Dr. Benova didn’t start off as an infectious disease specialist - Infectious disease research came to her through her work on maternal health during the COVID-19 epidemic. She shares with us her insights into maternal and neonatal health, and shows us how key populations - expectant mothers - are forgotten in disease outbreaks. Dr. Benova explains how using mixed methods and qualitative evidence can help us with the early detection of health emergencies.
Dr. Benova conducts research reproductive and maternal health, and health seeking behaviors at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp. She has an eclectic background, with expertise as a quantitative population health scientist who draws upon management, economics, Middle East studies, demography, and epidemiology. From 2014 to 2018, she served as a co-investigator on the Maternal healthcare markets Evaluation Team (MET) at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, where she led the SAGE (Secondary data Analysis for Generating new Evidence) team.