Two St Catharine’s alumni have been recognised for their service in the Queen's Birthday Honours list this year. The Birthday Honours list is published each year to celebrate the extraordinary contributions and service of people across the UK. This year’s list was announced as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the Queen’s accession.
Dr Raghib Ali (1994, Medical Sciences) has been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the NHS and to the COVID-19 Response. He is now an Honorary Consultant in Acute Medicine at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust and a Senior Clinical Research Associate at the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge. He is also an Associate Fellow at Green Templeton College, Oxford, and was appointed Chief Medical Officer of Our Future Health in 2022.
Dr Ali commented, “"I am delighted to have been recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours for my clinical duties as a frontline NHS doctor and also my work helping us to understand the causes of the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on ethnic minorities; reducing those disparities and improving vaccine uptake.
“I would never have imagined that one day I would be receiving such an award - as a child on free school meals attending one of the worst performing primary schools in the country, my chances of going to St Catharine's and becoming a doctor were almost zero and so I am very grateful for the opportunities I have had in my career to date and I hope this award will inspire children and young people across the country who find themselves in similarly difficult circumstances."
Dr Joanne Harris (1982, Modern and Medieval Languages; Honorary Fellow 2012) was also awarded an OBE, for her services to literature. She has published 18 novels and two books of short stories, as well as three cookbooks with Fran Warde. Her books are now published in over 50 countries and have won a number of British and international awards. Her most recent work, A Narrow Door, was released in August 2021. She has also served as Chair of the Society of Authors since 2019.
Dr Harris said, “I'm delighted to be honoured in this year's Birthday Honours list: it means a lot to me, and to the writing community.”
“On behalf of the College, I want to offer my heartfelt congratulations to Drs Ali and Harris on their well-deserved OBEs and we look forward to hearing about their achievements in the years ahead. It is a source of great pride that St Catharine’s alumni serve a wide range of communities in the UK, and that their contributions continue to be recognised at a national level.”
Dr Raghib Ali OBE and Dr Joanne Harris OBE (credits: Green Templeton College and Kyte Photography)
