Dr Derek Gatherer
LecturerResearch Overview
Ranked globally and nationally in top 0.2% for reads on The Conversation (UK 36th out of 23,022; globally 122nd out of 90,953).
Now on editorial board of Scientific Data and guest editor for special collection "Text and speech corpora for natural language processing" for Springer Nature.
My Erdös number is 5.
Google Scholar metrics for end-2024:
h-index 42; g-index 88; publication years 39; cites: 8086; cites for most-cited paper 790; mean cites/paper 35; mean cites/year 213; papers >500 cites 2; papers >250 cites 6; papers >100 cites 23; papers >10 cites/year 15.
Profile
Currently active projects:
- Tempo & mode in the evolution of RNA viruses. PhD student Hanouf Alhamdan funded by the Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
- Corpus linguistic analysis of discourse surrounding vaccine hesitancy, with Prof Elena Semino (Lancaster) and others. Funded by the Economic & Social Research Council: grant ref. ES/V000926/1
- International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses: Herpesvirales working group.
Research Interests
- Vaccine hesitancy (esp. 19th century)
- RNA virus evolution
- BioFutures
- Taxonomy of Herpesvirales
- Societal response to the English Sweat (15th-16th century)
External Roles
- Fellow, Centre for Social Futures (formerly ISF)
- Herpesvirales Working Group, International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses
Current Teaching
- BIOL243 Medical Microbiology
- BIOL275 Bioinformatics
- BIOL313 Proteins: Structure, Function & Evolution
- BIOL445 Bioinformatics
Research Grants
Economic & Social Research Council: Corpus linguistic analysis of discourse surrounding vaccine hesitancy (ES/V000926/1) 2021-2024 - post-project writing phase
Global Impact Fund, Friends of Lancaster University in America: Sequencing of 4 isolates of Crithidia parasite 2024-2025
NorthWestBio Doctoral Training Partnership 2025-2029
PhD Supervision Interests
Interested in finding a student who would use corpus linguistic techniques to analyse past pandemic responses, e.g. to 1957 and 1968 flu pandemics
Genome sequencing of 4 new isolates of Crithidia – an emerging parasite of humans
01/10/2024 → 30/09/2025
Research
Questioning Vaccination Discourse (Quo VaDis): A corpus-based study
01/03/2021 → 30/06/2024
Research
Biomolecular Humanities Workshop, Manchester
Participation in conference - Academic
Research ‘Data’ and Digital Preservation in conversation with the Digital Humanities Centre
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Scopicasting: Contemplating the future of education methods with visual/multimodal media
Participation in conference - Academic
Futures Collaborative Construct, a new Service Delivery model
Participation in conference - Business/Professional
Literature and the Future of Human Reproduction Online Symposium
Participation in conference - Academic
5th International Conference on Anticipation
Participation in conference - Academic
Anticipation 2024 Graduate Student Summer School
Participation in conference - Academic
Inaugural Event of the Africa Research Hub
Symposium
Panel event for International Consortium for Communication in Health Care series
Invited talk
A corpus of Victorian anti-vaccination discourse.
Invited talk
The twelfth International Corpus Linguistics Conference
Participation in conference - Academic
Talk at 3rd International Conference on Historical Medical Discourse
Invited talk
Talk to Digital Humanities Forum
Invited talk
Organising Committee for British Society for Literature & Science conference Lancaster 2025
Participation in conference - Academic
Specialised Foundation Doctors training programme
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Anticipation 2024
Participation in conference - Academic
Lancaster community event: 'Language in the Field - Government Linguistics and Artificial Intelligence'
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
UCU Continuing Professional Development Series - Workshop on Marking & Assessment Boycotts
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Conference: "Mémoire(s) des virus" University Lyon 2, Université Paris Cité
Invited talk
Judging Panel of ICTV Taxonomy Challenge 2022-2023
Other
Evidence to Science and Technology Committee and Health and Social Care Committee Report: "Coronavirus: lessons learned to date"
Expert Opinion
Media work on COVID-19 pandemic
Other
Media work on monkeypox cases in UK hospitals
Other
Media work on resurgence of Ebola in Africa
Other
Media work on pneumonic plague outbreak in Madagascar.
Other
Media work on norovirus outbreak at 2017 World Athletics Championships in London
Other
Media work on 2017-2018 seasonal influenza and other flu seasons
Other
Lancaster Public Lecture 27th April 2016
Invited talk
Hudderfield Applied Sciences Seminar 20th April 2016
Invited talk
Huddersfield University Public Lecture Series
Invited talk
Media work on vaccination and anti-vax movement
Other
Media work on Zika virus
Other
International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses
Consultancy
Media work on assorted infectious diseases
Other
Media work on Lancashire Cryptosporidium event
Other
Media work on bird flu (avian influenza) outbreaks in the UK and EU.
Other
Media work on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus
Other
Lancaster & Morecambe College Wednesday 22nd April 2015
Invited talk
Leeds Hospital Tuesday 24th March 2015
Invited talk
Media work on antimicrobial resistance and the "post-antibiotics age".
Other
Lancaster Students Union Monday 16th February 2015
Invited talk
British Infection Association, Manchester Friday 7th November 2014
Invited talk
Royal Preston Hospital Thursday 2nd October 2014
Invited talk
Media work on Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa 2013-2016
Other
Outstanding Contribution Award 2015
Prize (including medals and awards)
British Science Association / Daily Telegraph Young Science Writer of the Year Runner-Up 1993 (age 23-28 category)
Prize (including medals and awards)
- DSI - Health
- Institute for Social Futures Fellow
- ISF Fellows 2019/20
- Microbes, Pathogens and Immunity