Helen Pickering, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Dr. Pickering has worked in international health for nearly 25
years. She has spent over ten years living in Cambodia, Papua
New Guinea, and a number of developing countries in Africa. She
has worked in WHO Headquarters, and done consultancies for
major donors including the World Bank, DFID, and various UN
agencies. She has published over 35 peer-reviewed articles on
her many research interests: nutritional, social and
environmental factors associated with diarrhea and growth in
young children; behaviour related to Acute Respiratory Illness
in children; attitudes toward malaria and their implications;
crack cocaine injection and related risks; syringe sharing in
prison; and numerous studies related to STDs and HIV/AIDS.
Methodologies have included innovative techniques such as: the
use of sexual diaries; monitoring child mortality through
clinical records of child spacing; approaching/sampling
difficult subjects (e.g. prostitutes and their clients on
sexual contacts, drug users, etc.); molecular epidemiological
analysis of HIV in sexual networks; and comparisons of private
and public service delivery in the same setting.
She has a Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology from the London
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in addition to a BA
in Anthropology from the School of Oriental and African
Studies and an MA in History from Stanford University. Having
recently completed an M.Sc. in Plant Diversity, Dr. Pickering
is currently working on the flora of volcanic mountains in
Nicaragua and regenerating an ancient garden for public
education in Morocco.