Welcome to the second episode in the Uncovering UNCOVER podcast series: Supporting staff and students through UNCOVER. UNCOVER (Usher Network for COVID-19 Evidence Reviews) is a network of population health researchers and information specialists committed to responding to requests from policymakers for evidence reviews.
In this episode, Neneh Rowa-Dewar, UNCOVER’s student-staff liaison, and Thulani Ashcroft and Udani DE Silva, both UNCOVER Reviewers, each discuss their roles in UNCOVER. Neneh highlights how students are supported in UNCOVER and how this support benefits students. Thulani and Udani describe how UNCOVER’s resources have benefited them.
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Thulani Ashcroft
Dr Thulani Ashcroft is a General Practitioner in Edinburgh, Scotland. She began her Master’s in Public Health at The University of Edinburgh in 2019 on the part-time campus programme, and finished in 2021 as part of the online programme. She worked with UNCOVER from its start in April 2020, and has worked as a volunteer and reviewer on multiple reviews, including working with the World Health Organization and Public Health Scotland. She is particularly interested in improving effective communication and team working skills.
Udani de Silva
Udani de Silva will be graduating from The University of Edinburgh in the summer of 2022, as a student of the Master of Public Health 2020/2021 cohort. Following her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science, she worked as a Research Assistant in a university, which piqued her interest in public health. Her MPH dissertation was an intervention systematic review on the effectiveness of anti-malarial chemoprophylaxis among military personnel to explore malaria as an occupational disease. She is hoping that her next career step will be as a graduate student in Canada this September.
Neneh Rowa-Dewar
Dr Neneh Rowa-Dewar is the student-staff liaison at The University of Edinburgh. Since January 2021, she has co-directed the part-time Master of Public Health (MPH) programme. While Neneh’s main interest and passion is education, she has worked as a qualitative health researcher for 15 years at the University of Stirling, and at The University of Edinburgh. Her work includes health topics such as cancer and tobacco, focusing on understanding and addressing health inequalities in these areas.
Series produced and edited by:
ERIC BERGER
Eric is a Mathematics and Statistics student at The University of Edinburgh, and a podcasting intern for Teaching Matters. Eric is passionate about university student mental health, interviewing researchers for the Student Mental Health Research Network at King’s College London, leading the University of Edinburgh’s WellComm Kings Peer Support Scheme, and conducting research on stigma for People With Mental Illnesses (PWMI). In his free time, he enjoys watching and playing sports, over-analysing hip-hop songs, podcasts, and any sort of wholesome shenanigans.