2009/2010 Academic Year Doctoral Fellowships
Kaelen Moat, who is completing his Master of Science degree in International Health Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Yaw Owusu, who has a Master of Science degree in Environmental Sciences, Public Policy Administration from the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, have been granted CHEPA Doctoral Fellowships for 2009-10.
Both will join McMaster University’s four-year Health Policy PhD program in September.
Moat plans to focus on the use of research to inform policy in low income countries, with a particular emphasis on the impact of decentralization reforms on health systems in Africa and South Asia. His volunteer and work experience of the past few years increased his interest in health policy, evolving into a desire to understand and compare health systems, with a particular emphasis on barriers that have an impact on health reform and policy.
From October 2005 to April 2006, Moat worked with underprivileged children in Maharashtra, India, through a placement with AIESEC International, following which he went to South Korea to teach English as a second language. He then worked as the International University Fundraising Coordinator for Free the Children in Toronto, an international development NGO, before moving to London, England to pursue graduate studies in health policy. He also worked as a research assistant at LSE, in the field of health economics, policy and law.
Moat will be supervised by CHEPA member John Lavis.
Owusu, who grew up in the African nation of Ghana, plans to develop his research interests in the relationship between health insurance, environmental health policy, and health care accessibility and financing in developing nations. He intends to carry out comparative research on health policy issues in both developed and developing countries. His primary area of interest is in Africa, where recent government liberalization and privatization policies have begun to make an impact on health policies.
Owusu earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Science at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, then moved to Illinois to pursue graduate education. He has worked in research, economics and financial analysis positions while pursuing a Master of Science in Economics and Finance and later the master’s degree in environmental sciences. He relocated to Ontario after completing the latter degree in 2006.
In Ontario he has worked as a financial analyst, a research analyst and on an international development project involving research on bio-materials as a source of income and to provide improvement in the standard of living in developing countries.
Owusu will be supervised by CHEPA member Michel Grignon.
For details on how to apply for the CHEPA Doctoral Fellowship, click here.