Patricia Kingori

Patricia Kingori is a sociologist whose work is concerned with understanding, exploring and documenting different forms of ethics and power in health, medicine and science.

Patricia’s research at the Ethox Centre intersects the sociology of science and medicine, STS, and bioethics. She has extensive experience undertaking critical examinations of ethics in practice in different countries, primarily in Africa and South East Asia.

Patricia leads the Wellcome Discovery Award, After the End, an eight-year interdisciplinary research project exploring who decides when global health crises are over and the lived experiences after endings. Patricia’s Wellcome Investigator Award explores questions of authenticity in Fakes, Fabrications and Falsehoods project and  asks 'who decides what is fake?' Her work examines ethical issues generated by different types of fakes.

Patricia is co-investigator on the Between Deception and Dissent Wellcome Discovery Award which explores unproven, disproven and misleading health-related claims. She is also a co-investigator of ANTITHESES, a Wellcome Discovery Platform which engages with disagreement, polarisation and uncertainty in health, science and medicine.

Patricia has advised on the ethical conduct of research and intervention in different countries regarding the ethical treatment of frontline staff. Her work has shaped the attention given to the safety and experiences of frontline workers. Patricia is a trustee of the Medical Research Foundation and sat on the SAGE SPI-B providing independent advice to the UK government on COVID-19.

Patricia’s work is widely published in high-impact journals and has featured in various media outlets including The Guardian, The Times, BBC News and NPR.

Patricia is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion issues in academia and leads initiatives at Somerville College and across Oxford University. Patricia is a DPhil supervisor. She also mentors researchers at the Ethox Centre and undergraduates at Somerville College. Patricia received a Merit Award from the University of Oxford for the quality of her teaching.

In 2015, Patricia was awarded a place on the prestigious Powerlist in recognition of her position as among less than 1% of Black British female academics at Oxbridge. In 2025, she was awarded Salesforce Woman of the Year for her services to academia.