London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Educational/professional background

I completed my Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia (UBC), a programme integrating drug development and pharmaceutical outcomes. During my undergraduate studies, I completed an industry placement at Jazz Pharmaceuticals as a Formulation Research Intern, where I gained hands-on experience in laboratory-based drug formulation research. I also had the opportunity to work on an epidemiological research project within my faculty at UBC, exploring health equity and the role of demographic information in healthcare. This introduced me to broader questions surrounding representation, accessibility, and the role of evidence in shaping healthcare, and sparked my interest in pursuing further study in epidemiology.

Research interests or career goals

My research interests and professional goals lie primarily in pharmacoepidemiology, particularly the use of real-world evidence to investigate the safety and effectiveness of pharmacological interventions. I am also interested in the evidence-based evaluation of healthcare policies and clinical guidelines, including their implications for health outcomes, access to care, and health equity. Through this MSc, I also hope to further explore topics in genetic epidemiology and the intersections between climate change and population health. 

Why I chose LSHTM/my programme

My undergraduate research experience in health equity made me more aware of how healthcare is understood and experienced differently across contexts. Having spent most of my academic life in North America, I was drawn to LSHTM's diverse student body and the opportunity to exchange perspectives with people from different educational, professional and cultural backgrounds. I was also attracted by the breadth of training offered by the MSc Epidemiology, as well as the opportunity to develop an independent research project around my own research interests and career goals.