Modi Mwatsama, Head of Capacity and Field Development
Modi is Head of Capacity and Field Development for Climate and Health at the Wellcome Trust, where she is leading the programme of research to advance science-based solutions for climate change and health.
She joined Wellcome in 2018 as Senior Science Lead for Food Systems in the Our Planet, Our Health Programme. She has a particular interest in agenda-setting and implementation research as well as research approaches which involve co-production with policymakers and practitioners and help to strengthen capacity in low- and middle-income countries.
Prior to Wellcome, Modi was Director of Policy and Global Health at the UK Health Forum. She spent over 15 years focused on research, advocacy, and policy-development for the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in UK, European and WHO/UN institutions. As NCDs are the main health benefits of climate change mitigation actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this led her to transition into Climate & Health over time.
Modi was a member of the UN Food Summit’s Action Track 2 Leadership team and her advisory roles include the EAT Foundation board and BBC Rural Affairs Committee. She is a Registered Nutritionist and studied public health policy processes during her Doctorate at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
In her spare time Modi loves to knit, bake and cycle. She’s also a novice gardener.
