PhD Program
About the PhD program
IPH runs a sandwich PhD programme in public health with Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp.The programme is a part of a long term partnership with ITM and is funded under the Belgian Government’s DGDC grant. PhD candidates chosen under the programme are expected to spend about 8 months in their chosen field, while the remaining four months in the year is spent at ITM, Antwerp.
PhD scholars
PhD students presently enrolled in this programme.

Prashanth NS began his PhD on district health management in January 2010. He is working on trying to understand the mechanisms through which middle level health services managers (taluka and district level programme managers and health officers) improve their knowledge and/or skills in response to an intervention to improve these. He is using realist evaluation methods to evaluate the intervention; through this, an understanding of the conditions needed for the improvement of planning and supervision of health services at taluka level will emerge. His main supervisors are Bart Criel and Jean Macq, and his co-supervisors are N.Devadasan and Guy Kegels. His practice field area is in Tumkur district.

Upendra Bhojani began his PhD in August 2010. His PhD focuses on studying how role of the local health systems can be strengthened to improve quality of care for people living with chronic diseases. His work especially focuses on role of primary healthcare providers. His fieldwork is in KG Halli, a poor urban neighbourhood in Bangalore city. His main supervisor is Patrick Kolsteren, and his co-supervisors are Bart Criel and N Devadasan