was previously Stipendiary Lecturer in German at St Hugh’s and St Anne’s Colleges, where I was personal and organising tutor for the German students and taught translation and literature, and held a similar role at Somerville beforehand while I completed my doctorate. I have given lectures on Heinrich von Morungen’s Minnesang, Easter Plays, and Play in Medieval German Literature. 

As the Schools Liaison Representative for the German sub-faculty, I enjoy doing outreach work and have offered several taster sessions students interested in languages and medieval studies.

Siân Wilson is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Oxford Machine Learning in Neuroimaging Group, led by Professor Ana Namburete in the Department of Computer Science.

Her research weaves together neuroimaging analysis, maternal–fetal medicine and developmental neuroscience, with the aim of modelling how maternal exposures affect early brain development across a global population.

Siân’s work addresses a global health equity problem in early-life brain imaging: much of what is known about the developing human brain comes from MRI studies in high-income settings, but MRI is costly and hard to access in many of the places where the burden of adverse pregnancy outcomes is greatest. In contrast, ultrasound is part of standard care and is used routinely worldwide. Siân’s work brings computational neuroscience methods to ultrasound, to make quantitative study of the fetal brain possible at a global scale, and to characterise how factors such as maternal health and physiology influence the brain before birth. At Oxford, her work is supported by the Gates Foundation.

Siân has a background in Neuroscience, with an MSc from UCL and a PhD from King’s College London, completed on the MRC Institute of Translational Neurodevelopment Doctoral Training Programme. Her doctoral work developed a bespoke pipeline to study structural connectivity in utero, using fetal diffusion MRI, as part of the Developing Human Connectome Project. She then held a position as a research fellow in the Department of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, in the group of Professor Ellen Grant (2024–2025), and was awarded a Global Exchange Fellowship from the International Brain Research Organization.

Victoria manages the processes for awarding scholarships and funding to students.

This includes administering awards for projects, internships and personal development as well as academic prizes and scholarships. She co-ordinates the selection process for graduate and undergraduate scholarships, including those offered through the Margaret Thatcher Scholarship Trust and the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development.

Justin Winchester is a Stipendiary Lecturer in Law at Somerville College teaching Roman Law and Torts.

He is a DPhil candidate in Law at Oxford and a Rhodes Scholar (South Africa-at-Large, 2022). His doctoral research lies at the intersections of public law, human rights, and (critical) social theory and asks how positive equality obligations should be interpreted to address socio-economic inequalities. He maintains a keen interest in private law having previously tutored South African Private Law (Roman Law) and Delict (Torts equivalent) at the University of Cape Town where he graduated magna cum laude and as top student in his year. 

Professor Alison Wolf CBE is the Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Sector Management at Kings College London, and a cross-bench peer (Baroness Wolf of Dulwich) in the House of Lords.

She specialises in the relationship between education and the labour market. She has a particular interest in training and skills policy, universities, and the medical workforce. The latter is particularly appropriate to the Chair she holds, established in memory of an influential government adviser on medical management. Alison’s publications include The XX Factor: How Working Women Are Creating A New Society (Profile Books 2013) and Remaking Tertiary Education (Resolution Foundation 2016).

Alison is highly involved in policy debate, both in this country and more widely and is currently seconded part-time to the government as an expert adviser on skills policy. In February 2018, she was appointed to the English Government’s Review of Post-18 Education and Funding, as a member of the independent expert panel. The report of the panel (‘the ‘Augar Review’) was published in 2019: the government has published an interim response, accepting some of the key recommendations.  In 2019 Alison delivered the annual King’s lectures, on ‘Universities. the economy and the state’.  She has been a specialist adviser to the House of Commons select committee on education and skills; writes widely for the national press and is a presenter for Analysis on BBC Radio 4; and in March 2011 completed the The Wolf Review, written by Professor Wolf, a Review of Vocational Education for the Secretary of State for Education.  In 2015/16 she was a member of the independent panel on technical education, chaired by Lord David Sainsbury, whose report formed the basis of the Government’s 2016 Skills Plan.

While most of Alison’s current work focuses on the interface between education institutions and labour markets, she also has long-standing interests in assessment, and in mathematics education. She was the founding Chair of Governors of the King’s College London Mathematics School, established by King’s College London. Alison was awarded the 2008 Sam Aaronovitch memorial prize for her article in Local Economy on the Leitch Review of Skills. She has been an adviser to, among others, the OECD, the Royal College of Surgeons, the Ministries of Education of New Zealand, France and South Africa, the European Commission, the International Accounting Education Standards Board, and the Bar Council. She was educated at the universities of Oxford (MA, MPhil) and Neuchatel.

Alison spent her early career in the United States working as a policy analyst for the federal government, and spent many years at the Institute of Education, University of London, where she is a visiting professor. Alison was awarded the CBE for services to education in the Queen’s 2012 birthday honours.

