The impact of global health networks – a term used to describe individuals and organizations linked cross-nationally by a shared concern for a specific condition – will be the subject of a public talk on March 26 by the principal investigator on a $1.1-million research project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Jeremy Shiffman, a noted political scientist who is a professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University in Washington, D.C. and a visiting scholar at the Population Reference Bureau, will deliver the talk entitled The Emergence and Effectiveness of Global Health Networks, at 4 p.m. in room 1A6 of the Health Sciences Centre.

All are welcome to attend the presentation, which will include an opportunity for questions from the audience.

Shiffman will draw on his recent research project investigating the policy impact of global health networks on alcohol, tobacco, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and maternal and newborn survival. The Gates-funded project was spurred by Shiffman’s interest in finding out why some diseases that kill or sicken hundreds of thousands of people worldwide attract far less attention and funding for treatment than others.

His research team has been looking into why some global health networks effectively generate attention and resources, influence policy and facilitate implementation of interventions, and some don’t.

Shiffman researches global health, governance and policy, with a particular focus on the politics of health and population policy in low-income countries. He has led numerous research projects funded by high-profile organizations like the Gates foundation, the MacArthur Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation, and has many publications in peer-reviewed journals. To learn more about his research, click here.

The presentation has been organized by the McMaster Health Forum Student Subcommittee, as part of its speaker series. The presentation will be hosted by Forum faculty member Steven Hoffman.

Seating at the event is limited. If you wish to attend, please RSVP to mhf@mcmaster.ca with “Jeremy Shiffman presentation” in the subject line.