Rana Saleh

Rana is a PhD student in the Health Policy PhD program at McMaster University, supervised by Dr. Julia Abelson. She is interested in advancing the role of public engagement in health policy in developing countries. Her thesis work looks at the factors that influence the institutionalization of public engagement initiatives.

Prior to joining McMaster, Rana worked at the Knowledge to Policy (K2P) Center at the American University of Beirut, a partner of McMaster Health Forum. Rana established and led the advocacy and citizen engagement arms in the center. She also led different capacity building and mentorship projects including several countries in Southeast Asia and others in Eastern Europe on the development of Evidence Briefs for Policy. She also led multiple knowledge translation initiatives for tobacco control policies and promoting school policies for childhood obesity prevention among others. She also served as a commissioner on the WHO UNICEF Lancet Commission on re-aligning child health in the SDG Era.

Rana has a Master in Public Health from the American University of Beirut; when she was inducted to the Honorary Society of Public Health, the Delta Omega. She also holds a Bachelor Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics; when she earned Jamal Abdul Nasser Award for Academic Excellence.

Rana is a recipient of a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship in Strengthening Health and Social Systems. She aims to maximize her experience at the McMaster Health Forum to enrich her understanding of the factors that influence evidence-informed policy making for a stronger impact on health and social systems.