MSc Global Challenges

Global Health Challenges team

Find out about the experience and expertise of the people who will be leading and contributing to the programme.

Prof Liz Grant

Liz Grant

Programme Director, is a Senior Lecturer in Global Health and Development, in the Centre for Population Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Her teaching responsibilities include international public health research, global health workforce issues and palliative care. Within the Primary Palliative Care Research Group in the Centre for Population Health Sciences, Prof Grant leads the international palliative care and spiritual and palliative care strands. Her research interests are in health systems and health workforce development and in palliative care. She heads a large DFID funded programme on developing and mainstreaming palliative care into health systems in 4 African countries. Liz also works part time for the National Health Service (NHS) Lothian as an international health advisor and African Health and Social care specialist. She coordinates NHS Lothian’s partnership with Zambia. She sits on the Scottish board of the international Disability Charity, CBM.

Ladeisha Bhide

Ladeisha Bhide

Ladeisha Bhide is the Course Organiser for the 'Global Health Challenges: an Introduction' and the 'Maternal and Child Health in a Global Context' courses.  She completed her MPH from the University of Edinburgh in 2013 where she wrote her dissertation on rehabilitation and reintegration experiences of women post fistula repair in sub-Saharan Africa.  She subsequently moved to Kenya and worked as a researcher for a fistula surgeon; they are currently working on a series of papers on various aspects of fistula care. In 2017 she relocated to South Africa where she is currently living.

Julie Ancian

Julie Ancian

Julie Ancian is the Course Organiser for the 'Evaluation of Global Health and Development Programmes' course.  Julie has a previous 10 years experience in International Development, serving as a policy advisor and an advocate on global health issues in international NGOs (Doctors of the World-France, Action for Global Health). She led analysis on European and global ODA, conducted health-needs assessments in developing and post-conflict countries and then participated to evaluation activities as an independent consultant. She recently completed a PhD in social sciences and is now a researcher with her main interest on gender and health. 

Evelyn Balsells

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Evelyn is a PhD Candidate at the University of Edinburgh in Global Health. She completed her master’s in public health in 2014 and worked as a Research Assistant in the Centre for Global Health Research in projects related to global burden of infectious diseases. She has been a tutor for the Global Health Challenges course since 2016 and is passionate about global health issues, inclusion and diversity issues, and disease surveillance. Evelyn is currently based in Guatemala, finishing her PhD and working as a consultant for PAHO supporting COVID-19 surveillance.

Audrey Buelo

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Audrey is a PhD student at the Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research & Policy (SCPHRP) in the School of Health in Social Science at Edinburgh University. She received her Master of Public Health at the Usher Institute in 2016. Audrey’s interests mainly lie in methodologies for developing and evaluating complex public health interventions, using evidence-based and participatory approaches. Her PhD project is funded by Diabetes UK and involves developing and evaluating a physical activity intervention for women with a history of gestational diabetes. She has worked on various research projects over the years, including systematic reviews on applied asthma research, the school built environment, representation of women and girls in sport in traditional and social media, and ICU readmittance. She has been tutoring for the Evaluation of Global Health and Development Programmes since 2017.

Rosemary Geddes

Rosemary Geddes

Rosemary Geddes trained in medicine at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, completed her general practice training in south east Scotland and specialised in public health through the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. She is a Fellow of the College of Public Health Medicine in South Africa. Her varied clinical experience includes working as a junior doctor in Namibia to GP work in Fife and Edinburgh. Rosemary coordinates the online Masters in Public Health at Edinburgh University and lectures online and on-campus. She has worked on numerous projects including training of tuberculosis managers, implementing Health Promoting Hospitals, polio campaign evaluation, strategic planning for HIV, TB & STI control, and development and evaluation of Prevention of Mother-to-child Transmission of HIV programmes. In Scotland, Rosemary has worked on evaluation of alcohol policy and early childhood