Ashata Dahal

Ashata is a DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford and has been doing public engagement at OUCRU Nepal since 2018.

Her interests lie in exploring the social and structural determinants of health through people’s lived experiences and perspectives. Her work centers on engaging communities and stakeholders to bridge the gap between research and communities, fostering meaningful collaborations to improve public health outcomes. She is particularly passionate about translating research into practice and ensuring that health solutions are both effective and community-driven.

Her DPhil research explores knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and experiences regarding the typhoid conjugate vaccine trial in Lalitpur, Nepal. Through qualitative and community-engaged approaches, her work aims to better understand community perspectives on vaccine research and contribute to more responsive and equitable public health interventions.

In 2013, Ashata graduated in Public Health and was enlisted on the Dean’s List for her academic performance. In 2015, she was awarded the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree scholarship in Public Health. She completed her master’s degree with Merit from the University of Sheffield (UK) and the University of Copenhagen (Denmark).

Since joining OUCRU Nepal, she has led and conducted public engagement activities for vaccine and treatment trials, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research, and other community-based health studies. Her work emphasizes encouraging community voices and participation in research activities, strengthening trust between researchers and communities, and promoting more inclusive and ethically grounded global health research.

Her research interests include community engagement, qualitative research, vaccine acceptance, antimicrobial resistance, and the social dimensions of global health research.