About Me
Up Close & Personal
I am an early-career researcher who has led multidisciplinary public health teams in the United States and in challenging developing country settings including Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Guinea, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Zambia for over 10 years.
I have a BSc in Public and Community Health from the University of Maryland, MD, USA (2007), and a Master of Public Health (Global and Community Health) from George Mason University, VA, USA (2010). Moreover, I have pursued additional studies in Health Economics Evaluation at Oxford University (2015), and Human Resources for Health at KIT Health, Amsterdam (2017). In April 2017, I became a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). This academic, professional development and accreditation assemblage offers me a complementary set of key skills to conduct robust public health research. My certification has enabled me to design effective interventions around the accreditation process of Health Training Institutions.
As a result of my training, I have developed an impressive track record in a variety of research projects in diverse geographical and cultural settings. Through these field experiences, I have proven repeatedly that I can adapt to different cross-cultural contexts with varying infrastructure and capacities, while communicating diplomatically with local communities, government, and non-government organizations. These interpersonal skills ensure that I can conduct high quality research in any setting, as will be necessary for consultancies in the field.
During my graduate studies, my thesis evaluated the impact of gender-based violence (GBV) on women in DRC. My research findings were translated into practice with the implementation of new GBV guidelines in Goma, a region that has amongst the highest GBV rates in the country.
Some of my major research accomplishments include:
Leading the implementation of an accreditation process of nursing schools in Haiti to improve the quality of education thus improving the quality of care provided by nurses. I presented my work as a poster presentation at the Health Systems Research (HSR) conference in November 2016.
Participating in the development and advocacy of a task-sharing policy in Ivory Coast which led to the national adoption of the policy and includes Option B+, placing HIV+ pregnant women on life-long ART, regardless of their cell count, thus increasing access to care and treatment for HIV+ pregnant women. Our work was presented at the International Conference on AIDs and STIs in Africa (ICASA) conference in 2015.
Leading the implementation of a Laboratory Information System that helped reduce HIV testing turnaround time in high HIV prevalence rates districts in Ivory Coast. The program included a referral system for patients with HIV positive results to ensure quick access to ART (which helped reduce loss to follow-up).
I co-authored and published a commissioned report focusing on measures and best practices of care coordination in the US healthcare system, and I have presented my research at national and international conferences.