Cohort Nine (2024)

Catherine is a Public Health Specialist and Biostatistician with extensive expertise in statistical modelling, big data analytics, and public health research. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Environmental Health from Moi University and subsequently earned an MSc in Medical Statistics from the University of Nairobi.

With over ten years of experience in public health, Catherine has successfully led the design and implementation of various projects and health research initiatives at both community and national levels, including multi-country projects. Her professional engagements span collaborations with governments, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector, and have focused on improving maternal, newborn, and child health outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most recently, she has supported the UNICEF Zimbabwe country office in data analysis and statistical modelling for catastrophic health expenditure.

Catherine also leads a network of research scientists across Africa, fostering collaboration for mutual learning and evidence generation to inform healthcare decisions. Additionally, she coordinates the Kuza Research Mentorship Program, which provides young researchers with mentorship and practical training in research fundamentals through to publication.

Her passion lies in exploring data-driven solutions to health system challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa. She is particularly interested in advancing her skills in economic modelling methodologies with a keen focus on NCD care integration for prevention and early detection.

Oliver has completed an undergraduate degree in BSc Economics at the University of East Anglia in 2021 and went on to undertake an MSc Health Economics degree at the University of York in 2022.  

He has been working on a range of research projects at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine since January 2023, first working on a research project estimating the continuing quality-of-life impact of long COVID, working with a multidisciplinary group including medics, epidemiologists and other health economists. Ollie has since been involved with analysing the effect of bullying interventions being piloted in schools on children’s mental health, and more recently has been working on a cost-effectiveness analysis of an intervention to prevent post-birth bleeding, using trial results from Nigeria, Pakistan, Zambia and Tanzania.

Ollie has enjoyed his (brief) time in academia so far and is particularly interested in social inequalities and health which he hopes to make a part of his PhD in PHEDS.

Thomas holds a BSc in Applied Statistics from Maseno University in Kenya (2013) and an MSc in Medical Statistics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) (2018), after being awarded the LSHTM-ISEG postgraduate training fellowship. 

Thomas has extensive experience in analyzing observational data. Prior to his MSc, he worked on mapping the prevalence of diseases such as Rift Valley fever, malaria, and malnutrition in Kenya. Post-MSc, his research has primarily focused on adolescent health, HIV, and tuberculosis (TB) in Zambia and South Africa.

Most recently, under an NIHR pre-doctoral fellowship, Thomas has been exploring the use of causal machine learning to estimate the causal effect of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in reducing TB risk among HIV-positive individuals during the era of universal HIV testing and ART.

Thomas is particularly interested in integrating causal inference and machine learning techniques to generate evidence from real-world data (RWD). His goal is to develop health solutions that address the needs of underrepresented and vulnerable populations dealing with multiple long-term conditions.

Beth completed a BA in Sociology from Durham University in 2022. Beth then went on to complete an MA in International Criminology at the University of Sheffield in 2023. Beth's dissertation explored inequalities in media coverage of different international conflicts, and the potential consequences for public opinion and policy.  

Beth comes from a primarily quantitative background and is looking to improve her quantitative and modelling skills and techniques. Beth is most interested in health inequalities,  particularly gendered inequalities and those faces by minority groups.

Joseph is a health economist with experience in health technology assessment and economic evaluation. Having completed an MSc in Health Economics at the University of York in 2019, Joseph worked within the professional services firm Ernst and Young (EY). During the pandemic, he was seconded to EY’s Health Advisory team to aid with the establishment of the Manchester-based NHS Nightingale hospital, undertaking quantitative modelling to support resource planning.

Joseph also worked within the Institute of Health Economics’ Industry Partnerships team, based in Alberta, Canada where he completed early economic evaluations of new health technologies, including diagnostics, digital interventions, and medical devices, for life science start-ups in North America.

Most recently, Joseph has worked on health technology assessment projects commissioned by NICE at the external assessment group (EAG) based at the University of York. This involved critiquing cost and clinical effectiveness evidence submitted by companies to support the formation of NICE technology appraisal guidance.

Joseph is particularly interested in simulation methods, public health, and the adoption of script- and web-based modelling and dissemination tools.

Peter completed an MEng in General Engineering at the University of Sheffield in 2024, specialising in control and systems engineering. His masters project focused on developing a Markov model of the interaction between socioeconomic status and mental health in the UK population, with a focus on governmental policy interventions. 

He has worked with researchers at the University of Sheffield on the SIMAH (Simulation of Alcohol Control Policies for Health Equity) model, developing a microsimulation R package. 

In 2020 Peter worked in the admin team of the Occupational Health Department of the Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Trust. He helped coordinate the Trust's response to the COVID 19 pandemic and provided support to health care professionals.  

Ella graduated from the University of Leeds in 2023 with a first class integrated Master's in Medical Sciences. 

Her dissertation investigated computational modelling of atrial fibrillation, specifically looking at predictive models for drug therapies. Since graduating, she has studied for a postgraduate certificate in education, working in secondary schools within North Yorkshire. 

Her motivations for making the transition into public health economics and decision science come from her experience within teaching, seeing how children's barriers to education often stem from their physical and mental health and wellbeing. She is looking forward to learning new skills and knowledge on the DTP.