Miva Open University proudly presents the February edition of its University Series Seminar, an initiative designed to integrate academic activities within our institution while sharing valuable knowledge with the broader community. This monthly seminar features lectures from Miva faculty and invited experts from other institutions and industries, fostering dialogue on topics that matter.
For February 2025, here are the details of the discourse:
- Date: February 28th, 2025
- Time: 4:00 PM (WAT)
- Host: Prof. Tayo Arulogun, Vice Chancellor, Miva Open University
- Speaker: Kator Igbudu (Programme Coordinator, Public Health, Miva Open University)
- Topic: Building an Interdisciplinary Public Health Workforce: Experiences from the Bridges of Science Program
- Registration Link: https://tinyurl.com/MivaDiscourseReg
In this academic discourse, you will learn the following:
- Importance of interdisciplinary workforce: Discover why cultivating a public health workforce with diverse skills, knowledge, and perspectives is critical to addressing the complex challenges of the 21st century. , including pandemics, climate change, and health disparities.
- Strategies for developing interdisciplinary skills: Gain insights into effective methods for building and nurturing interdisciplinary competencies.
- Novel approaches to addressing drug resistance: explore groundbreaking strategies and innovations to overcome antimalaria resistance.
- Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Research: Uncover the vast potential for interdisciplinary research in addressing complex global issues.
About the Speaker
Kator Igbudu, is a public health professional, with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from the University of Calabar and a Master of Public Health from the Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, as a distinguished Pears Foundation Scholar.
Over the past five years, he has worked on public health interventions focused on HIV and malaria prevention and treatment, as well as providing first-line support to survivors of gender-based violence—an urgent public health concern among individuals at risk of or living with HIV. His passion for HIV and malaria interventions stems from the significant burden these diseases impose on Nigeria’s population. As a Malaria Youth Champion under the African Leaders Malaria Alliance, Kator has advocated for increased policy commitments to malaria programs and organized community campaigns to distribute and promote the use of insecticide-treated nets, contributing to efforts to combat malaria’s endemic presence in Nigeria.
Driven by his interests in the intersection of public health research, practice, and policy, Kator was accepted into the second cohort of the Legislative Mentorship Initiative in 2023, an initiative of the Chief of Staff to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Rt.Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, where he emerged as the Best Graduating Fellow. Likewise, he was accepted into the Bridges of Science Program, a joint program of the prestigious Weizmann Institute of Science and the Braun School of Public Health, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he engaged in cutting-edge research focused on using synthetic antimicrobial peptides to combat drug resistance in malaria parasites.Currently, Kator serves as an Assistant Lecturer and Coordinator of the undergraduate Public Health Program in the Department of Public Health, School of Allied Health Sciences, Miva Open University, Abuja, Nigeria.
