Uniting Streams is an (informal) network of researchers in all aspects of global health. We are a working party within the Netherlands Society for Tropical Medicine and International Health (NVTG).
ECTMIH2023
We are excited to share that we will be hosting several social events during the 13th European Congress on Global Health in Utrecht! This year's focus of the congress is on shaping the future of equitable and sustainable planetary health. Together with our friends from IFMSA-NL, KIT Royal Tropical Institute and UMC Utrecht, we have joined our forces as ECTMIH's Social Committee.
So, are you attending and wanting to meet peers and leaders in your field at ECTMIH? As Social Committee we have curated a number of activities and spaces to meet your fellow conference attendees. This includes bar sports, book swaps, the Utrecht2040 serious game, a photo booth and message boards. We will also be hosting a number of mentoring sessions where junior and senior global health professionals can meet and discuss navigating a career in the field.
Would you like to know more? Go visit the website:
Submit your abstract/summary for the NVTG symposium!
Global health has the ultimate goal to promote equity and justice around the World and is therefore essential to reflect on how global health practices can be potentially and subtly affected by colonial legacies and perpetuate inequities.
If you have reflected on these themes within your research projects we would really like to hear your experience during the Uniting Streams / Share-Net session of the 2022 NVTG symposium that this year is dedicated to the movement “Decolonizing Global Health”.
The symposium will be held on November 24, 2022 (9.00-17.00) in Amsterdam. The Uniting Streams / Share-Net parallel session is part of the afternoon programme of the symposium and involves early career researchers who will present their research in 5 minutes and reflect on decolonizing Global Health.
Original research summaries of any research topic related to global health are eligible (max 250 words and 1 table/figure) and should include a short addendum with a reflection on decolonizing global health. Closing date for submission: November 1st 2022.
More details on the call for abstracts. Questions? unitingstreams@gmail.com
OUR BOARD
The 2023 board
consists of
Iris Mikulic
Board member
Iris Mikulic is a junior medical doctor with an interest in global health. She completed her studies in Amsterdam and gained clinical experience in the fields of geriatrics, psychiatry and internal medicine. Additionally, she participated in several summer schools on a variety of different global health topics. Iris joined Uniting Streams to stay involved in the global health sector and in order to meet fellow global health enthusiasts.
Tom Jacobs
Chair
Tom Jacobs is a PhD candidate at Radboud UMC Nijmegen. Trained as a pharmacist, Tom currently investigates the clinical pharmacology of antiretroviral agents in children with HIV and other opportunistic infections in Mozambique, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Previously, he has studies reporting adverse drug reactions in Ghana and worked on a project commissioned by WHO Europe to reduce OTC sales of antibiotics in Central Asia. Tom joined Uniting Streams to meet and learn from fellow global health enthusiasts. Tom serves as chair since 2022.
Eugenia Di Meco
Secretary
Eugenia di Meco is a MD specialised in Infectious Diseases. She has clinical experience in HIV and antimicrobial resistance in different hospital settings. She worked in the front line of migrant health, being involved in clinical and research activities in Lampedusa and in Rome. Lately, she shifted focus beyond the Italian borders, dealing with MDR TB in Afghanistan with MSF. For her “global health” is not only an area of research and practice, but mainly an approach that healthcare professionals should have in mind, in every context and every field.
Harry Coleman
Vice Chair
Harry Coleman is a Junior Advisor in the Health Systems Strengthening team at KIT Royal Tropical Institute. In 2020, he finished his PhD at the Vrije University Amsterdam that focuses on a healthcare outreach service delivery model for homeless groups in Delhi, India. His main interests are in health policy and systems research, social science and mixed methodologies in global health, and global health politics. Harry joined Uniting Streams to discuss the sphere of global health action and research with others working in the field.
Lekha Rathod
Board member
Lekha Rathod is a global health researcher and a physician with experience in primary and emergency healthcare in low- and high- resourced settings. She works at Julius Global Health at the University Medical Center, Utrecht. She is passionate about addressing septic issues in global health and the overlying ecological crisis that will worsen health of the planet as a whole. She applies her interdisciplinary training in global health, medicine, epidemiology, and ethics in her work which focuses on noncommunicable diseases and implementation science, health systems resilience for primary care, and advocacy on primary health care and climate change and health. Lekha joined Uniting Streams to meet and learn from others streams in global health and to generate action.
Renée Robbers
Board member
Renée Robbers is a Junior Lecturer at the Athena Institute at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where she does research and teaches Global Health and International Public Health courses. She has experience in working in consultancy and academia, and has a broad background and affinity with research in Dutch, international and global health contexts. Her main interests are transdisciplinary research, food security, behaviour change and advocacy on gender equality, planetary health and sexual reproductive health and rights. Renée joined Uniting Streams to cocreate and exchange knowledge with other global health enthusiasts.
Su Someh
Board member
Su Someh is a Junior Lecturer specialized in public health and infectious diseases at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She completed her studies on cognitive neurosciences and health sciences in Amsterdam, and is passionate about teaching health scientists. Her main interests are in global health, infectious diseases and epidemiology. Su joined Uniting Streams to meet and learn from fellow global health enthusiasts.
OUR ACTIVITIES
Throughout the year, Uniting Streams board organizes events and scientific sessions to connect global health researchers and provide them a platform. We are always looking for new members to support these activities. If you're interested, let us know!
Turbo Talk Sessions
Annual NVTG symposium
Uniting Steams organises scientific sessions at the annual conference of the Netherlands Society of Tropical Medicine and International Health (NVTG). During the 2021 symposium themed mind matters, 12 early career researchers were invited to pitch their research during turbo talk sessions.
These sessions provide an opportunity for (early career and junior) researchers to present their global health research to an audience consisting of tropical doctors (in training), policy makers, NGOs and other academics and global health professionals.
Pubquiz
Global Health Trivia
Want to get to know other researchers in the field of global health in a fun way? Or are you just really competitive and up for a challenging game? The Global Health Pubquiz takes place every year in spring.
So brush up your library of facts about global health, tropical medicine and research, music, movies and geography, and join us!
Global Health PhD and Postdoc Writing Retreat
Need help with that writer's block?
The Global Health PhD & Postdocs writing retreat offers participants the opportunity to work on their manuscript, join workshops to improve their academic writing and communication skills, and meet other global health PhD students and postdocs to share experience.
The workshops are facilitated by experts and senior researchers, and targets the major skills and concerns of young researchers.The 2021 edition was an online event in collaboration with Julius Center (UMC Utrecht), Utrecht University Summer School, APEC Ghana, North-west University South Africa, and the NVTG.
Global Health Symposium
Expert Talks on Global Health
Every year, Uniting Streams hosts a Global Health Symposium on a different topic related to global health. The previous edition, in summer 2019, hosted three expert talks about Novel Strategies in Healthcare.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global health symposiums will be postponed until further notice. Keep an eye on the website and our socials.
Dutch Global Health Film Festival
Movies on Global Health
The NTVG, TROIE, Uniting Streams and Global Health Film are proud to present the annual Dutch Global Health Film Festival. Originally, the festivals screens a range of movies related to Global health across multiple cities in the Netherlands. This year, we look back on a successful online edition with 1500 registrations for 4 screenings from all over the world. Uniting Streams' board members are involved in the organisation of the event.
To revisit the panel discussions for the four screenings, click here
Robert Sauerwein Medal
An award for promising researchers in tropical infectious diseases
To honor his legacy, the Robert Sauerwein medal will be awarded every 2 years to researchers in the field of tropical infectious diseases. The prize consists of a medal and €500 and is jointly awarded by Radboud university medical center and Uniting Streams. Nominees are early career researchers (PhD students or within 3 years after PhD graduation) who are affiliated to a university or research institute in The Netherlands who have made major contributions to tropical infectious diseases.
The 2021 Sauerwein Medal was awarded to Dr. Menno Smit during the NVTG annual symposium.
