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Profile on: Dr Luisa Brumana
MSc Epidemiology graduate,
Vietnam
In 2003, Dr Luisa Brumana graduated with a Masters in Epidemiology, one of the health-related programmes developed by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. In order to enhance her job performance as an HIV specialist, Luisa felt it was fundamental to further her education at postgraduate level. She began her studies in 2000 while she was working with UNICEF in Angola.
At the time, Luisa was not in a position to leave her job to study, and decided that the best way forward was to enrol for a University of London degree offered by distance learning through its University of London International Programmes. For Luisa, the great thing about the programme was that she could choose her modules according to what she was actually doing in her job, and could therefore see the application of her increased knowledge in action instantaneously.
Luisa comments: "The knowledge that I've acquired from my MSc has been instrumental in further developing the humanitarian and development work I'm currently doing. Further to the epidemiological emphasis of the course, the theoretical approach to HR and financial systems has also enabled me to prepare my work more thoroughly, and the course as a whole has given me the ability to analyse situations and realistically come up with practical solutions."
In fact, the MSc in Epidemiology has even made Luisa consider undertaking a PhD in the future, on how to harmonise academic and practical/field viewpoints in relation to data.
Luisa currently works at UNICEF in Vietnam and since 2006 has been in charge of maternal and child health projects with a focus on HIV/AIDS. She is currently helping the Vietnam Ministry of Health, and other relevant institutions, to assess needs in the area of HIV/AIDS, define programmatic priorities, and create standardised plans, guidelines and tools on the Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV.