Dr Melisa Martinez-Alvarez
BSc MSc PhD
Assistant Professor
LSHTM
15-17 Tavistock Place
London
WC1H 9SH
United Kingdom
I joined The School in 2008 after working for the NGO sector. I have a BSc in Biology from Imperial College London, an MSc in Control of Infectious Diseases and a PhD in Health Systems Economics from the LSHTM. I have worked on projects on the application of macro-economics to health and the economics of globalization and health (focusing on India and Europe) before undertaking a PhD exploring the effectiveness of Development Assistance for Health in Tanzania. For my PhD work I used a political economy framework and mixed methods to study the effect of development assistance for health in the health sector in Tanzania.
After a number of projects in Tanzania, Malawi and China, I relocated to Dakar, where I am now based with the MRC Unit in The Gambia at the LSHTM. As part of my work I am developing a programme of research on health systems and maternal health in Senegal and The Gambia.
Affiliations
Centres
Research
My research interests lie in health financing in low- and middle-income countries, including from the supply side (including government expenditure on health, public financial management and external resources for health), the demand side (social protection and access to health care) and at the global level (development assistance and fiscal space). I am particularly interested in equity, including the targeting of resources to those in need and access to health care, particularly removing financial barriers.
My current research projects apply a health systems lens to maternal, newborn and child health.
Selected Publications
