Can you describe your role at the Malaria Centre ?

I am one of the Student Liasson Officers (SLOs) to the Malaria Centre at LSHTM. Alongside my co-SLO Orla Hilton, I help represent the master’s level student body within the centre, contribute to the development of events and content to engage the LSHTM community on the important topics that the Malaria Centre promotes, and foster inter-centre collaborations.

What motivated you to become an SLO?

I’m a big believer in interdisciplinarity, which broadly drew me to the centre framework at LSHTM. The Malaria Centre specifically interested me because I’m a student in the MSc Medical Parasitology and Entomology programme and consider malaria to be a topic of utmost interest and concern; I wanted to help promote the centre’s cross-disciplinary dialogue within the master’s level student body and increase access to information about current challenges and successes in malaria control.

What were your childhood aspirations?

I think as a child I went through many iterations of what I wanted to do and be, but I would say I was mainly driven by curiosity. Early on, my interests rested more in the arts, and I briefly considered pursuing a career in art history but ultimately felt a stronger pull towards science and medicine. However, I did end up studying art history alongside my chemistry degree during university with a passion for aviation. I think it instilled an appreciation for the importance of sociocultural context that has served me well as I have pursued further education in the global public health space.

Who is your childhood idol and why?

I’ve thought about this quite a bit, and while I could say Amelia Earhart or Marie Curie or any number of incredible people that I admired from the history books, I think the person who has had the most influence on my life is my mother. She sacrificed a great deal to raise me and my siblings and put so much time and effort into helping us cultivate values grounded in compassion, vision grounded in curiosity, and drive grounded in work ethic. She gave me the freedom and support to let curiosity lead, and instilled a love for science, and conviction to care for those around me, that directed me to the professional path I am on today.

What's the most enjoyable aspect of working with other SLOs and Centre members?

We all have different things to bring to the table, and I think it is so cool to see the ideas that come out of that. Brainstorming new ways to engage the students with the centre or collaborate across centres with different events is always fun and an opportunity to learn from each other. It has also served as an opportunity to connect with more students from other programs.

Where do you envision yourself post-MSC/PhD?

Ultimately, I hope to work at the intersection of humanitarian work and clinical medicine. However, rather than pursuing a medical degree immediately post-MSc, I plan to work for several years, either in infectious disease research or in the public health space focusing on disease surveillance and control.

Is there a personal mantra or philosophy that guides your life?

Growing up, I was taught to “maintain the dignity of others” and I think that has really guided how I developed socially and professionally.

Any words of wisdom or inspiration for your fellow Centre members?

Be as inclusive as possible to those coming up the professional ladder behind you. It can be tricky to work in interdisciplinary spaces before becoming a fully-fledged researcher, but I think many of my colleagues have interests and passions that span across disciplinary lines.