Master of Public Health
(MPH ’13)

Mina Halpern

Miriam Alvarado is pursuing a PhD in Epidemiology as a Gates Scholar at the University of Cambridge.  Her doctoral focus is on the evaluation of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax recently implemented by the Government of Barbados in an attempt to reduce obesity and address the rising burden of non-communicable diseases. After completing her MPH, Miriam was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to investigate gendered physical activity norms in Barbados. Inspired by some of her findings, Miriam co-founded Get Women Moving, a $3 dance fitness program with over 500 participants in six months. Miriam worked closely with the Ministry of Health in Barbados on physical activity and childhood obesity and she hopes the evaluation of the sugar-sweetened beverage tax will contribute to the body of evidence around these policies.

The MPH in Health Metrics and Evaluation prepared me to engage in global health issues with an analytical skill set I can use for many relevant and complex questions. My interest in preventing non-communicable diseases at a population level is a direct product of the training and exposure I received through the MPH.