Keynote Speaker
MIRANDA THURSTON
Professor Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences
Miranda joined Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences in August 2011 as a full-time Professor of Public health to lead the Faculty’s new Masters in Public Health Sciences, having occupied a Professor II position for the previous two years. Prior to this, she was the Director of the Centre for Public Health Research at the University of Chester for twelve years where she was responsible for externally commissioned research and consultancy projects. She also supervised a number of PhD projects and taught on the Centre’s two Masters programmes (MSc. Public Health and MSc in Research Methods).
Miranda completed her Doctorate on the cell kinetics of normal and abnormal human bone growth whilst working as a research assistant at St Bartholomew’s Medical College, University of London. Miranda is a qualified teacher and taught in the secondary education sector for two years after completing her PhD.
SEBASTIAN VOLLMER
Professor of Development Economics at the University of Göttingen
Sebastian Vollmer is Professor of Development Economics and currently serves as Director of the Centre for Modern Indian Studies at the University of Göttingen. His research examines the linkages between poverty and health in low- and middle-income countries. Sebastian Vollmer studied Mathematics and Economics at the University of Göttingen and also received his PhD in Economics from the University of Göttingen. He was Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Harvard University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College, Assistant Professor of Development Economics at the University of Göttingen and Adjunct Professor of Global Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He has worked as a consultant for the World Bank, UNICEF, UNDP, UNAIDS, UNESCO, FAO, the Asian Development Bank and national government organizations.