Dr Ian Hancock is volunteering his expertise and experience of tackling major viral crises to help the British armed forces and veteran-based charities through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Date: 27 March 2020
Dr Ian Hancock, Lecturer in Infection Control at London Met, is contributing to the effort to tackle COVID-19 by volunteering with the armed forces, and with veteran based charities Serve On, Team Rubicon, Walking with the Wounded, as well as homelessness charity Crisis.
Before working at London Met, Dr Hancock was a microbiologist and virologist for the Ministry of Defence. He has previously undertaken two tours of Sierra Leone during the Ebola crisis, where he was involved in the surveillance and detection of different pathogens.
He said, “I have been working at London Metropolitan University for 15 years now, and completed my PhD here, back when it was the University of North London, which was focused on rapid detection methods in microbiology.
“My colleagues and managers here have been very supportive of my work outside of the university. Through their assistance and backing, I’ve been able to be involved with a number of rapid response humanitarian tours throughout this time, including to fight the Ebola epidemic. I have offered my assistance to the armed forces for any job I can do to help get through the coronavirus crisis, from consultancy in virology to driving. I’m ready to help as much as I can.”
Dr Hancock was recently interviewed about coronavirus by the H-Hour Podcast, a podcast supporting military veterans.
