STESHA DOKU

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Fulbright Postgraduate Scholar

Media profile

Despite Australia's presence as a sea-locked nation in the Pacific, this small continent is home to a diverse collection of people whose nationalities range from Indigenous Australian to Asian and European. Even with this wide array of demographics, answers regarding the health of particular segments of Australia's population are still lacking.

Stesha Doku, is one of thirteen Americans to be granted a Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship from the Australian-American Fulbright Commission in 2008. Stesha has recently completed her Bachelor of Science in Engineering at Duke University and on her Fulbright will undertake research at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

The title of her Fulbright research project is Health Analysis of Immigrants and Indigenous Australians using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

“My research will focus on identifying and examining spatially the relationships between ethnic background, economic status, disease and geographic location for immigrant and Indigenous populations of New South Wales, Australia.”

“I will use existing demographic data and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) field surveys with GIS technology to undertake my research. The project will identify patterns between these areas as they exist and provide comparisons,” explains Stesha.

Stesha believes the gap in the health status between ethnic groups must be closed in the interest of improving public health across demographic lines.

“In recent years, public health has started to be studied through the technology of GIS which allows for analysis of health related concerns as correlated to location instead of typical tables, graphs and charts. This 'Spatial Medicine' offers a way to understand where disease has its greatest impact, thus providing a basis for focusing improved healthcare or policy making.”

Stesha has been recognised throughout her studies with a wide range of awards including the Benjamin N. Duke Leadership and Service Scholarship at Duke University; Coca-Cola Community Scholar; Toyota Community Scholar; Duke University Center for International Studies Grantee; GIS Researcher for Children's Environmental Health Initiative; Nasher Museum Student Advisory Board.

When Stesha returns from her Fulbright in Australia she will complete her Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree at Stanford University School of Medicine.

The prestigious Fulbright program is the largest educational scholarship of its kind, created by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright and the U.S. Government in 1946. Aimed at promoting mutual understanding through educational exchange, it operates between the U.S. and 150 countries.