Shawon Ara Riffat

Riffat Ara Shawon goes by the name Shawon which means “the season of rain”, a very auspicious season in the beautiful agricultural country of Bangladesh where she comes from. Shawon is a PhD student in Epidemiology at UW. She acquired her MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) and MPH (Master’s in Public Health) in Epidemiology degrees from Dhaka, Bangladesh. She has four years’ experience in clinical practice in pediatric departments and neonatal ICUs. She also has three years’ experience in working primarily at the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB). She has played roles both as a researcher and a research coordinator at the center. Injury, violence, early childhood development, mental health, disability, non-communicable diseases, tobacco control, are some of the research areas that she has experience working on. At UW, she has received the Top Scholar Award from the UW Graduate School that funded her research on older adult violence. Her interests lie in different epidemiologic and implementation methodologies. Shawon believes that she is a lifelong learner and enjoys learning by doing. She dreams of dedicating her knowledge and skills to contribute not only for her country but also for the betterment of global health.