DLSPH Open: Key Global Health Appointments
November 12/2020
Dear students, staff, alumni and faculty members,
Adalsteinn Brown
Professor and Dean
I am delighted to announce two key global health appointments that will strengthen our School’s commitment to researching and educating in the area of global health equity, particularly in the analysis of policy interventions and in strengthening public health systems.
Prof. Erica Di Ruggiero, Director of DLSPH’s Centre for Global Health, has been named Associate Professor of Global Health.
Prof. Di Ruggiero examines how evidence influences the governance of global policy agendas related to the social determinants of health such as employment conditions in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals. A former deputy scientific director of CIHR’s Institute of Population and Public Health, Prof. Di Ruggiero is a recognized global expert in population health intervention and implementation research aimed at evaluating the impacts of different policies within and outside the health sector.
Erica has had a distinguished career at DLSPH since joining us in December 2016: She recently launched Canada’s first Doctor of Public Health program, and is co-leading a ground-breaking course on global health diplomacy. The Canadian Society for International Health recently included her in its Canadian Women in GlobalHealth list.
In her new role, she will lead large-scale global health research and education initiatives with demonstrable impacts.
“I look forward to working with our amazing faculty and students to advance research on the health equity impacts of policies in different contexts,” says Prof. Di Ruggiero.
Prof. Beverley Essue has joined IHPME as an Associate Professor of Global Health. She is a global health systems researcher and health economist who leads interdisciplinary research focused on strengthening health systems, supporting effective and equitable priority setting and advancing equity and gender equality. She joins our School from the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer.
Prof. Essue leads a research program that is policy-focused and supports decision making for effective implementation. She has expertise applying quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate and evaluate complex issues affecting global health systems. She also leads research on priority setting, tobacco control, the economics of caregiving and women’s labour and gender-based violence. Prof. Essue has led work for key global health initiatives including the Disease Control Priorities initiative, the Lancet taskforce on noncommunicable diseases and is currently anchoring the economics work for the Lancet Commission on Gender Based Violence and Maltreatment of Young People. This year, she too was recognized on the Canadian Women in Global Health list.
“One of the things I’m excited about is contributing to and enhancing the global health focus in the research being led at IHPME,” she says. “I am also deeply committed to inspiring future global health research leaders so I am really looking forward to mentoring students who are interested in global health and global health systems.”
To learn more about how our School will continue to grow in the area of global health, please consult our 2019-2024 Academic Plan.
Please join me in congratulating these distinguished global health scholars on their appointments. And please join IHPME Director Audrey Laporte and me in welcoming Prof. Essue to our school.
Best,
Dean Steini Brown