Coordinators
The ARCH team includes a number of coordinators based around the world
Our coordinators are passionate about research, and improving the research uptake landscape in their settings. Critical to their role is designing and setting up a range of initiatives that strengthen the research uptake culture. Giving an insight into their backgrounds and roles, please get to know our Coordinators better by reading their bios below.
Africa |
Frank KagoroTGHN Africa Regional Coordinator
Frank is a Senior Regional Manager at The Global Health Network, University of Oxford, UK. He is the Data Science and Pathfinder Projects Lead and also the Regional Manager for Africa. Frank is a research physician and spatial epidemiologist with experience in public health research, clinical trials, surveillance, visualization for policymaking and antimalarial drug resistance surveillance. He is part of the Epidemiology Department of the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), Bangkok and a research fellow at the Centre for Optimising Antimalarial Therapy (CCOAT) of the University of Cape Town, South Africa. |
LAC |
Flávia BuenoCoordinator of the Fiocruz Hub, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz)
Flávia graduated in Psychology, and is also a Public Health Specialist, holding a Master's degree in Public Health (sub-specialty Public Policies and Health) with a dissertation in international cooperation in HIV/AIDS and borders. Flávia participated in the 2013 class of the Edmundo Granda Ugalde International Health Leaders Program of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), and worked as the Information and Knowledge Management Lead at the South American Institute of Government in Health of the Union of South American Nations (ISAGS/UNASUR). Flávia holds a PhD in Global Health and Sustainability at the Faculty of Public Health of the University of São Paulo (FSP/USP), and currently coordinates the Fiocruz Hub at The Global Health Network, as well as an active member of the executive team of the Zika Social Sciences Network and the Social Impacts of the Epidemic axis of the Covid-19 Fiocruz Observatory. |
Mercedes RumiTGHN LAC Regional Coordinator
Mercedes is a medical doctor from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina, where she assists in the conduction of Prenatal Stress research, within the Perinatal Neurodevelopmental Programming Laboratory. Her motivation lies in discovering and helping advance medicine, for which she has worked in Infectious Diseases Prevention projects in Kenya and Colombia. To facilitate and strengthen research across LMICs, within The Global health Network and ARCH, Mercedes establishes partnerships with research groups, organizes workshops, and supports learning initiatives in different Universities and health centers. |
Asia |
Dr Salvia Zeeshan
TGHN Asia Regional Coordinator
Salvia is a medical doctor and public health researcher. She received her medical training from the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, India, and her Master in Public Health degree as well as postdoctoral fellowship from the Johns Hopkins University, USA. She has worked as a physician in India and has been supporting research and policy work since she got her public health and research methods training. In the past few years, she has developed or managed short-term global health projects in vaccine hesitancy (India), menstrual hygiene management (Sierra Leone), COVID-19 disruptions in children's health and education (Papua New Guinea) and improving access to care for women and children (Uganda). In her current role with The Global Health Network, she has been coordinating the regional team activities related to research capacity development and knowledge sharing in the Asia region. |
Past Coordinator |
Wema Meranda MtikaWema is a Public Health Researcher, holding a Master’s degree in International health and Tropical Medicine (IHTM) obtained from the University of Oxford. Currently, she is a Research Officer at The Global Health Network (TGHN) under the University of Oxford and coordinates the Applying Research to Policy and Practice for Health (ARCH) programme. Wema has vast experience in conducting Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) research, as well as academic tutoring and mentorship including research project supervision at WASHTED Centre (Malawi Polytechnic) in collaboration with the Department Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste for Development (Sandec) at Eawag in Switzerland. Wema has also worked in maternal and child health at UNC Project Malawi where she supported a cohort study to improve HIV exposed infants’ ART adherence, and clinical work such as HIV testing and counselling, vaccinations, and assessing healthcare workers on HIV treatment delivery in 25 health facilities. |