Contributors

Thomas Hambridge

Thomas is the founder and CEO of Health Explore. He holds postgraduate degrees in both immunology and global health, with published research on human CD4+ T lymphocyte differentiation and hepatitis B viral transmission in West Africa. Thomas also has extensive experience in clinical research and drug development, overseeing large international studies in both academia and the private sector. Over the past several years, he has managed clinical trials in a range of therapeutic areas including oncology, autoimmune disorders, infectious disease and vaccines. He is currently completing a PhD in infectious disease research focusing on the dynamics of leprosy transmission and control in endemic areas.

Dr Norah Ana Burchardt

Norah is a Brazilian medical doctor specialised in General Surgery and Breast Surgery. Focusing mainly on diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, Norah has both clinical and research experience in the field. Being interested in public health and global cancer control, Norah has an MSc in Global Health from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. In Autumn 2018 Norah is starting her PhD studies at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), studying epidemiological aspects of breast cancer.

Dr Ashish Chandra Shrestha

Ashish is The Hospital Research Foundation (THRF) early career fellow at The University of Adelaide, Australia. He was awarded the degree of PhD from the School of Medicine, the University of Queensland in 2016. His previous research aimed at evaluating the risks posed by hepatitis E virus to blood supply safety. He is currently working on developing DNA vaccines against hepatitis C virus and Zika virus. Dr Shrestha has worked as a research scholar at the Australian Red Cross Blood Service and Central Blood Transfusion Service, Nepal Red Cross Society and as a medical microbiology lecturer in medical schools.

Dr Sanjana Kumar

Sanjana is a dentist from India specialised in endodontics and oral aesthetics. Over the past six years she has immersed myself in the various aspects of heath provision as a clinician, an academic, a researcher and an advocate. Apart from navigating serpentine molar root canals, she has a penchant for alternative fiction and a fair share of mental peregrinations. A year ago, she decided to explore her eclectic interests and embarked on a Masters in Global Health at the Karolinska Institutet. For her practicum, she explored the perception of art-based interventions for patients with psychosis using a qualitative method as the basis for the implementation of research in a community health setting in Kerala. This helped her foray into the exciting arena of health humanities and ethnographic research. She is currently involved in an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded project in India that aims at improving mental literacy using an innovative theatre methodology and plans to juggle both careers in clinical dentistry and mental health research.

Dr Abdullah Tarique

Tarique is a wet lab researcher with key skills and strong scientific knowledge in the field of respiratory diseases. His interest is to understand the host responses to foreign pathogens. Tarique also has extensive knowledge on mucosal immunology, vaccine development and their clinical trials. Tarique is experienced working with both animal models and human studies. His work experience in multiple internationally renowned research institutes has made him more open, caring, productive, creative and efficient in time management. His recent works in cystic fibrosis have drawn the attention of researchers in the field.

Gizem Güler

Gizem is a master's student in pharmaceutical sciences and technologies. The focus of her study program lies on chemical drug discovery and clinical drug development. She obtained her bachelor's degree in biochemistry at the University of Tübingen in Germany. Being interested in bioinformatics, she wrote her bachelor’s thesis about machine learning in the field of cancer immunology. She is currently working in the pharmaceutical industry with a focus on developing MEK inhibition based antiviral therapies.

Dr Francesca Testa

Francesca is a Biotechnology (hons) graduate and medical doctor, obtaining her degree in Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) at King’s College London. She has extensive experience in laboratory research, and has collaborated in research projects in clinical biochemistry and human genetics. She has also worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over a year. Francesca has recently shown a keen interest in clinical research, conducting national and local audits in different medical specialties, including acute medicine, paediatrics, orthopaedic and general surgery. Being passionate about the role of physical activity in health and disease prevention, she is also a qualified level 3 personal trainer.

Bradley Hinson

Bradley is an upcoming University graduate from the United States who has a passion for fostering social change through innovation. Through working on pro-bono projects and community organising in his local state of Vermont, examining differing economic systems on a study program in Europe, and interning at a Healthcare Innovation company in California, he has gathered a range of perspectives on socioeconomic conditions globally and how they can be disrupted. He is excited for the benefits that Health Explore may offer for the future of global health and contributes to the development of the project through a range of tasks.