January 24, 2014

Two PORPP graduate students selected as 2013 Thomas Francis, Jr. Fellows

 

Congratulation to Solomon Lubinga and Marita Mann, graduate students in the Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy Program, who work with Global Medicines Program faculty, for being selected as Thomas Francis, Jr. Fellows for 2013. The fellowship promotes global health by providing financial assistance to students doing problem-solving practica in other cultures, usually developing countries.

Solomon is a pharmacist from Uganda and a first year doctoral student in the Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy Program at the University of Washington.  He holds a Master of Science degree in Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Strathclyde in the UK.  Solomon will head to Uganda to work at Butabika hospital, the national referral hospital for mental and neurological disorders.  He will conduct research on the economic burden of mental illness in Uganda.

Marita’s undergraduate studies were in chemical and biomedical engineering. After working for several years in the pharmaceutical industry in process development engineering, she changed careers to receive a Master of Public Health from Brown University. Her research there was in global health, specifically on drug resistance to HIV drugs in Kenya, as well as opioid abuse throughout the U.S.

 

In September Marita returned to her roots in the Northwest (she is originally from Oregon) to begin a PhD in the Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy Program at the University of Washington. In this department she is able to focus on all three of her areas of interest: pharmacoepidemiology, health economics, and policy, all while utilizing the global health resources and the university.

This summer, Marita will use the Thomas Francis, Jr. Fellowship to travel to Namibia. She will be working with the School of Pharmacy at the University of Namibia as well as the Ministry of Health and Social Services to increase in-country manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. She will focus on development of a training curriculum and capacity of a pilot plant in the context of costs and process development.

Information about all of the 2013 Thomas Francis, Jr. Fellows can be found here.