

Mary Chambers, head of public engagement with science 7 8,.Lisa Dikomitis, professor of anthropology and sociology of health 6,.Katie Porter, assistant research manager, patient and public involvement 1,.Cristian Montenegro, assistant professor 3,.Gary Hickey, senior public involvement manager 1 2,.Doreen Tembo, senior research manager patient and public involvement and external review 1,.And maybe I will not be the one to benefit from it, but maybe they could be. They need support and solutions that address their individual challenges. But I do, and many women researchers here have a difficult time. “And that was a big motivation for me maybe because they are international collaborators, they don’t know our situation. “Some international collaborators told me that’s just a waste of my time, that it’s better to focus on building my own career,” Kapito-Tembo recalled of planning to launch WIDREM in 2016. In addition to providing a forum for dialogue and support among peers, WIDREM advocates and lobbies for the creation of an enabling environment for women to advance in their careers and for gender equality at the institutional level.
#Tembo health series#
With TDR support, Kapito-Tembo launched a series of workshops aimed at improving careers for women in health research in Malawi covering personal development planning and mentoring, leadership skills and time management, and project planning and management for health research.” The TDR grant also made possible the establishment of WIDREM, a national network of women health researchers. In addition to providing a forum for dialogue among peers, WIDREM advocates and lobbies for the creation of an enabling environment for women to advance in their careers and for gender equality at the institutional level. “The second focused on leadership skills and time management.” The TDR grant also made possible the establishment of WIDREM, a national network of women health researchers. “The first workshop focused on personal development planning and mentoring,” she says. With TDR support, Kapito-Tembo launched a series of workshops aimed at improving careers for women in health research in Malawi. “It was at just the right moment, so I went for it.” Then she saw the TDR call for applications. And I thought to myself, Malawi and women experts in infectious diseases - who can I point to that they are internationally recognized? I couldn’t think of anyone.”
#Tembo health how to#
“I knew there are so many young women who could benefit from learning how to plan their careers.

One day, at a workshop, Kapito-Tembo was introduced to personal development planning. “Suddenly, I was raising a family, and with all other responsibilities, I was struggling to move forward,” she recalls. That’s important, she adds, because “for the interventions to work, the community has to be on board and be the focus.” Using a TDR grant to support women scientistsĪs she made her way, though, Kapito-Tembo encountered a set of challenges she hadn’t anticipated. “I like it because I can continue to interact with communities to identify evidence-based interventions,” she says. Now deputy director of the Malaria Alert Centre at the University of Malawi, she’s most interested in operational research to improve health care services. Of schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease. Upon returning home, Kapito-Tembo used her newly acquired skillset toĪddress gaps in malaria, HIV and maternal child health, leading causes Many women researchers here have a difficult time.
