Alumni Profiles: Where Are They Now?

Lianne Marie Gonsalves, MSPH '13

Lianne Gonsalves

PROGRAM IN SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS

Current position

Technical Officer, Department of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization

Job description

I lead research in the area of adolescent sexual and reproductive health and mHealth, and support the participation of my department and the organization in various global initiatives such as the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health and the H4+ Partnership.

Recent work

Lianne is working on the development of an exciting new mHealth tool for young people. It will help provide valuable sexual and reproductive health information in countries where teenagers and young adults cannot easily access the information due to barriers such as cost and cultural issues. Read more about the Adolescent/Youth Reproductive Mobile Access and Delivery Initiative for Love and Life Outcomes (ARMADILLO). 

As part of  H4+ partnership, Lianne recently helped collect information on programs from 62 countries where the vast majority all maternal and child deaths occur. The report shows that major changes are happening with the collaborations of national governments, partner organizations and the H4+ partnership.

Any advice to students considering the program

The quality of the curriculum is excellent. Even more valuable, however, have been the relationships I developed with my fellow students and SBI faculty. This social network has provided me with invaluable opportunities and support throughout the program and following graduation. The richness of the friendships, partnerships and mentorships you develop in your first year in Baltimore cannot be understated. I have enjoyed watching my cohort blossom in their chosen paths, and look forward to opportunities for us to cross paths or work together in the years to come. 

Degree program highlight

Leading research in Ethiopia on integrated Population-Health-Environment programming. As part of my practicum and with great faculty support from Baltimore, I led a study from protocol development through data collection, analysis and write-up and eventually publication. Conducting research abroad, with all its rewards and challenges (gaining local ethics approval, hiring data collection teams, overseeing transcription and translation of data, developing and nurturing partnerships), provided me a hands-on complement to my education that I still draw upon in my current work.