Adventure awaits PhD student

Stephanie Ortynsky, a PhD student in the Vaccinology and Immunotherapeutics thesis-based program, has been selected to participate in the Aga Khan Foundation of Canada (AKFC) International Youth Fellowship program.

Working under the supervision of SPH Assistant Professor Dr. Marwa Farag, Ortynsky will take a year of leave from her studies to participate in the program, which consists of a month-long international development management training seminar in Ottawa, followed by an eight-month overseas placement in Tajikistan, a country in Central Asia.

Ortynsky was selected as one of 12 participants to the program, which offers young professionals with high potential in leadership a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with host organizations in African and Asian countries and become leaders in international development. She was inspired to apply to the program following her Master of Public Health practicum placement at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, where she was introduced to the Aga Khan Development Network and the prospect of an international career in public health.

Ortynsky will be working as a monitoring and evaluation fellow with Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS), an international organization that works within communities in host countries to address continuing development concerns in areas such as health, education and rural development. She explained that the placement will provide a unique chance to gain professional experience to build a career in the healthcare sector in a developing nation.

See more at the School of Public Health.