BITS Pilani to offer PhD in Data Sciences for Global Health

Sundar explained that students will take courses and conduct research at both BITS Pilani, Hyderabad, and at the Karnatakas Nimai Valley Center of the One Health Trust, set to open in January 2024.This program is ideal for students who are seeking new roles as public health data scientists in government, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations in the public health and biomedical fields and working professionals already employed in such organizations who would like to use data more effectively to advance their missions, he said.

The Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani and the Washington based One Health Trust have agreed to establish a PhD program in Data Sciences for Global Health, officials said on Monday. The programme is expected to train graduates and postgraduates on current global health issues and cutting-edge research methodology, with rigorous fieldwork and data analysis. The unique full-time interdisciplinary degree will provide advanced education in global health along with expertise in statistical, quantitative and qualitative skills to future students. Founded as the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy (CDDEP), the One Health Trust (OHT) is a public health research organization with headquarters in Washington.

G Sundar, Senior Professor and Director of BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, said, ''The rigorous research and data analysis expertise of OHT will serve to greatly strengthen data driven public health policy making in the country, and thus raise the levels of overall well-being''. Applications for the doctoral program are open till March 31, 2023 application deadline. The first cohort will begin coursework in July, 2023. Sundar explained that students will take courses and conduct research at both BITS Pilani, Hyderabad, and at the Karnataka's Nimai Valley Center of the One Health Trust, set to open in January 2024.

''This program is ideal for students who are seeking new roles as public health data scientists in government, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations in the public health and biomedical fields and working professionals already employed in such organizations who would like to use data more effectively to advance their missions,'' he said. Qualified applicants will be accepted from all geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, with no age restriction.

''The future of the health of our planet and its inhabitants depends on a better understanding of the underlying processes that connect us using data sciences. The PhD programme will emphasise cutting edge skills in data sciences, and generate tomorrow's leaders in solving the major challenges of global health by working with communities in India who are most affected by them,'' said Ramanan Laxminarayan, founder and president of the One Health Trust.

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