CULTIVATING THE NEXT GENERATION OF RESEARCHERS AND LEADERS

Ana Estela Haddad, Professor at the University of São Paulo with Angela Uwase Rangira, Harvard College ‘20, during Harvard-Brazil Public Health Collaborative Field Course in 2020

Cultivating the Next Generation of Researchers and Leaders

The initiative has created an array of unique educational and experiential learning opportunities for students of all university levels from Harvard and Brazil

PROVIDING TRANSFORMATIONAL EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES IS A CORE TENANT OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY’S MISSION.

Through the Harvard-Brazil ECD initiative, DRCLAS has created a variety of enriching exchange experiences that engage students and young researchers with novel perspectives, tools and networks that transform their prospects as future leaders of the ECD field. In this section we provide a sample of the educational opportunities and outcomes generated by the initiative.

>67

HARVARD STUDENTS AND JUNIOR RESEARCHERS

have studied or worked with ECD in Brazil

5

BRAZIL OFFICE FELLOWS

have spent a year working with the ECD initiative in Brazil

>78 BRAZILIAN STUDENTS AND JUNIOR RESEARCHERS have had significant training experiences through Harvard’s engagement with ECD in Brazil

PUBLIC HEALTH COLLABORATIVE FIELD COURSE

Professor Marcia Castro has incorporated ECD into the annual Public Health Collaborative Field Course that she leads in Brazil. In addition to lectures on site visits on ECD, groups composed of 3 Harvard students and 3 Brazilian students develop projects to address real challenges posed by real programs or organizations aiming to improve ECD outcomes in Brazil.

ECD Group Projects developed through the Public Health Collaborative Field Course:

2016: THE ROLE OF SOCIAL SUPPORT ON CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE TREVO DE QUATRO FOLHAS’ SOCIAL MOTHERS PROJECT

2018: EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT: PARTICIPATORY LEARNING FOR CAREGIVERS OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

2020: INCREASING COMMUNITY HEALTH AGENTS’ USE OF THE CHILD HEALTH BOOKLET

EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH COLLECTIVE

In 2012, a multidisciplinary group of six students, at the undergraduate, masters and PhD levels, representing five Harvard schools (College, Graduate School of Design, School of Public Heath, Medical School and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences), formed a research collective and organized a seminar series to share their experiences and present their findings related to early childhood development in Brazil.

STUDENTS PRESENT RESEARCH ON EARLY DEVELOPMENT (HARVARD CRIMSON)

KATHRYN ANDREWS (SCD ’18)

wrote the third paper of her doctoral dissertation, titled “Can placental characteristics predict child development delays? Findings from São Paulo Western Region Cohort Study”, based on her research with Professors Günther Fink and Alexandra Brentani in a vulnerable region of São Paulo.

SELECT TRAJECTORIES AND TESTIMONIALS

THE SELECTION OF TRAJECTORIES AND SHORT TESTIMONIALS BELOW PROVIDES A GLIMPSE INTO THE IMPACT THAT THE OPPORTUNITIES ENABLED BY DRCLAS AND ITS PARTNERS HAVE HAD ON THE LIVES AND CAREERS OF SEVERAL PROMISING ECD RESEARCHERS AND LEADERS “A key focus of the Harvard-Brazil early childhood initiatives has been the opportunity to work with early career academics and cultivating the next generation of researchers and leaders in the field. Mentoring, creating networking opportunities, and the opportunities to connect Brazil based researchers with colleagues not only in the Latin American region, but around the world has led to deeper critical reflection about ongoing work, new ideas and collaborations. This has happened during a critical time for the early childhood field where global events such as the pandemic demand innovations locally and globally.” AISHA YOUSAFZAI

Associate Professor of Global Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health