Meet the President: Dr Nermeen Varawalla

Meet the

President

At the start of her term as the new President of the Somerville Association, Dr Nermeen Varawalla (1989, DPhil Clinical Medicine) joins us to reflect on her career in life sciences, the influence of her time at Somerville and her goals as President.

What are your recollections of Somerville and how do you think Somerville shaped your path beyond Oxford? I came to Somerville in 1989 as a Rhodes Visiting Research Fellow. Arriving directly from an obstetrics residency in Mumbai, it was at Somerville that I first encountered academia’s thrilling potential for interdisciplinarity. My friends and I in the SCR used to talk about such a range of topics – everything from Anglo-Saxon archaeology to Egyptology – and I have carried that appreciation and curiosity for different disciplines on my career journey. I also received a fantastically warm welcome from everyone at Somerville – not least Daphne Park, who presented me with her winter coat and boots as well as my treasured MA gown! global healthcare needs. The underinvested fields of women’s health, as well as healthcare delivery in the global South, remain areas of particular focus.

My goal is to build an even stronger connection between alumni and the college, across generations, geographies and professional disciplines.

You’ve worked in academia, at large multi-national organisations and as an entrepreneur setting up and selling businesses. Which of your career achievements are you most proud of? I remain proud of my doctoral research conducted whilst at Somerville, on the early diagnosis of thalassaemia, because that research has formed the basis of a longstanding effective disease control programme. Since then I have led clinical trial programmes for a number of new treatments – and in many ways the same pursuit of lasting impact defines my work today. As Chief Medical Officer for Relief Therapeutics, I lead complex drug development programmes for rare genetic diseases with unmet medical needs.

Throughout your career, you have pursued greater equality in global healthcare. What gives you such a strong sense of purpose? I’ve been involved with healthcare delivery in multiple global settings, ranging from basic hospitals to some of the best-equipped centres in the world, an experience that has afforded me an understanding of the global disparities in healthcare delivery. This drives me to harness the capital, resources and urgency that is available in the business world, and apply it towards meeting What do you hope to achieve as President of the Somerville Association? I am honoured and thrilled to have the opportunity to serve Somerville and its alumni in this capacity. Somerville continues to evolve in an amazing manner whilst building on its impressive heritage – a characteristic blend of progress and tradition with which I believe all Somervillians, irrespective of their vintage or interests, will enjoy connecting. Working with my committee and the college, therefore, my goal is to build an even stronger connection between alumni and the college, as well as facilitating interaction within the alumni community across generations, geographies and professional disciplines through online and in-person events.

As a starting point, the Somerville Association will be hosting a special formal on Saturday, 17th September to coincide with Meeting Minds, at which we look forward to welcoming many alumni back to Somerville.

To register to attend the Meeting Minds Formal, please visit the Somerville College website.