Congratulations to SPPH’s newest Public Scholars

The School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) congratulates our newest Public Scholars, Celestin Hategekimana and Emily Rugel.

The Public Scholars Initiative (PSI) aims to build connections and capacity for doctoral students interested in linking their work to an area of public benefits, and integrating more career-relevant forms of scholarship into their education. PSI’s Scholars are supported through funding, network building and academic support for broad forms of scholarship.

Mr. Hategekimana and Ms. Rugel are two of 40 new doctoral students in the 2016-17 cohort of Public Scholars, in this second year of the initiative.

Ms. Rugel’s research looks at how nature affects the mental health of urban residents. By using a model of natural spaces across Vancouver and applying it to health survey and prescription data, she looks to translate scientific evidence into improved sustainability plans and policies. Her supervisors are Professor Michael Brauer and Assistant Professor Sarah Henderson. You can read more about Ms. Rugel’s research here.

Ms. Rugel said winning the award came a critical time in her path as a doctoral student, given her studies were starting to produce results and had the potential to inform planning and policy. The funding and training from the PSI would give her time to share her findings, and would support the development of a website to train community members in how to appraise their parks.

“My big piece of advice for students considering a Ph.D. in public health would be to step back and think about the change they want to see in the world, and then let that lead the design, conduct, and dissemination of their thesis research.”
Public Scholar Emily Rugel

Mr. Hategekimana’s research will evaluate the Emergency, Triage, Assessment and Treatment PLUS (ETAT+) admission care intervention in Rwanda. ETAT+ aims to improve hospital care, and Mr. Hategekimana’s research will evaluate its impact on the clinical practice of healthcare workers and on newborn and child health outcomes. You can read more about the research here.

Mr. Hategekimana said he was thrilled to win the PSI award, which would support his research and allow him to engage with knowledge users including newborn and child health stakeholders, critical to knowledge exchange and translation. Mr. Hategekimana said he had wonderful supervisors for his Masters, associate member Professor Larry Lynd and Professor Jean Shoveller, and for his current doctoral studies, Associate Professor Michael Law.

“I attribute many of my successes to having wonderful mentors.”
Public Scholar Celestin Hategekimana

Congratulations to both our 2016-17 Public Scholars!

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