In the field in Sanguié, Burkina Faso, 2015.
As a public health professional who has worked in thinktanks, academia, and NGOs, I have a passion for data and policy analysis, especially as they pertain to health and related outcomes. My areas of expertise include: health policy and systems, health outcomes research, and epidemiological studies. I am particularly interested in the cost-effectiveness of programs and interventions that target vulnerable populations, and using this evidence to support changes in policy that will improve health. I have over a decade of experience in health communications and appreciate clear writing and clean, functional design.
I am available for short- and long-term consultancy positions that require:
• Strong proficiency in working with qualitative and quantitative data in the public health sector
• Significant project management experience managing research and communications teams
• Communications expertise in developing, writing, and editing for peer-reviewed journals, technical reports, and press releases, as well as a keen eye for designing brochures, web content, and print publications
SELECT Professional Experience
kaiser permanente vaccine study center | Oakland, ca
Senior Research Project Manager (October 2016 – Present)
• Manage, design, and develop research projects related to epidemiological surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases and vaccine post-marketing activities (e.g. adverse events, vaccine effectiveness)
• Provide technical expertise and project management on client projects on diseases including influenza, Staphylococcus aureus, invasive pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus, community-acquired pneumonia, and Streptococcus Group B
• Define scope of work, deliverables, and timeframes with directors and senior staff
• Prepare grant proposals, internal reports, and publications, ensuring timely and accurate dissemination that satisfy needs of clients (e.g., Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline)
• Manage and balance budgets on projects
INTERNATIONAL VACCINE INSTITUTE | SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
Associate Research Scientist in Departments of Policy & Economic Research and Epidemiology (June 2015 – October 2016)
· Lead project teams in designing studies and implementing surveillance platforms for infectious diseases in Africa (select projects below)
· Provide ongoing technical assistance to local teams during field visits to Africa, consulting on logistics, supply procurement, and monitoring and evaluation
· Generate and synthesize epidemiologic and economic data to advise national governments (e.g., Malawi, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Madagascar) and international organizations (e.g., WHO, Gavi Alliance, Gates Foundation) on vaccine policy and financing
· Draft funding proposals, manuscripts for journal submission, and other project-related materials
· Represent institute at global meetings, including the WHO Global Task Force on Cholera Control and BioPharma Asia 2016
Project Lead for Cholera Surveillance in Malawi Program
· Lead design, validation, and implementation of cost of illness survey; tool currently being deployed in field and has been adopted by partner organizations (e.g., Agence de Médicine Préventive)
· Lead cost-effectiveness analysis of oral cholera vaccine by implementing case-control study design
· Establish surveillance system in over 40 health centers by identifying logistics for sample collection and training over 200 field staff on inclusion criteria, recruitment, and follow-up study procedures
Project Co-Lead for IVI-Rotary Club Mass Cholera Vaccination Campaign in Nepal (Banke District)
· Support vaccination campaign preparatory activities, including site selection based on diarrheal case load
· Lead research components, including assessment of lost productivity and cost of campaign
Consultant for Delivering Oral Vaccine Effectively (DOVE) Project (June 2015–Oct 2015)
· Provided technical support for DOVE project in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
· Developed summary sheets and data extraction on past use and experiences with the oral cholera vaccine globally by ministries of health, international organizations, and local groups
· Wrote report summarizing key policy implications and lead authored manuscript for journal submission
INDEPENDENT PUBLIC HEALTH CONSULTANT | MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
CLIENT: Sookmyung Women's University, Department of Food & Nutrition, Seoul, South Korea (April 2015 – June 2015)
• Authored literature review on associations between diet and breast cancer prognosis
• Authored manuscript on associations between body mass index, smoking, and hypertension with renal cell cancer (RCC) prognosis based on survival analysis of 2 RCC case-control studies
CLIENT: Khom Loy Development Foundation, Mae Sot, Thailand (January 2015 – June 2015)
• Participated in administration of Ages & Stages Questionnaires to Burmese migrant children attending Thai schools in Thai-Myanmar border town
• Performed statistical analysis of data from 2 years of ASQ assessments of social and motor skills, comparing students who received a Montessori education versus standard Thai curriculum
• Lead authored manuscript describing intervention, methodology, and findings
CLIENT: Northeast Business Group on Health, New York, NY (September 2014 – December 2014)
• Conducted extensive literature review on diabetes chronic care management as it pertains to employers, health care providers, and insurance companies
• Synthesized and prepared summaries of key innovations in diabetes management for stakeholder roundtables and working groups
Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health | NEW YORK, NY
Project Manager & Research Associate in the Department of Health Policy & Management (March 2011 – July 2015)
• Managed implementation of various grants by hiring, training, and supervising a team of 5–8 masters and doctoral research assistants (select grants below)
• Co-authored and published papers in various peer-reviewed journals
Childhood Obesity Intervention Cost-Effectiveness Study (Subcontract from Harvard University School of Public Health)
• Collected quantitative and qualitative data on effectiveness, costing, and resource allocation for implementation of obesity prevention interventions for input into microsimulation model for analysis
• Validated data estimates (e.g., prevalence, incidence) using the World Health Organization’s DisMod II software tool for obesity-attributable health care conditions
Nutritional Quality of Competitive Foods in Schools: Establishing a Baseline for the New USDA Standard
• Managed grant, working with the Clinton Foundation’s Alliance for a Healthier Generation
• Analyze dataset of nutritional density of foods sold outside of national school lunch program to understand trends in public schools’ food service department bidding behaviors
Monitoring and Assessing the Youth Energy Gap to Benchmark Progress in Reversing Childhood Obesity
• Led evidence review of childhood obesity interventions, creating a comparative-effectiveness metric
• Implemented findings through a user-friendly web tool (www.caloriccalculator.org), which allows users to simulate changes to population-level obesity rates by selecting different interventions
• Managed successful submission of Caloric Calculator web tool for the American Journal of Preventive Medicine’s Childhood Obesity Challenge (2nd place winner, out of 107 entries)
Blue Horizon Hospitality Group | Shanghai, Beijing, & Macao, China
Communications Executive (October 2008 – August 2010)
• Managed yearly marketing budget of $365K+ USD, building customer bases across 12 restaurant locations for a popular gourmet burger establishment
• Cut $100K USD in marketing spend by pivoting strategy away from print media toward social media platforms, delivering higher return on marketing investment
• Developed CSR programs with key charity partners, such as Roots & Shoots, a tree-planting initiative
• Maintained press and community relations, and coordinated community events and fundraisers
• Executed company re-launch of websites and technical design of new customer loyalty programs
Stanford University | Stanford, CA
Editor & External Relations Coordinator, Centers for Health Policy, and Primary Care & Outcomes Research (November 2006 – June 2008)
• Disseminated faculty research to public through multiple distribution channels
• Managed, wrote, and produced Centers’ quarterly newsletters and inaugural 10-year Annual Report
• Served as freelance consultant-contractor for Stanford University School of Medicine’s website re-launch, based on recognition of full-time work at Centers
Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation | Menlo Park, CA
Research Assistant, Women's Health Policy & KaiserEDU.org Teams (May 2006 – November 2006)
• Produced and updated web content targeted at academic and health policy community for KaiserEDU.org
• Researched and drafted background brief on HPV vaccine implementation
• Supported senior analysts in preparing data, spreadsheets, and charts for presentations
EDUCATION
BERLIN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (TECHNISCHE UNIVERSItät berlin)
Doctor of Philosophy (Doktorin der Gseundheitswissenshaften)
Health Systems and Policy, Expected 2018
Dissertation topic: Prevention & control of cholera in Africa (Advisors: Drs. Reinhard Busse & Wilm Quentin).
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Master of Public Health, Health Policy, December 2011
Graduate Research & Student Group Work: Conducted qualitative analysis of HPV vaccine legislation data (Advisor: Dr. Miriam Laugesen). Completed thesis on key aspects of Medicaid, SCHIP, and immigration reform as they relate to New York’s implementation of health insurance exchanges (Advisor: Dr. Michael Sparer). Served as Communications Manager & Webmaster for Students for Food Policy & Obesity Prevention.
University of California, Berkeley
Bachelor of Arts, Public Health, May 2006
Bachelor of Arts, Mass Communications, May 2006
Extracurricular Activities: Editorial Assistant at nonprofit aimed at improving writing in schools (2003–2006). Science-Technology Section Editor (2006) & Writer (2004–2006) for the Daily Californian campus newspaper.
FELLOWSHIPS & AWARDS
Communications in Health and Epidemiology Fellowship at Columbia University
June 2014 – May 2015
Awarded to 4 students or graduates of Columbia University to engage in formal training of theory and practice of communicating health information to public (www.the2x2project.org). See published clips here.
David A. Winston Health Policy Scholarship Recipient
May 2011
Nationally awarded to 10 graduate students based on student's record, recommendations from faculty, evidence of commitment, and potential to succeed in health policy at state or federal level.
SKILLS & OTHER
Technical: Microsoft Office Suite, SAS, Stata, EndNote, DistillerSR (Systematic Review Software), TreeAge (Decision Analysis Software), DisMod II, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), HTML, CSS, UC Berkeley Extension Professional Editing Certification (2007).
Languages: English (Native Proficiency), Mandarin Chinese (Professional Proficiency), French (Level B1 in Common European Framework; obtained A2 Diplôme d’Études en Langue Française)
A full version of my curriculum vitae may be downloaded here, or view LinkedIn. See full list of publications here.