Janina has joined Mzantsi Wakho as a fieldwork coordinator in June 2017. She is originally from Germany but has spend the past 9 years abroad, studying in the Netherlands for a BSc in Psychology (2009 –
2012), completing an MSc in Psychological Research (2013 – 2014) in the UK, and working in a neuroscience lab at the University of Oxford
for the past 3 years.
At the moment, she is very excited to be part of this large project and to learn about how the results will inform public health policies and contributes to improving the lives of children and adolescents in South Africa. Janina is looking forward to get her teeth into a number of different tasks during her time with Mzantski Wakho, including supporting the coordination of fieldwork activities, ensuring the quality of collected data and data management, capacity building and staff training, as well as research dissemination. She is enjoying being part of the fantastic Mzantski Wakho team which has already provided her with invaluable insights into the work with vulnerable communities and challenges of working in low-resource environments.

In October 2017, Janina will return to the University of Oxford to start a DPhil in Social Interventions, supervised by Prof. Lucie Cluver. In the future, Janina hopes to continue working in the public policy and global health sphere, with a particular focus on addressing the needs for women and children.