Biography
Katherine Pineo is an MPhil/PhD student in Global Health and Social Medicine at King’s College London.
Her research focuses on global health governance and law, with particular attention to the International Health Regulations and the evolving WHO pandemic treaty. She is especially interested in issues of equity, representation, and legitimacy within global health governance frameworks.
Katherine holds an MSc in Global Health, Social Justice, and Public Policy from King’s and a BA in English Literature and American Studies from Providence College. Prior to her doctoral studies, she secured grant funding and sponsorships for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA, where she gained experience in institutional fundraising and health advocacy.
Her broader academic goal is to contribute to more inclusive and accountable models of global health governance, particularly in the context of pandemic preparedness and response. She aims to bridge critical research with practical impact, ensuring that future health policies are not only effective, but equitable and just on a global scale.
Research
Thesis title: 'Global Health, Sovereignty, and Reform: A Decolonial Analysis of the IHR Amendments and Stakeholder Experiences'
Katherine's research critically examines the 2024 amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) to assess whether they address or reinforce colonial legacies in global health governance. Although the IHR has been central to international disease response for over 170 years, its roots in colonial structures still shape global health today. Using a mixed-methods approach—combining document analysis and interviews with Global South stakeholders—this project explores how historical power imbalances and geopolitical interests influence decision-making, compliance, and equity. Bridging decolonial theory and policy analysis, the research evaluates whether the 2024 reforms represent a meaningful shift toward inclusive governance or a continuation of entrenched hierarchies under the guise of technical neutrality.
PhD supervision
- Principal supervisor: Dr Mark Eccleston-Turner
- Secondary supervisor: Dr Rishita Nandagiri