Dr. Bradley Wagenaar, Acting Instructor of Global Health and graduate of the University of Washington’s PhD program in epidemiology, recently received a nine-month, $45,000 grant from Partners in Health (PIH) to help catalyze applied research activities in Liberia.

In his new role as director of research for PIH, Dr. Wagenaar will guide development of an applied implementation science and health systems research program. PIH has worked in Liberia since the Ebola outbreak in 2014, delivering primary care through a number of clinics in Maryland, Grand Gedeh and Grand Kru counties.

“PIH is interested in building applied implementation science and health systems research on top of their existing delivery of clinical programs,” Dr. Wagenaar says. “During this initial planning grant, I will travel to Liberia for three months and work with the PIH team, helping to develop the architecture for a research and capacity building program focused on analyses that can directly inform health systems strengthening and health policies.”

This project is through a collaboration with Health Alliance International, the organization’s first in Liberia—expanding its current portfolio, which consists of Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique and Timor-Leste.

Dr. Wagenaar has worked with Health Alliance International, a center in the School’s Department of Global Health, since 2013. Most recently, he has provided technical support to a number of health systems, operations research and implementation science projects in Mozambique.

This originally appeared in the Association of Schools and Programs on Public Health Newsletter.