The One Health and Development Initiative (OHDI) is thrilled to introduce the first cohort of global interns selected for the One Health Intern Program (OHI). The 10 outstanding professionals were selected from a pool of over 700 applications received across 55 countries. The interns also come from diverse backgrounds, locations and sectors.
The One Health Internship is a capacity-building program that provides an opportunity for early career professionals to contribute to global One Health projects while enhancing their knowledge, education and skills in One Health operationalization. It is particularly designed for students (in their penultimate or final year), recent graduates, and early-career professionals from diverse academic and professional backgrounds and geographical origins.
The 2024 inaugural cohort of One Health Interns will play a key role in contributing to the development and management of an extensive repository of One Health resources, which will serve as a valuable tool for researchers, policymakers, and relevant multi-sectoral and One Health practitioners globally. In addition, they will engage in training sessions, mentorship, and networking opportunities that will strengthen their capacity as future leaders in the One Health space and pioneers/replicators of sustainable interventions for our health and ecosystems.
Meet Our Interns
We are excited to welcome these bright minds into the internship. Each intern brings an exciting skill set, background, and passion for One Health.
Alexandra Schiller (United States) previously worked as a United Nations Volunteer in the capacity of a One Health Technical Officer at the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Office in Egypt, where she provided technical support to 22 member states in developing Terms of Reference for their One Health Steering Committees. She has a Master of Science in Biological Sciences from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Science in Conservation Biology from the University of Kent.
Wahyu Hidayat (Indonesia/Japan) is a veterinarian, a Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Scholar and PhD candidate at the Graduate School of Medicine and Dental Science Niigata University Japan. He is originally from Indonesia and works as a One Health Veterinary Project Officer. He has been involved in projects organized by Indonesia One Health University Network (INDOHUN), One Health Study Club, Gadjah Mada University, Conservation Centre of Riau Province amongst others.
Eugene Boafo (Ghana) is a Pharmacist and a current graduate student at the University of Ghana studying to get a MPhil in Pharmacy Practice. He is experienced in conducting policy reviews, preparing policy briefs, using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to support research, conducting literature reviews, designing research protocols, and navigating ethical review processes.
Francesca Gonnella (Italy) is a recent graduate of Veterinary Medicine from Università degli Studi di Perugia and a current Infectious Disease Masters student at Università degli Studi di Bari. She recently completed an internship at the Istituto Zooprofilattico del Mezzogiorno, where she was involved in various activities such as ecology and identification of the main arthropod vectors, molecular biology tests (samples homogenisation, DNA and RNA extraction; first, second and third generation PCR) and serological tests (ELISA, AGID and sero-neutralization).
Greer Thomas (United States) is a recent graduate of Health Sciences from Howard University in the United States. Her work as a neurology research assistant and an intern with the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene helped her develop a strong foundation in data collection, analysis, and research management. She also previously volunteered in Guatemala, where she worked on a community health project focused on providing access to clean water and health education. This has helped her gain valuable skills in cross-cultural communication and collaboration, which are key skills in implementing the One Health approach.
Mekdes Mekonnen (Ethiopia/Norway) holds a medical degree and dual master’s degree in public health and health sciences, with a primary focus on clinical research in nutrition and public health. Through her academic background, she developed a comprehensive understanding of epidemiology and gained the ability to synthesize and analyze complex data. She also has hands-on experience using statistical software and skills in literature review and data identification.
Hailey Davidson (Canada) is a graduate research assistant and student in the Food Science Department at the University of Guelph, where her research project focuses on the use of wastewater-based epidemiology for the characterization of foodborne pathogens. She has also gained valuable experience and knowledge over the last 3 years at the University of Guelph in the collaborative specialization in One Health program.
Olivia Sepe (United States) has a BA in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health from Yale University. She garnered relevant experience while working at the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, where she was responsible for developing a Rapid Community Assessment framework to analyze community health data, which significantly improved vaccine uptake across 12 health departments. She has also been involved in projects with Community Alliance for Research & Engagement, where she managed public health initiatives that required reviewing a vast amount of scientific literature and synthesizing findings into grant reports.
Maria Chikha (Algeria) is a veterinarian and Masters student in Fundamental Toxicology at the University Echahid Hamma Lakhdar in Algeria. She currently works as a Teaching Assistant in Animal Physiology at the University of El Oued. She has published academic and research papers to her credit and has presented some of her work in scientific seminars and conferences.
Panashe Nyengera (Zimbabwe) is a final-year Biotechnology and Bioinformatics undergraduate student at Midlands State University. She is skilled in programming, developing computational tools, websites and databases. She has been actively involved in research projects that focus on molecular biology techniques and bioinformatics data analysis. She also interns at UGenome Biotech (USA).
These interns embody the spirit of One Health, bringing together diverse expertise to contribute meaningfully to our mission. We look forward to witnessing their growth and achievements in this internship program and beyond.
