Our Team
Dr. Jordyn Wallenborn
Dr. Jordyn Wallenborn is a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) Ambizione project leader and epidemiologist at the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH). Dr. Wallenborn completed her BS in Community Health at Minnesota State University Moorhead and MPH in Infectious Disease Management at North Dakota State University. She was a PhD candidate at Virginia Commonwealth University until 2017. From 2018 to 2019 she was a Postdoctoral fellow at the School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley and subsequently at Swiss TPH until 2022.
Stephanie Khoury
Stephanie Khoury received her BS in Health Sciences at James Madison University in 2018 and MS in Global Health with a concentration in disease control and prevention at Georgetown University in 2020. After completing her studies, she worked as a project manager in global health research at INSERM and then at the Foundation for Innovation in Cardiometabolism and Nutrition (ICAN) in Paris, France. Stephanie is currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss TPH, under the supervision of Dr. Wallenborn. As part of her PhD project, she will be working on re-assessing the exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) recommendations, re-evaluating the true regional, national, and global prevalence of EBF, and implementing a social transfer program to improve EBF uptake in São Paulo, Brazil.
Helena Fusek
Helena is a trained Pharmacist from the University of Basel and is very passionate about epidemiology, particularly in the realm of maternal health and breastfeeding. Her interest for maternal health was strengthened during her pharmacy master's thesis, collaborating with the University of Chapel Hill (USA) on placental transporters. Currently pursuing a Master of Science in Epidemiology at the Swiss TPH, she will focus on family contexts and breastfeeding practices in Lao PDR for her upcoming thesis.
Previous students
Najmeh Karimian-Marnani
Najmeh undertook her MSc thesis with the group from September 2023 to April 2024. Her research focused on the predictors and barriers to exclusive breastfeeding, and whether a social transfer intervention can overcome the barriers to exclusive breastfeeding. For this, she conducted a secondary data analysis of the previously set up Social Transfers for Exclusive Breastfeeding trial in Lao PDR. Her thesis research was part of her Master of Science degree in Science, Technology and Policy (minor in Life Sciences and Health Policy) at ETH Zürich. She previously received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Science and Management from Imperial College London. Najmeh now works as a Research Assistant in this group and holds a position as an intern at the World Health Organisation, within the Anemia Action Alliance interdevelopmental group.
Kianna DuFault
Kianna is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology at North Dakota State University, with graduation just around the corner. In Summer 2023, she had the opportunity to travel to Basel, Switzerland, where she spent six weeks completing a placement as part of my graduate program. During this time, she collaborated with Jordyn on a manuscript that they hope to publish in the coming months. We used data from Lao PDR, researching the potential predictors of low breastfeeding rates among women in the region. Upon graduating with her MPH degree in early May 2024, she plans to continue working at the Minnesota Department of Health until mid-summer. Her goal is to secure a fellowship with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the fall. “Working with Jordyn and having the opportunity to visit Basel to work on my first manuscript was a valuable experience for me!”
Lucienne Zinsstag
Lucienne Zinsstag is a trained food scientist with a Master's degree in Human Nutrition, Health and Environment. She worked in the group for her master's thesis between July 2022 and January 2023. The master's thesis was a secondary data analysis using data from the Social Transfers for Exclusive Breastfeeding (STEB) Intervention in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Her master thesis focused on the prolonged effects of pregnancy anemia on postpartum anemia in mothers and its consequent impact on infant health. During this time, she helped set up the RCT for the Social Transfers for Exclusive Breastfeeding (STEB) Intervention in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. She is currently working with Jordyn to publish her findings. She now works as a research associate in the Agricultural Health Group at the Swiss TPH.