Olaa Mohamed-Ahmed
I qualified as a medical doctor from Cardiff University in 2011, having intercalated with a BSc in Public Health during my undergraduate studies. During my intercalated degree I had the opportunity to complete a dissertation on maternal mortality and health services in Sierra Leone, which, at the time (post-civil war, pre-Ebola) had the highest rate of maternal mortality in the world. Since then, I have maintained an interest and passion for maternal health research. After completing my foundation years in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, I joined the Oxford training scheme as an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow (ACF), linked to the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit (NPEU).
As part of my training, I complete the MSc in Global Health Sciences at Oxford University (2013-2014), and completed a thesis on severe sepsis in pregnancy. As part of my ACF, I have spent 25% of my training time on maternal health research with the NPEU, using data from established UK surveillance systems.
During the rest of my training, I have worked with the public health team at Oxfordshire County Council, the hospital management team at NHS England and the regional health protection team at the Thames Valley Public Health England Centre.
I am currently doing a placement with the Global Public Health Division of Public Health England and with the Centre for Global Health Security at Chatham House. With both, I am working on projects related to global health security and the International Health Regulations, with a focus on data indicators, monitoring and evaluation.