Written by Kim Furlow, communications manager for the Institute for Public Health
The Women in Global Health – Midwest Chapter and Global Health Center are excited to continue working towards gender equality in global health leadership by presenting global health experts on topics that resonate with its members and those interested in creating gender transformative leadership. The Midwest chapter hosts a monthly Speaker’s Series, which offers informative presentations by experts in the global health field discussing research, career trajectories, and hot global health-related topics.
On April 26, from 12-1 p.m. CDT, the featured presenter will be Juliet Iwelunmor, PhD, associate professor in Behavioral Science and Health Education at Saint Louis University’s College for Public Health and Social Justice. Her talk title is, “Heart to Heart: Sustaining global health research”. We caught up with Professor Iwelunmor to find out more.
Q: How did you decide on your talk title and what is the significance of the phrase, “heart to heart”?
A: When Dr. Jacaranda [Van Rheenen, Global Health Center manager] asked me to come speak to Women in Global Health, I knew I could speak from my heart and share all our hurdles, but also celebrate all the ways we persevere. “Heart to heart” to me, is a conversation where I hope to talk freely about my experiences in global health.
Q: For those unfamiliar with Implementation Science, are there outcomes from your work that might illustrate your research focus?
A: My research seeks to understand ways to sustain evidence-based interventions in resource- limited settings. With implementation science, I am interested in the outcomes of sustainability. Our “4 youth by youth” project is one example. Read more about it here: https://4yby.org.
I will share my experience through the trajectory of my research experience. I also write many grants. I think anyone interested in global health research should also be focused on addressing ways to fund such research. I will share my experience as illustrated here: https://medium.com/@jiwez/on-learning-to-accept-failures-963017a8c4d3 and here:
https://phdgrantwriting.medium.com/on-why-i-started-writing-grant-dr-juliet-iwelunmor-63edde796120
Q: What do you expect the audience to take away from your presentation?
A: I think the stories we tell of our experiences in global health matter. I think the audience will see that all of their experiences in the field matter, too. They will learn ways to sustain their work, including funding it. Also, in global health, we need more storytellers that are diverse. I hope to leave that with the audience.
I hope people will review some of the stories about my research. Here are some examples: https://julietiwelunmor.blog/2021/11/07/keep-stories-with-implementation-science-and-cancer-research-in-africa/
https://julietiwelunmor.blog/category/research-is-people/
Join Professor Iwelunmor and the Midwest Chapter of Women in Global Health on April 26 from 12 to 1 p.m. Register to attend.