London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Educational/professional background

I’m a medical doctor from Bosnia and Herzegovina and I have been employed as a research and teaching assistant at Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Sarajevo.

Research interests or career goals

I am interested in the general use of data to gain a better understanding of the world around us, including public health, clinical care, and disease prevention, as well as economic, energy, and climate issues. I am particularly interested in cancer epidemiology and understanding how social determinants and disease history influence clinical outcomes. 

Why I chose LSHTM/my programme

I chose LSHTM as the world's leading epidemiology and public health institution, with a legendary tradition and a long-standing reputation for excellence in teaching and research. Given the advances in data science and the expansion of machine learning over the last decade, I felt compelled to choose a programme that focuses on developing the skillset expected of next-generation professionals who can answer questions using a data-driven approach while being aware of ethical considerations and health data specifics.

The MSc Health Data Science curriculum is designed to equip students with practical skills and knowledge required to analyse and interpret complex health data. This starts with basic techniques and progresses to advanced ones, enabling students to address different research queries using a range of data sets. The course also offers opportunities for students to work on actual projects, providing them with confidence-building experience working with real clients.