Matthew Wood is Professor of Neuroscience and Associate Head of the Medical Sciences Division (http://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/support-services/matthew-wood) in the University of Oxford. His laboratory is based in the Department of Paediatrics.

Matthew graduated in Medicine from the University of Cape Town in 1987, working in clinical Neuroscience before gaining a doctorate in Physiological Sciences from the University of Oxford in 1993. His research team works on developing gene therapies for degenerative disorders of the brain and muscles – so-called neuromuscular diseases. This is exemplified by landmark work using small DNA patches called oligonucleotides to correct the genetic abnormalities underlying the fatal childhood muscle disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Further information is available at Professor Wood’s page with the Oxford Neuroscience and Department of Paediatrics.

Hello, my name is Harry, I’m studying for a DPhil in Engineering Science, my research is on how to synthesise metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) on textiles. MOFs are porous crystal structures which, when coated on textiles, can break down organophosphates found in pesticides and nerve agents, like Parathion or Sarin, providing protection against dermal exposure for agricultural works and civilians. As Somerville MCR president I hope to make sure the MCR is welcoming and accessible to everybody, whether it is celebrating a particularly special cultural event or ensuring a particular banger is played at one of our BOPs. I am especially interested in the history of our MCR and graduate house (known as Margery Fry), and want to embrace this history during my term as president. If you have any questions or simply want to talk to somebody about Somerville, please feel free to get in touch at mcr.president@some.ox.ac.uk.

Ian is responsible for Battels and Cashbook. He works Tuesday-Friday.

Farhana Yamin grew up in London and came to Somerville in 1983 to study PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics). After graduation, Yamin qualified as a solicitor and worked as an environmental lawyer, becoming a climate change and development policy expert. In 2001, she helped to deliver the Marrakech Accords, the international rules needed to complete the Kyoto Protocol and she has been advising leaders and countries on climate change and development policy for 30 years.

Yamin has taught in UK universities since 1995, including as a Visiting Professor at University College London. She stepped back from the world of academia and UN negotiations in 2018 to focus on non-violent civil disobedience and social justice movements challenging capitalism. As a Political Coordinator of Extinction Rebellion for a year, Yamin played a key role in the XR April 2019 protests, gluing herself to the Shell HQ offices in London, alongside thousands of other activists. She is a champion of community-based action and co-founded Camden Think & Do, where she is experimenting with radical inclusion & concepts of spatial justice by supporting communities create pop-up action hubs in high streets and public spaces. She also sits as an expert on various Commissions including Camden Renewal Commission and IPPR’s Commission on Environmental Justice.

Farhana serves as trustee or adviser to a number of organisations working on the intersection of social, racial and ecological justice, including Greenpeace UK, WWF-UK and Julie’s Bicycle, an organisation working to support artists and the cultural sector in tackling climate and sustainability. Yamin is currently a Senior Associate at the UK think thank company Systemiq and an Associate Fellow at Chatham House. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and was made an Honorary Fellow of Somerville College in 2022.

Did you know? Farhana first broke the law in the name of climate justice in 2019, when she glued herself to the ground outside the Shell headquarters in London. Her protest formed a central part of the 2021 film Rebellion, which relates the inside story of XR from grassroots activism to international impact. 

I’m 22, and a 2nd year MPhil Economics student at Somerville. I’ve been MCR treasurer since last Michaelmas, and I’ll also be a peer supporter this year, so I’m always here for a chat of any kind 🙂

Professor Julia Yeomans (1973, Physics) is a British theoretical physicist active in the fields of soft condensed matter and biological physics.

After her completing her undergraduate degree at Somerville, Professor Yeomans conducted doctoral research on critical phenomena in spin models at Wolfson College. She spent two years as a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University with Michael E. Fisher, before returning to the UK as lecturer in Physics at the University of Southampton. In 1983, she moved to the University of Oxford where she became a professor in 2002.

Yeomans is a professor at the Rudolf Peierls centre for theoretical physics. Her research investigates theoretical modelling of processes in complex fluids including liquid crystals, drops on hydrophobic surfaces, microchannels, as well as bacteria. In 2012, Professor Yeomans was awarded a European Research Council advanced research grant for her research proposal Microflow in complex environments.

Professor Yeomans was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2013, and in 2021 she received the Sam Edwards Medal and Prize from the Institute of Physics, for her contributions to soft and active matter, statistical physics and biophysics. 

She was made an Honorary Fellow of Somerville in College in April 2022. 

Jackie is Somerville’s Regular Giving and Alumni Relations Executive. She joined Somerville in 2023 from Cardiff University, where she worked in development and alumni relations following a year as President of the Student’s Union. 

As Regular Giving and Alumni Relations Executive, Jackie organises the Somerville College telethon and other exciting fundraising campaigns within the alumni community. She is also responsible for the Cedar Circle, Somerville’s new initiative to recognise those who make a regular gift to the College.

