Priyanka Shrestha

Priyanka is a PhD student in Implementation Science at the University of Washington Department of Global Health. She has an undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh, and an MSc degree in Control of Infectious Diseases from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). After her master’s degree, she assisted in multiple projects at the International Diagnostics Centre at LSHTM, researching diagnostics quality and policy importance for public health emergencies, one health, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Besides research, she has also served in project management and capacity building roles at the World Health Organization to advance social innovations in health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Most recently, she engaged with a global health consultancy to employ interdisciplinary research and community-based participatory methods for vector borne disease projects. Her research interests include community-based health research, health system inequities, health innovations, and implementation science.

Priyanka worked on seven projects during her two-year engagement at START, acting as Project Manager for two of them. Below are highlights from two of the projects Priyanka worked on:

• Serotype Epidemiology of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease (IPD): The START team conducted a literature review of published research, reviewed country-level data from Colombia and Burkina Faso as well as from posters presented at the ISPPD-12 conference to abstract IPD serotype data, and updated the existing IPD tool. In addition, the START team delivered an oral presentation at the ISPPD-12 in Toronto, Canada, where it also identified and reached out to numerous researchers for future collaboration.
• Household Water Use in LMICs: The main objective of the project was to identify the domestic level water consumption patterns, reuse information and factors influencing water consumption in urban and informal settings in LMICs.

Reflecting on her time with START, Priyanka said, "START has been an incredibly enriching journey, providing me with invaluable opportunities for growth and development, both in my professional and personal capacities. START has allowed me to expand my horizons, develop critical skills, and cultivate lasting connections. I am immensely grateful for the remarkable experiences and unwavering support I have received from the faculty, peers, and leadership team, and I look forward to the profound impact START will continue to have on my professional path."