Researcher of the Month: Elialilia Okello
Recently Dr Elialilia S. Okello joined MITU as our new SHARE Research Fellow. Elialilia tells us about her background and what she’s most excited about for the role.
What is your background?
For my first degree I trained in Sociology and also completed a Masters degree in Medical Sociology where I explored caring for people with HIV. For my PhD I focused on Medical Anthropology, where I studied explanatory models of depression, conducted jointly with the University of Makerere in Uganda and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. I have been teaching at Makerere University, College of Health Sciences since 1997. I’ve worked on a variety of research areas, including HIV, mental health in both adolescents and adults, and medical education.
What made you interested in this role?
There was a long lead-up to this! When I finished by PhD 10 years ago, the University of Makerere was expanding – student population numbers have now tripled since then! Due to the large number of students, the opportunities to do research became more sporadic – there wasn’t enough time to write grants, and I wasn’t doing as much research as I wanted. I was feeling burnt out, and I wanted a break from teaching, so I began to look for a programme like this. When the SHARE MITU fellowship came along, I felt reenergised, as MITU is an institution that focuses only on research. I see my SHARE fellowship as an opportunity for not only developing my research skills but also an opening for me to expand my network of research collaboration.
What will you be working on?
My role is to develop a qualitative component for the Mikono Safi project, to find complementary answers to some of the research questions, and help to explain some of the findings.
What are you most looking forward to?
Coming from a very different research area, some of the concepts are a little alien, but I’m looking forward to learning and getting energy from these challenges. WASH is a very important area, and links to child development, which is an interest of mine. I’m looking forward to exploring how I can link the hygiene component with child development, and mental health in general. I’d like to learn new concepts but also incorporate my existing knowledge, and pursue these together.
What has been your biggest challenge in the role to date?
The biggest challenge is that the project has already started, so I must understand the processes of the project, and find the right level and niche for myself. This has been challenging but motivating! It gives me impetus to figure out what is going on.
How would you like your work to influence policy?
I believe by providing additional answers to how an integrative approach combining de-worming and improved hygiene behaviour can be utilized to improve health outcomes in school children, I will be contributing to child health policy agenda.
What advice would you give to someone changing research fields?
Keep an open mind and expect challenges along the way. There are so many resources that people can support you with, so make sure you can tap into these with everyone you meet to continue your learning.