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Maria Lohan Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast (UK) / HIAS Bridges Distinguished 2024
Research field:Social Science and Health
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Maria Lohan Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast (UK) / HIAS Bridges Distinguished 2024
Research field:Social Science and Health
Professor Lohan is a Professor of Social Science and Health at Queen’s University Belfast, as well as UNESCO Chair in Gender Equality and a HIAS Bridges Distinguished Visiting Professor 2024-2027.
Professor Lohan’s research focuses on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and gender equality.
Within this field Professor Lohan has advanced a focus on engaging men and boys in SRHR and especially on implementing and evaluating comprehensive sexuality education (in schools and in prison settings). This work has a multi-country focus in Ireland and the UK, and with international collaborators in Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Professor Lohan has led over ten multi-disciplinary studies as Principal Investigator. These multi-institutional studies have been funded interalia by the National Institute of Health and Care Research, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Medical Research Council, and UK Aid.
For the past five years, Professor Lohan has been a consultant to the World Health Organization in leading out systematic reviews of the global evidence on male engagement in SRHR and gender equality. Following compilation of the evidence, Professor Lohan was commissioned by WHO to lead a multi-institutional team to conduct a global research priority setting exercise on ‘Masculinities and SRHR’.
She has published prolifically in leading academic journals including the Lancet and BMJ journals. This includes a recent publication with HIAS professor, Mizanur Rahmen. During her visiting position with HIAS, she is keen to develop further international research collaborations, engage in capacity building for early career researchers, foster gender equality in and beyond academia and sink into Japanese culture.
●What are your current research interests?
Health and Gender Equality , especially Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and especially men’s/boys’ engagement in SRHR
●What do you enjoy most about research?
I enjoy engaging with different perspectives and i especially enjoy learning about multi-cultural and interdisciplinary perspectives.
●What does research mean to you?(In a nutshell)
Finding out what you can, the best way that you can
●What inspired you to become a researcher?
I guess I liked reading and writing – and university life – and I just kept at it. Once you get your PhD, you are qualified, and once you get your first job, you are on your way to a career.
●Message to young researchers
Don’t be afraid of the blank page, it gives you space to start (again).
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René Belderbos Full Professor, Faculty of Economics and Business, KU Leuven (Belgium) / HIAS Bridges Distinguished 2024
Research field:Economics and Strategy of Innovation and Multinational Firms
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René Belderbos Full Professor, Faculty of Economics and Business, KU Leuven (Belgium) / HIAS Bridges Distinguished 2024
Research field:Economics and Strategy of Innovation and Multinational Firms
I am a full professor of Strategy at KU Leuven (Belgium) and part-time professor of International Corporate Strategy at Maastricht University and UNU-MERIT (The Netherlands). My research focuses on innovation strategies and international business strategies of multinational firms.
●What are your current research interests?
Innovation, Intellectual Property Rights, R&D collaboration, Location decisions, Innovative entrepreneurship, Industry-Science linkages
●What do you enjoy most about research?
To be able to follow my curiosity.
●What does research mean to you?(In a nutshell)
Rigor & Relevance
●What inspired you to become a researcher?
My first efforts to do research for my Master thesis.
●Message to young researchers
Collaborate and learn, following your curiosity.