London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

What first inspired you to study at LSHTM, and how did you decide on your particular programme?

Mohamed: As a young doctor I really was not sure what I wanted to study next. As it happened, I was visiting London in 1987 and someone suggested I pursue the Professional Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene at LSHTM as I planned on continuing to practice in Tanzania.

Jehangir: While working as a GP in Tanzania, I realised that many of the conditions that people were coming in with could have been addressed much earlier/upstream. It was at that point (and encouraged by my uncle who is also in Public Health) that I decided to pursue a Master’s degree in Public Health. LSHTM is well known globally for being one of the best universities for this course and having heard of the great experience that my father had there, it was quite an easy decision.

What do you remember most about your time at LSHTM — the atmosphere, the people, or a particular moment that stands out?

Mohamed: I really enjoyed the seminars that were part of the professional diploma. We had nearly 40 seminars on various topics like malaria and diarrhoea, which ran for the entire day with multiple speakers who were experts in their field. These were extremely educational and amazing.

Jehangir: There are many things that I remember fondly from my time at LSHTM. Firstly, the farmers market every Thursday (this should tell you a lot about my priorities in life…). There used to be the most amazing food there and we would always look forward to Thursdays because of it. Secondly, the people. I made friends from all over the world at LSHTM. People I would never have ordinarily met. And finally, our study year getting cut short due to COVID and classes moving online. It was an interesting experience as I had never studied online before.

How did studying at LSHTM shape the direction of your career?

Mohamed: After completing the professional diploma, I returned to Tanzania to practice as a GP and very quickly put into practice all that I had learned. The diploma greatly enhanced my ability to diagnose various diseases, but I also used to pop into the laboratory at the clinic to prepare and observe blood slides for malaria.

Jehangir: It’s quite interesting actually. Having completed my MPH, I felt the world was my oyster, not realising jobs were actually much harder to come by than I had initially anticipated. I applied to multiple roles unsuccessfully and finally managed to land interviews within screening and immunisation for what used to be Public Health England. As it so happened, one of my friends from LSHTM knew someone in that exact role and put me in touch with her. She provided me with excellent advice on the role and the interview process and I was ultimately successful during the interview. So you could say my LSHTM network was a key contributor to where I ended up.

Were there particular courses, projects, or mentors at LSHTM who had a lasting impact on you?

Jehangir: I found the Principles of Social Research and Health Promotion modules to be really interesting and still find myself going back to concepts taught in those modules even today. I remember watching the introductory videos on the LSHTM website and seeing Ford Hickson talk about the school and seeing him on my first day at LSHTM was like seeing a celebrity. It’s probably not a surprise he taught the two modules I’ve mentioned. It was also great bumping into him in London a few years later with my family and introducing them to one of my professors!

What was London/LSHTM student life like during your time at LSHTM, and how does that compare across your two experiences (1988 vs. 2020)?

Both: We reflected quite a bit on this during our visit and afterwards as well and realised the core experience was quite similar: meeting people from all over the world with different backgrounds, making lifelong friends and learning from really knowledgeable and passionate individuals.

What was it like visiting LSHTM together this year? Did it bring back any memories or spark new reflections?

Mohamed: We had a great tour of the school (thank you MacKenna!) and it was really interesting seeing all the changes. There’s screens everywhere now and not a slide projector in sight!

Jehangir: It was an amazing experience visiting LSHTM with my father and seeing the emotions on his face as he took in all the changes that had been made as well as all the memories that were probably flooding into his mind. I had grown up listening to him talk about his time at LSHTM and had even had my own experiences here, but being here together with him was truly something else.

What advice would you give to current and future LSHTM students based on your experiences?

Jehangir: I’m sure this has been said by others before, but I would encourage people to make as many friends as possible. From your programme, from other programmes. Talk to the person next to you in the lecture hall or the person in front of you in the line at the cafeteria. Everyone has an interesting story to tell.