In her Alumni Relations role, Jackie leads our young alumni events, helping recent graduates and leavers stay connected to their College community.

Lucy is Somerville’s Academic Registrar.

She runs the day to day operations of the Academic Office, including the coordination of undergraduate admissions.

Dr Younger’s research focuses on improving maternal healthcare delivery and addressing inequalities in access and quality of care.

She examines how biases in medical technologies and healthcare systems affect access to antenatal care, particularly for ethnic minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. By engaging diverse stakeholders including patients, clinicians, engineers and regulators, her work seeks to redesign and implement inclusive maternal health solutions.

Based at the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, Dr Younger also leads Patient and Public Involvement initiatives to incorporate user perspectives into person-centred implementation of maternal health services.

Her background includes clinical experience as a nurse practitioner and global health work on midwife led health promotion projects in low- and middle-income countries. She holds a PhD from the University of California, San Francisco, where she studied environmental factors impacting maternal health.

Faridah Zaman is Associate Professor of the History of Britain and the World at the University of Oxford, and Fellow and Tutor of Modern History at Somerville College.

Professor Zaman has two main areas of research. The first concerns Muslim political activists, religious scholars, journalists and poets in early twentieth-century British India. Here, Prof Zaman explores the ways in which Muslim thought developed within the context of worldwide war, political revolution and imperial decline. Her work on this subject has appeared in Modern Intellectual History, South Asia, and the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. It will form the subject of her first monograph, The Young Muhammadans.

Prof Zaman’s second area of research concerns the relationship between the British left, imperialism and Islam in the twentieth century. Her first publication on this subject explored the place of sovereignty in socialist thought and appeared in Twentieth Century British History in 2022. To date, Prof Zaman’s work has also engaged with heritage and imperial visual culture, memory and nostalgia, travel and internationalism, and Muslim historiography in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and she has written for a wider audience via the Journal of the History of Ideas blog, the Fabian Review, and History Today.

Prof Zaman is broadly interested in supervising research projects that develop our understanding of Britain and its relationship to the wider world since 1750, particularly concerning the history of ideas.

Research Interests

• Political and intellectual history in global and imperial contexts
• The role of religion in the history of ideas
• The development of concepts around history and temporality
• Pan-Islamism and socialist internationalism

Academic Biography:

2015-2018 Dorothy and Gaylord Donnelley Postdoctoral Research Scholar, University of Chicago

2010-2014 PhD in History, University of Cambridge

2009-2010 MPhil in Historical Studies, University of Cambridge

2006-2009 BA in History, University of Cambridge

I am an Associate Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy (AFHEA). At Somerville College, I teach French Language, Translation, Orals and Essay.

I have been teaching French ‘language cafés’ and French ‘research-based language tutorials’ at the University of Birmingham since 2020. I have also been an English academic language tutor at AWAS (Academic Writing Advisory Service) for the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Birmingham since 2021. 

Research

My research interests revolve around colonial and postcolonial encounters between France and North Africa and the literary productions that emanate from these encounters. My PhD in French and Francophone Studies reads Algerian identity from the prism of the Sahara. It posits the Sahara Desert as an accurate analytical prism through which we can understand complex paradigms related to cultural identities in Algeria, and North Africa in general. I am interested in researching how colonial encounters in spaces like the Sahara shape and make visible, but also invisible different memories, histories and identities. More broadly, I am interested in 20^th and 21^st-century French and Algerian literatures, and I am currently researching the imprint of imperial legacies on postcolonial societies and how the latter resist but also perpetuate the colonial tropes in literary writing.

Hi everyone! I’m Erica, a second-year DPhil student in Cardiovascular and Stem Cell Biology. I’m originally from Toronto, Canada and before coming to Oxford, I studied biology at Imperial College London and neuroscience for my MSc at UCL. I’m a huge fan of musicals (especially Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera), Roger Federer, and can tell you where to get the best bubble tea in Oxford!

As Social Secretary of the Somerville MCR, I love creating opportunities for students to connect, whether through formal exchanges, themed socials, bar nights, or day trips. I’m always open to new ideas, or if you just want to have a chat, feel free to reach out 🙂

Rocco is a post-doctoral researcher at the Center for the Study of African Economies in the Department of Economics and at the Oxford Martin School.

He completed his DPhil at the Oxford Department of International Development. His research focuses on social protection and labour markets. In his current work, he is using experimental and quasi-experimental methods to study the potential to leverage innovations in the design and delivery of social protection systems to increase household resilience to poverty in the context of extreme climate events such as floods and droughts. In the past, he has researched labour markets, inequality, poverty alleviation, poverty dynamics, and social stratification, using a variety of methods, including longitudinal surveys, field experiments, qualitative studies, and behavioural lab experiments.