London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Educational/professional background

I completed an Honours Specialization in Biology at Western University in Canada, including an academic exchange at Bangor University in Wales. During my undergraduate studies, I gained laboratory and research experience with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Western University, which first introduced me to infectious disease research and animal health.

I subsequently completed the MSc One Health: Ecosystems, Humans and Animals at LSHTM and the Royal Veterinary College. For my MSc research project, supervised by Dr David Conway and Dr David Heymann, I investigated malaria among Nigerian children under five using nationally representative survey data, examining geographical and demographic variation in parasite prevalence, density and species. This work has since developed into ongoing malaria research and scientific collaboration with colleagues in Nigeria.

Following my MSc, I joined the Pan American Center for Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Veterinary Public Health (PANAFTOSA/PAHO-WHO) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as an epidemiological intern. My work focused on highly pathogenic avian influenza in the Americas and included epidemiological, spatial and surveillance analyses. I later returned to CFIA as an Analyst supporting animal-health diagnostics and outbreak response.

More recently, I worked in Ghana as an Animal Health Advisor through Veterinarians Without Borders' Emerging Leaders Program. Working with farmers, veterinary professionals, laboratories, government institutions and educational organizations, I supported activities related to animal health, biosecurity, antimicrobial resistance, disease surveillance and veterinary service delivery.

Across these experiences, my main interests have developed around infectious disease epidemiology, zoonotic disease prevention and strengthening surveillance at the human–animal–environment interface.

What I enjoyed most about studying my programme/at LSHTM

One of the most valuable aspects of the MSc was learning alongside people from an extraordinary range of professional, cultural and geographic backgrounds. One Health problems rarely fit neatly within a single discipline, and studying at LSHTM and RVC taught me how much stronger our understanding becomes when epidemiology, veterinary medicine, ecology, public health and the social sciences are considered together.

The programme also taught me to become comfortable with complexity. My MSc research on malaria required me to think beyond individual risk factors and consider how geography, environment, human health and health systems interact. That way of thinking has stayed with me throughout my subsequent work in Brazil, Canada, Ghana and Nigeria.

Perhaps most importantly, LSHTM gave me the confidence to work across disciplines and settings. Since graduating, I have applied what I learned to infectious disease surveillance, outbreak response, laboratory diagnostics, field-based animal health and international public health. The MSc helped turn One Health from an academic concept into the framework through which I now approach my work.

Read more about my experience

From Canada to the UK and Brazil: charting my path, one adventure at a time
From cholera dreams to malaria realities: My journey to finding the perfect summer project