Prof. Richard Maude

Malia Skjefte is a first year DPhil student in Clinical Medicine at the University of Oxford, with her thesis focusing on measuring the impact of control and elimination interventions for tropical infectious diseases. Her research integrates spatial, qualitative, and systematic methods to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of disease prevention and control strategies in resource-limited settings.

Malia holds a Master of Science in Global Health and Population, with a concentration in Infectious Disease Epidemiology, from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her master's thesis explored the serological and clinical evolution of Chagas disease patients in Bolivia after treatment with Benznidazole. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology, with a minor in Spanish, from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Professionally, Malia has served in technical advisor roles with Population Services International (PSI), supporting malaria research and policy, and most recently as a Fulbright Scholar in Bolivia and Paraguay. There, she developed and led a qualitative study to understand facilitators and barriers to routine Chagas disease data management across different levels of the healthcare system, with recommendations to improve data quality and sharing across borders. Her previous experience also includes projects with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and research assistantships on global health topics ranging from vaccine acceptance to maternal health measurement.

Malia is passionate about leveraging data-driven insights to inform policy and improve the equity and effectiveness of infectious disease programming, bringing a multidisciplinary approach to public health challenges.