Tess Johnson
DPhil
Senior Researcher in the Ethics of Pandemic Preparedness, Surveillance, and Response
Dr Tess Johnson is a senior researcher in the ethics of infectious disease. As a member of the Global Infectious Disease Ethics collaborative, she has worked at both Oxford, and through a visit to Johns Hopkins University, on questions relating to pandemic response, disease surveillance, and coercive public health measures.
Her ongoing work as a member of the Pandemic Sciences Institute focuses on emerging infectious diseases and new methods pathogen genomics. Her ethics work aims to inform policy at national and international levels.
Alongside her primary role, Tess performs multiple roles in the academic community. She is a research fellow at Reuben College, Oxford, where she advises students, and is coordinator of the Oxford Ethics and Humanities Training Programme, offering training to researchers working across the medical humanities at the university. She is Associate Editor at the journal Monash Bioethics Review, and a committee member for the Institute of Medical Ethics' small grants funding.
Tess teaches on various courses including the Uehiro Oxford Institute's Master of Studies in Practical Ethics, NDM's MSt in Clinical Genomics and MSt in Clinical Trials, and undergraduate tutorials in practical ethics and ethics at various colleges.
Recent publications
Ethics of Antibiotic Course Duration: Shorter is Better.
Journal article
Johnson T. et al, (2026), Am J Bioeth, 1 - 15
The role of microbial genomics in delivering the UK's national action plan for confronting antimicrobial resistance 2024-29.
Journal article
Johnson T. et al, (2026), Lancet Microbe
Beyond Good and Bad: Rethinking Solidarity and Coercion in Public Health.
Journal article
Johnson T. et al, (2026), Am J Bioeth, 1 - 14
The role of genomics in delivering the United Kingdom’s national action plan for confronting antimicrobial resistance 2024 to 2029
Journal article
Johnson T. et al, (2026), The Lancet Microbe
Coercive public health policies need context-specific ethical justifications.
Journal article
Johnson T. et al, (2025), Monash Bioeth Rev, 43, 350 - 371
Coercing for public health: reflections on the role of coercion in public health emergencies.
Journal article
Abdool Karim S. et al, (2025), Monash Bioeth Rev, 43, 384 - 397
Coercing for public health: (when) is coercion ethically justified?
Journal article
Johnson T. et al, (2025), Monash Bioeth Rev, 43, 225 - 228
Ethics of Identifying Individuals Involved in HIV Transmission Events by Phylogenetics in Molecular Surveillance.
Journal article
Faber F. et al, (2025), Bioethics, 39, 762 - 771
A just war on bugs? Ethical differences between antimalarial resistance and antibacterial resistance.
Journal article
Johnson T. et al, (2025), BMJ Glob Health, 10
Clinical metagenomics: ethical issues.
Journal article
Johnson T. et al, (2025), J Med Microbiol, 74
