London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Educational/professional background

I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Urban Studies from the Faculty of Humanities of Leiden University in the Hague (the Netherlands). Before graduating, I did a semester abroad at the University of Melbourne in Australia, where I took my first modules in public health and epidemiology. I enrolled at LSHTM shortly after graduating.

Research interests or career goals

I am especially interested in the spatial dynamics of health and population change and distribution. I have also done some research on the social and environmental determinants of health and behaviour, and have a general interest in migration, urbanisation, health inequities, population projections and disease prevention. Having a varied pool of general interests, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what my career goals are, but with MSc Demography & Health I would like to improve my practical skills (especially with software and statistics) to deal with large amounts of data and analysis techniques. Even though I come from a humanities (generally non-scientific) background, I aim to pivot my focus towards data collection and analysis using GIS and other spatial analysis techniques, and the analysis of survey and population data.

Why I chose LSHTM/my programme

The main reason is that LSHTM allows students from very different backgrounds to study and research health, regardless of previous clinical or scientific experiences. There are many opportunities to engage in classes, do research, network, and learn with and from people of very different disciplines, and the MSc Demography & Health allows you to explore your own specific interests extensively. Anyone’s contributions are valued and respected, regardless of their background. LSHTM is also a widely recognised university that will open the doors to many opportunities for research and employment, as well as just being a very welcoming community of people. I also chose this university and programme because of the options to use both qualitative and quantitative methods in research, and because of the vast amount of small courses, events, and workshops throughout the year for further learning.